Sara Sharif's cause of death remains mystery but coroner rules it 'unnatural'
Sara Sharif's cause of death remains mystery but coroner rules it 'unnatural'
Surrey Police
Sara Sharif’s cause of death remains a mystery but a coroner has confirmed it was “likely not natural”.
Sharif, 10, was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10.
Three relatives, including her father, fled the United Kingdom for Pakistan just one day before.
An international manhunt has since been launched after Urfan Sharif, 41, left Britain with his wife Beinash Batool, 29, and brother Faisal Malik, 28, just one day earlier.
A view of HM Coroner's Court Surrey in Woking, ahead of the inquest into the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif
PA
Police officers in Pakistan are fixating efforts on two areas around the city of Jhelum after new information was provided by multiple sources.
Urfan called 999 from Pakistan on the day she was found.
He expressed concern for his eldest daughter’s safety during the call.
The 10-year-old suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” which were “likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”, a post-mortem revealed earlier this month.
Surrey Police officers outside a property on Hammond Road in Woking
PA
Coroner Simon Wickens found at Surrey Coroner's Court that Sharif’s cause of death has “not yet [been] ascertained” but was likely “unnatural”.
He then adjourned inquest proceedings until February next year to allow Surrey Police time to investigate.
Wickens offered his “sincere condolences” to all those “touched by Sara's short life”.
The opening of the inquest comes amid speculation that Sharif’s father is on the verge of handing himself in to police in Pakistan.
Sara's father Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool and his brother Faisal Malik are wanted by police
Surrey Police
Sharif’s mother Olga even urged her ex-husband to “give up”.
She told The Sun: “Until he is arrested I can't have any sense of closure or security. It's been a very anxious wait.'
Sara’s grandfather Muhammad also told The Mirror: “As far as I know, my son and his wife are willing to surrender and they will do so soon.”
Surrey Police is continuing to appeal for information to help them understand what happened to the 10-year-old.