The mother of a young girl found dead at her family home in Woking has told how her behaviour “changed” after she moved in with her father.
Police discovered the body of Sara Sharif, 10, at a home owned by her father in Horsell last week while responding to a welfare call.
Surrey investigators have launched inquiries into the incident, with pathologists yet to present the results of a post-mortem carried out on Tuesday, August 15.
She is yet to be officially named, but her mother, Olga Sharif, 36, revealed her identity earlier this week in an interview with The Sun and spoke of her “beautiful” and much-loved little girl.
Mrs Sharif also said her daughter noticeably changed after moving in with her ex-husband Urfan Sharif, 41, who was given sole custody of the youngster and her 13-year-old brother in 2019.
The mum said Sara had started following Mr Sharif’s Muslim religious practices not long after her arrival.
She claimed the children would only eat “certain things”, with the household limited to halal foods as the dad said he would raise the children following Islam.
But Polish-born Mrs Sharif, a Catholic, disagreed, saying she wanted the children to learn both religions.
She said: “Urfan said to me that the kids will be Muslim, but I said no, they will learn both religions, not only yours because they are living 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.”
Mrs Sharif had earlier told how she barely saw her children after they moved into her ex-partner’s £550,000 home and claimed she had not seen Sara for four years.
She plans to bury her in Poland once authorities have completed their post-mortem examinations.
While they await the results, police have mounted a search for three people wanted for questioning in connection with the incident they believe have fled the country.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Surrey Police revealed that detectives have confirmed no one else was present at the address when they found Sara’s body while attending a welfare call.
They added that the three people were “known to the victim” and fled the country on Wednesday, August 9, and that officers are yet to make any arrests.
