THE father of Sara Sharif dramatically told jurors that he "takes full responsibility" for killing the 10-year-old.
Urfan Sharif denies murder, insisting he did not mean to "harm" Sara when he bound her and beat her with a cricket bat.
The cabbie, inset, had sought to blame Sara's stepmum Beinash Batool for her injuries, claiming he was at work at the time. But on his seventh day of evidence at the Old Bailey, he was asked by Batool's defence barrister Caroline Carberry KC if he did indeed kill Sara.
Sharif, 42, replied: "Yes, she died because of me." There were gasps from the public gallery when he admitted hitting Sara with the bat and a pole, binding her with tape, breaking a bone in her neck and battering her over the head with a phone.
Sharif admitted he had tightened his hands around his daughter's neck more than once but denied he had used his belt to throttle her.
He also denied burning the schoolgirl's buttocks with an iron and biting her arm.
Batool, 30, sobbed in the dock and members of the jury wiped away tears when Sharif made his announcement yesterday morning.
Sharif accepted causing Sara a string of injuries but not the burn and bite marks found on his daughter.
He admitted causing fractures, including to a neck bone, by hitting Sara with a cricket bat.
This story is from the November 14, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 14, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Hands-on Arteta already planning for the next era
MIKEL ARTETA celebrates his 250th game in charge of Arsenal today - and has already mapped out the future with the Gunners hierarchy.
Unai said: Until you can prove yourself you're a Championship player in my eyes
TOUGH love has transformed Morgan Rogers into a Premier League thoroughbred.
No place like a prize home for Omaze winner
ECSTATIC Sarah Perry has won a £500,000 home near her Powys roots in an Omaze draw and given her husband the shock of his life.
Back beside the seaside 52 years on
FUN-LOVING pals reshot a snap from their first holiday together - 52 years ago.
'Harshita, you left this world but are still in our hearts'
Family's tribute to body-in-boot wife
Factory farming costs taxpayer £1bn a year
THE factory farming of animals costs taxpayers almost £1billion a year, a study has found.
'Our beautiful one-of-a-kind Simone had a spark for life'
THE parents of a British lawyer who died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Laos say they are \"devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter\".
Strictly Sarah: I didn't believe I could do lifts ...but look at me now
NEWLY confident Sarah Hadland has ditched her panic about bare legs, fake tans and doing ballroom lifts to become a firm favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing.
Down thunder! Aussie TV camp soaked
THE I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! camp has been battered by torrential rain, which could lead to the contestants being evacuated.
300 jabs a minute to event tripledemic’
AN NHS vaccination blitz is delivering more than 300 jabs a minute to tackle a deadly \"tripledemic\" of flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus.
