I can’t believe my beautiful Sara is dead… she was an amazing child, says heartbroken mum of girl, 10, murdered at home
THE heartbroken mother of a 10-year-old girl murdered in her home last night sobbed: ‘She was so beautiful. “I can’t believe she’s dead.”
Mourning Olga Sharif wiped away tears as she remembered her “happy and always laughing” Sara.
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Olga, 36, announced that ex-husband Urfan Sharif, 41, was awarded sole custody of little Sara by a court.
The crying mother, unable to sleep after the death of her only daughter, shared pictures of Sara beaming at the camera.
She paid tribute to her daughter, who was found dead in her ex-husband Urfan’s £550,000 triple home near Woking, Surrey, last Thursday.
Polish-born Olga, 36, who now lives in Yeovil, Somerset, cried: “My life will never be the same again. Sara should be with me now. she was too young
“Sara was a great kid.
“She had a lot of friends at school and got along with everyone. Whenever I picked her up, I would hear children shouting “Bye Sara”.
“Sara was invited to every class birthday party and sleepover, she was so outgoing and much more sociable than me.”
The ‘sassy’ girl – a Disney Frozen superfan – bonded with her mother through a shared love of crafts and trips to Marwell Zoo with friends.
Her mother told The Sun: “Sara was so beautiful. She was artistic, she loved building and making things. We went to Hobbycraft and bought whatever supplies she needed.”
The couple spent afternoons knitting sweaters and learning to crochet in order to raise enough money to buy yarn and other materials despite financial constraints.
Olga said: “Sara always stayed close to me. She is the only daughter I have and I always wanted a daughter.
“She went on my phone and took photos and videos with Snapchat filters.
“When she returned it I had 100 new pictures and my phone storage was full.
“I would tell her not to take too much, but she said, ‘Mom, look how I look.'”
“I taught her how to ride a bike and she was always annoyed that her brother could ride faster than her.”
Olga also revealed that her daughter decided to enter the world of modeling – and dreamed of moving to Los Angeles.
She added, “She walked in and said, ‘Mom, look how pretty I look.'” It was always modeling.
“She was so pretty that I never had to ask her to pose for a picture because every time she looked into the camera she was already smiling and beautiful.
“She told me, ‘I want to be like mommy’.”
“She was like a younger version of me – but a lot prettier than her mother.”
Olga added, “There’s nothing I can do to bring her back to life, so now all I have to do is remember the good times with her.” Life is really tough. It’s just not fair.”
Three people the police want to speak to fled the country last Wednesday, hours before Sara’s body was discovered at the family home.
Police announced yesterday that no other people were present at the property when Sara’s body was found following a call raising concerns about her wellbeing.
They added that they all know three people they are seeking for questioning about Sara’s murder.
Olga said she married taxi driver Urfan in November 2009 at a Surrey registry office before the marriage ended in 2017.
Urfan, 41, finally got sole custody of Sara and her 13-year-old brother in 2019.
“Sara was a great kid”
Aside from the occasional phone call, she has only been allowed to see her children twice in the four years since she lost custody, Olga said.
She continued to be regularly sent photos of her children until 2021, when she said an argument between her and Urfan’s new partner Beenish caused her to be completely cut off.
Olga spoke of her anger at the court’s decision to strip her of all custody rights in 2019 and give them to Urfan instead.
She said, “I have always given them the choice of which religion they wanted to follow.”
However, she said her demeanor began to change after Urfan’s influence on her life increased.
Olga, who is of Catholic background, said: “They wouldn’t eat certain things because they aren’t halal.
“Urfan said to me that the children would be Muslims but I said no they would learn both religions not just yours because they live in my house.
“I didn’t want to push the kids. I told them if they want to be Muslim, they can be Muslim, but they can choose later in life.”
Olga, who is scheduled to see her daughter’s body today after an autopsy, has yet to tell how the murder happened.
She plans to take Sara’s body to Poland for burial after the authorities complete their investigations.
Olga – who had planned to return to her home country – told how a devastating police call informed her of the tragedy.
She said: “I was on my way to Poland when they called and said, ‘You have to come to England and come to the police station in Dover’.”
“He told me on the phone they couldn’t say why but when I called again they told me to stop so we did.
“Then she told me that Sara was found dead in a house and I just burst into tears. It took us six hours to get back to the UK.”
She added: “I haven’t been able to see my daughter for four years and now she’s dead. She’s just a kid. She had done nothing wrong.”
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