TRAGIC Sara Sharif was this year revealed as the latest in a long line of children to be failed by the authorities before they were killed.
The ten-year-old was hooded, burned and bitten in a two-year torture campaign carried out by dad Urfan Sharif and stepmum Beinash Batool.
PAThere were 15 missed opportunities to save Sara Sharif before she was murdered[/caption]
Sara’s horrific abuse was revealed at the Old Bailey this year as it emerged there were 15 missed chances to save her before she met her grisly end.
Questions are now mounting over how the youngster’s dad was able to carry out such gruesome acts of violence despite involvement by social workers and the family courts.
But tragically, Sara’s case is not a unique one – with countless other children also let down by the very system that was put in place to protect them.
Here are the faces of just some of the children failed by the authorities when they most needed them.
Sara Sharif
Sara’s nightmare began in 2019 when dad Urfan Sharif was handed custody of the schoolgirl – despite abuse allegations being made against him.
Up until that point, she had been living with her mum Olga Domin and was under a child protection plan.
The plan had been in place since Sara was born after Sharif was accused of attacking three women – including Olga.
Once she was in the care of her evil dad, Sara “suffered dreadfully ” in a savage abuse campaign.
She was bound and had her head covered with a hood as agonising punishments were dished out by Sharif.
Sara was also burned with an iron and bitten during the two-year abuse campaign.
Between June 6, 2022, and March 10, 2023, the court heard teachers noted Sara had bruising under her eye on two separate occasions.
The school notified the authorities and a social services referral was made – but officials decided not to intervene just six days later.
On April 17, 2023, Sharif removed Sara from school confirming his daughter would be homeschooled with immediate effect.
The decision proved fatal for defenceless Sara as Sharif was free to ramp up his sadistic abuse away from preying eyes.
This violence reached a fatal head on August 8 when Sara was battered to death with a cricket bat.
Even as she lay dying in Batool’s lap, Sharif had whacked her in the stomach twice for “pretending”.
The following day, Sharif, Batool and Malik fled to Pakistan – leaving the youngster dead in a bunk-bed.
PASara suffered horror abuse while living with her dad[/caption]
APUrfan Sharif beat the girl to death with a cricket bat[/caption]
APBeinash Batool was jailed for murder[/caption]
Sharif then called police to say he had beaten Sara “too much” as a punishment for being naughty.
During the trial, it emerged there were many missed opportunities to save Sara during her tragic life.
Concerns were raised about her care within a week of her birth in 2013, with her parents known to social services as early as 2010.
Surrey County Council also raised “significant concerns” that Sara was likely to suffer physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her parents.
This came amid allegations that Sharif was physically abusing her and her siblings.
Despite three sets of family court proceedings, the allegations were never tested, with Sara repeatedly returning to her parents’ care before finally being placed with her killer dad and stepmum.
An independently-led safeguarding review of all professionals who had contact with the family is now underway.
Bronson Battersby
The two-year-old was found found curled up at the legs of his father by social services this year – a fortnight after he and his dad were last seen.
Bronson had been classified as vulnerable by social services, which meant he received weekly visits.
Bronson Battersby starved to death after his dad suffered a fatal heart attack
On January 2, a social worker visited his home in Skegness, Lincolnshire, but nobody answered the door so they alerted the police.
They tried again two days later but contacted officers for a second time after getting no answer.
Eventually – after five more days – the social worker got a key from Kenneth’s landlord and made the horrific discovery.
Bronson’s mum Sarah Piesse claimed her son would still be alive “if social services had done their job”.
She added: “We have to be able to rely on social workers to keep our children safe.”
The pair were last seen alive on Boxing Day last year before Kenneth died of a heart attack soon after.
This means Bronson was left in the dark with no food or water and unable to get help.
A pre-inquest hearing this year was told Bronson had been sent to live with his dad Kenneth after his parents split in the summer of 2022.
Police said the pair were discovered after a “concerned” neighbour reported a smell coming from the flat.
Officers discovered Kenneth’s body behind the living room door, while Bronson was found between his dad’s legs.
A cause of death for the toddler was given as dehydration, while Kenneth suffered a “sudden cardiac event” because of underlying heart disease.
A full inquest will be carried out in the autumn of 2025.
Isabella Wheildon
The two-year-old suffered a “regime of escalating brutality” at the hands of her stepdad Scott Jeff.
Isabella’s mum Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell simply “stood back, watched and did nothing” as her lover carried out the “callous, cruel and ultimately fatal” attacks.
Isabella Wheildon was subjected to a campaign of abuse
East Anglia News ServiceHer mum Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell was convicted over her death[/caption]
Even after her death, the toddler’s dignity was stripped away as twisted Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell carried on pushing her body around in a pushchair.
She was finally discovered on June 30 under blankets in a shower at the couple’s home in Ipswich.
At their trial this year, jurors heard Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff lived together in hotels in Great Yarmouth, a caravan park and “camping in a very small tent on Caister beach” in Norfolk before they ended up in Ipswich.
The mum told Great Yarmouth Borough Council she and her daughter were “homeless” and escaping domestic abuse from her ex.
She also falsely claimed Jeff was Isabella’s biological dad and refused a home by Bedfordshire Council for her and the youngster as she wanted to stay with her partner.
A safeguarding review has now been launched into Isabella’s death to see if anything could have been done differently.
Dwelaniyah Robinson
Dwelaniyah Robinson died in agony weighing just over 2st after suffering horror abuse by his mum Christina Robinson.
