Mr Sharif said he noticed a red mark around Sara’s neck, and at this point Ms Batool told a “second story” claiming Sara had been fighting with another child.
Defence barrister Naeem Mian KC asked, “Why didn’t you call the police?”
Mr Sharif replied: “I was thinking about the other kids. They are going to be taken into care. [The child] is going to go to prison.”
He told the court: “So much was going on under my nose and I didn’t know it.”
That evening, Ms Batool called a travel agent to start the process of booking flights for the whole family, apart from Sara, to go to Pakistan, Mr Sharif said. They left the country the next day.
Hours after Sara had died, Ms Batool also showed Mr Sharif on her phone the difference between murder and manslaughter, jurors heard.
“She is very good at Googling stuff,” Mr Sharif said.
He also told jurors that there was a discussion as to whether Mr Sharif should take the blame for Sara’s death. He added that Ms Batool wanted Mr Malik to take the blame as he had no responsibilities.
When police arrived at the house after Mr Sharif had called from Pakistan, there was a handwritten note by Sara’s body that read: “Whoever see this note it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating.”
The jury has been told that Ms Batool and Mr Sharif dispute each other’s version of events.
