Sara Sharif’s father told the court he did not beat the 10-year-old girl, saying his wife was “very, very, crazy” and accusing her of abuse.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool and brother Faisal Malik are on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of murdering Sara in August last year.

Sarah was found dead in his bed at the family home in Woking, Surreyafter Sharif called Pakistani police and told them he had “beat her too much”.

An autopsy revealed dozens of injuries, including burns and human bite marks.

Testifying in court on Wednesday, Sharif said: “It all happened at home while I was at work.

“I didn’t beat her, I didn’t do anything to her.”

In WhatsApp messages to her sisters, Batool claimed her husband had beaten her daughter “like crazy” for at least two years.

Sharif denied this and claimed his wife – who was Sara’s mother-in-law – was “very, very crazy”, pointing to video evidence allegedly showing she had abused him.

He said he recorded the incidents “so she would leave me alone” and “stop what she was doing.”

The taxi driver claimed his wife “didn’t care about anything at all” and claimed his family said: “Someone did black magic on her.”

Sharif became emotional as he told jurors: “I used to jump out the kitchen window while she was locking the front door.

“Most of the time, when she was angry, I would jump out of the living room window.”

Learn more about the trial:
Her father begged to save Sara Sharif, defense says
Sara’s mother-in-law cries as video shows girl dancing ‘days before murder’
Video shows moment Sara’s family is arrested on plane

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The court was shown two videos from Sharif’s Google Player. One was filmed in February 2016 after his wife accused him of flirting with a hospital nurse, he said.

In the video, he could be heard saying: “You’re pushing me. You’re abusing me. Let go of me.

“You hit me. I’m going to use this as evidence, I tell you now.”

Batool asked him to stop filming and said, “I’m not afraid of you.”

Addressing what the video shows, Sharif told the court: “She kicked me. I ran to the other room, she is standing in front of the door so I can’t leave.”

A second video, dated June 26, 2019, shows Sharif repeatedly asking his wife to “let me go” before jumping out of the window.

He told jurors that Batool “slapped” him, adding: “You have a choice to either fight with this person or leave.

“I tried to leave but she locked the front door. I jumped out the kitchen window.”

Sharif, 42, Batool, 30, and Malik, 29, deny murder and causing or permitting the death of a child between December 16, 2022 and August 9, 2023.

The trial continues.