The toddler had more than 70 injuries on his legs, buttocks and genitals – including infected burns.
PADwelaniyah Robinson suffered excruciating injuries[/caption]
He would have been “significantly debilitated” by the wounds, which were described as “excruciatingly painful”.
Newcastle Crown Court heard this year that the evil mum dished out gruesome punishments because the “Bible tells her that she should chastise her child”.
Robinson, who wanted more than ten children, accepted using the cane on her son – describing it as a form of “correction” when he messed around with his food.
But the mum, who follows the Black Hebrew Israelites religion, said she had been “misguided”, having heard a religious lesson online.
She deliberately burned Dwelaniyah by immersing him in hot water and used a cane and spoons to hit him.
A Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review heard Dwelaniyah was “for part of his life invisible to services”.
His dad had raised concerns with police but those were not passed on to social services.
He also told police in Stockton-on-Tees that he had been assaulted by his wife but did not make a formal complaint.
The report said that “there is no information to suggest a referral was made to children’s services” but that “a proactive referral … would have been helpful here”.
Finley Boden
A damning report this year found Finley was let down by the “inadequate” local authority over his murder.
PAFinley Boden had been placed back in his parent’s care before they killed him[/caption]
Finley should have been “one of the most protected” children in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the review said.
But instead the ten-month-old was murdered by Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden, 22, on Christmas Day, 2020.
Tragically, the youngster had been returned to Boden and Marsden’s care just 39 days before he was killed.
The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership found that there were “significant shortcomings” in the assessment and planning of Finley’s return to the family home.
Officials also found that while Finley’s parents were responsible for his death, “professional interventions should have protected him”.
Although most of the abuse he suffered leading up to his death was unknown to professionals working with the family, safeguarding practice was still “inadequate”.
The last time officials had actually seen Finley alive was a month before his death but even then, they viewed him through a window as Marsden and Boden did not answer.
This came after a social worker noticed a bump on the baby’s head, which his parents blamed on an accident with toy.
The report pointed out it was “not clear” to what extent this excuse was probed by the employee.
A health visitor who went to the family home the following day was given the same excuse for the bump but did not raise it further.
Shockingly, a visit had been planned for December 24 – the day before he died – but this never took place.
During their murder trial, jurors heard Finley had been placed into care shortly after he was born.
Marsden and Boden had cleaned their home and claimed to be off drugs in a bid to dupe the authorities into giving their son back.
But after being returned to his parents during lockdown in 2020, he was subjected to “repeated acts of severe violence”.
PALittle Finley was forced to live in squalor[/caption]
The baby was also forced to live in squalor at the family home and slept on a vomit and faeces-stained cot mattress cover.
Whenever officials went to their home, the pair claimed Finley had Covid to stop them from coming inside the property and witnessing evidence of the abuse inflicted on the little boy.
On Christmas Day 2020, paramedics scrambled to the home found Marsden “upset and screaming” as Boden attempted to resuscitate their stricken son.
Finley was rushed to hospital but tragically he couldn’t be saved and was declared dead shortly after.
But callous Marsden and Boden showed no remorse over their son’s death and even spoke about Christmas dinner in the police car and plans to sell Finley’s pram.
The following day, they were heard “laughing and joking” at a relative’s house.
Finley had suffered an “appalling” catalogue of injuries including 71 bruises and two burn marks.
He also had 57 fractures to bones in his tiny body that had been inflicted in the short period before he collapsed at home.
His pelvis had been broken in two places – possibly after he was kicked or stamped on – and the inside of his mouth was torn, meaning he was unable to eat.
He later developed pneumonia and sepsis as his drug-user parents worked together to hide his injuries from social services.
Abiyah Yasharahyalah
Evil Tai Yasharahyalah, 42, and wife Naiyahmi, 43, left their four-year-old son Abiyah “severely malnourished” before his tragic death.
A trial this year heard tragic Abiyah had suffered from rickets, anaemia, stunted growth, bone malformation and deformity in his short life.
PAAbiyah Yasharahyalah was embalmed by his parents[/caption]
PAHis parents had pinned this sign to their front door[/caption]
His parents kept him in their bed for eight days after his death as part of a warped “ritual”.
Abiyah was then buried in an 80cm grave-deep at the rear of their then-home.
His skeletal remains were eventually found in Handsworth, Birmingham, in December 2022.
The parents, who were themselves described as weak and thin due to a strict vegan diet, fell into a “spiral of conspiracy” in which they believed their son would be reincarnated.
When Abiyah’s body was exhumed two years later, police discovered his birth and death had not been registered.
Even when they were later evicted from the property, his parents left their son’s remains in the garden.
Questions have now been raised over how the couple were able to shun society for their own bizarre beliefs away from the authorities.
They lived off grid and created their own bespoke belief system based on a mixture of elements that drew from New Age mysticism and West African religion.
Both Abiyah’s birth and death went undetected – with even a chilling sign on the couple’s front door ignored by police and the council.
It read: “No trespassing, access denied to all governmental and none-governmental bodies until further notice.
“Do not ring the bell and/ or make any contact with any member of this house. Any checks/ repairs are terminated without prejudice. We will alert any bodies concerned if at risk and/ or in emergency.”
Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership (BSCP) has now started a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review.
PANaiyahmi Yasharahyalah was jailed for causing or allowing the death of her son[/caption]
PAAbiyah was buried in the couple’s back garden[/caption]
PATai Yasharahyalah had left the four-year-old severely malnourished[/caption]