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Sara Sharif inquest listed for eight weeks next year

The Senior Coroner for Surrey has listed the final hearing in the inquest into the death of Sara Sharif for eight weeks in 2027. 

The second Pre-Inquest Review Hearing took place last Friday, in which the Senior Coroner gave his provisional view on scope and Article 2 ECHR.

Matthew Turner represents Sara’s birth mother, Olga Domin, who was left heartbroken by Sara’s murder at the hands of her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool. 

The Interested Persons are currently: 

  • Olga Domin;
  • Surrey County Council;
  • The Chief Constable of Surrey Police;
  • Urfan Sharif;
  • Beinash Batool; and
  • Faisal Malik. 

Matthew has made submissions that the Secretary of State for Education and Children’s Commissioner should also be made Interested Persons. 

The Interested Persons received extensive disclosure in January, including from social services and Sara’s schools.  

The Senior Coroner has provisionally indicated that the scope of the inquest will include:

  • What was known about the risk of violence to Sara from her family from birth until she was placed with her father and stepmother in 2019 and how this was managed;
  • The decision making by children’s services regarding the placement with her father and stepmother in 2019;
  • Following the placement with her father and stepmother in 2019, what was the plan for monitoring and protection from known risks and when and why did this stop;
  • The responses to subsequent concerns raised, including:
    • Reports of injuries seen by school – could and should the school and children’s services have done more;
    • Concerns about the stepmother’s behaviour towards other children – could and should more have been done;
  • What investigations could and should have been taken and what they would have shown;
  • The responses to the two applications for home schooling of Sara in 2022 and 2023 - in context of statutory framework and relevant policies;
  • What in fact occurred and what happened to her in final year and months; and
  • The medical cause of death.  

The decisions by the family court judges will not be within scope or subject to challenge. The scope will include whether concerns about being accused or racism played a part in decisions.    

The Senior Coroner has provisionally indicated that Article 2 ECHR is engaged on the basis that there was an arguable breach of the operational duty i.e., a failure to take reasonable steps in response to the real and immediate risk to Sara’s life posed by her father and stepmother. 

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review was published in November 2025, and attracted significant media attention. 

The inquest has been reported here:

Matthew is instructed by Juliet Spender of Irwin Mitchell. Matthew is an expert wrongful death cases with an exceptional track record of holding public authorities to account for their failures.