Sara Sharif dreamed of winning The X Factor before heartbreaking murder, says teacher

Sara Sharif was just 10-years-old when she was brutally murdered by her own father and stepmother. Her head teacher has revealed she loved to sing and dreamed of winning The X Factor

Sara Sharif had dreams of winning The X Factor before she was killed by her father and stepmother.

The child was just 10 when she suffered injuries that were so severe that she died in 2023 - with her father Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, sentenced to jail at the Old Bailey this week. Sharif has been sentenced to minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, while Batool received a minimum of 33 years.

Sara has been described as "music loving", dreamed of being a star like Taylor Swift and tragic details about her young life have revealed she had aspirations to become a singer before her life was savagely cut short. It has been reported the cheerful and chatty girl would sing "to anyone that would listen" and would dance for friends at St Mary’s Primary School in Byfleet, Surrey.

She enjoyed playing a guitar and singing along to tracks including Memories by Maroon 5 and Count on Me by Bruno Mars - but her brutal father would beat her into silence. Now school headteacher Jacquie Chambers has recounted how the youngster showed potential to be a stand out singer.

She told BBC News : “Sara would write songs all of the time and she would sing to anyone who would listen. She came into my office, and I remember saying to her, ‘Sara, what do you want to do when you grow up?’. She said, ‘I want to be on X Factor. I want to win it’. And she stood by that.”

The schoolgirl's devastated friends and members of the school staff have found a way to honour her memory by creating the Sara Singing Award – which aims to unearth the school’s “singing stars”. Ms Chambers explained: “We've got a lovely music trophy to award that person at the end of the year, and that will be something we'll do every year to remember her.”

As well as her father and stepmother, Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was also sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for causing or allowing her death. Mr Justice Cavanagh told the Old Bailey on Tuesday: "The degree of cruelty involved is almost inconceivable. You Beinash Batool did not stand in Urfan Sharif's way. You encouraged Urfan Sharif in his assaults."

Handing down sentencing today, Mr Justice Cavanagh said Sara was treated "as if she was worthless" and that neither her father nor step-mother had "any concern for her happiness". In a statement read out in court, Sara's heartbroken mother, Olga Domin, branded the defendants as "sadists", adding: "Although even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners." And paying tribute to her young daughter, Ms Domin said: "She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven. She is no longer experiencing violence. I hoped that when she grew up we would meet, but now that won't happen."

The distraught mother previously said: "My dear Sara, I ask God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon. Sara had beautiful brown eyes and an angelic voice. Sara's smile could brighten up the darkest room. Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh. She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives. We miss Sara very much. Love you Princess."

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