LONDON — The father of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in UK, denied responsibility for his daughter's death as he gave evidence at his murder trial on Nov 5.

Sara was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town south-west of London, after what prosecutors say was a campaign of "serious and repeated violence".

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns and bite marks.

Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, his wife and Sara Sharif's stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl's uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are on trial at London's Old Bailey court charged with her murder.

The trio are charged with causing or allowing the death of a child. All three deny the charges against them and blame each other for her death, prosecutors have said.

Emlyn Jones told jurors in October that Urfan Sharif said to police: "It wasn't my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much."

Sharif entered the witness box on Nov 5 and was asked by his lawyer, Naeem Mian, whether he was responsible for Sara's death. He replied: "No."

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