Sara Sharif’s mother says the 10-year-old’s behavior changed as she lived with her father while awaiting the autopsy in the ‘murder’ inquest
A mother claims her murdered 10-year-old daughter’s behavior changed after she moved in with her father.
Sara Sharif was found dead at the home of her father Urfan Sharif, 41, near Woking, Surrey, last Thursday.
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Her mother Olga Sharif told how her ex-husband had been given sole custody of the boy by a court.
She says Sara’s behavior then began to change as Urfan’s influence on her life increased.
Olga, who is of Catholic background, told The Sun: “You wouldn’t eat certain things because they’re not halal.”
“Urfan said to me that the children would be Muslims but I said no they would learn both religions not just yours because they live in my house.
“I didn’t want to push the kids. I told them if they want to be Muslim, they can be Muslim, but they can choose later in life.”
The 36-year-old mother is now awaiting the results of a post-mortem to find out how her daughter died.
She will see Sara’s body after the autopsy today.
Olga is now planning to take Sara’s body to Poland for burial after the authorities have completed their investigations.
She was on her way back to the country when she received a devastating phone call about her daughter’s death.
She said: “I was on my way to Poland when they called and said, ‘You have to come to England and come to the police station in Dover’.”
“She told me on the phone she couldn’t say why but when I called again they told me to stop so we did.
“Then she told me that Sara was found dead in a house and I just burst into tears. It took us six hours to get back to the UK.”
She added: “I haven’t been able to see my daughter for four years and now she’s dead. She’s just a kid. She had done nothing wrong.”
Police were called to the property last week after a call raised concerns for Sara’s wellbeing.
Three people the officers wanted to speak to fled the country just hours before the boy’s body was found.
All three are known to Sara and no one was present at the home when the tragic discovery was made.
Olga said she married taxi driver Urfan in November 2009 at a Surrey registry office before the marriage ended in 2017.
Urfan, 41, finally got sole custody of Sara and her 13-year-old brother in 2019.
Aside from the occasional phone call, she has only been allowed to see her children twice in the four years since she lost custody, Olga said.
She continued to be regularly sent photos of her children until 2021, when she said an argument between her and Urfan’s new partner Beenish caused her to be completely cut off.
Olga said: “My life will never be the same again. Sara should be with me now. She was too young.”
“Sara was a great kid.
“She had a lot of friends at school and got along with everyone. Whenever I picked her up, I would hear children shouting “Bye Sara”.
“Sara was invited to every class birthday party and sleepover, she was so outgoing and much more sociable than me.”
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