Two prisoners tried to decapitate the dad of tragic Sara Sharif in jail

Two prisoners tried to decapitate the dad of tragic Sara Sharif in jail The father of schoolgirl Sara Sharif was allegedly attacked by two fellow inmates at HMP Belmarsh while serving life for the 10-year-old's murder - they are now facing on trial Two prisoners tried to murder the dad of tragic schoolgirl Sara Sharif by decapitating him with the jagged edge of a tin can lid, a court heard. Steven Sansom, 47, and Adam Watson, 39, are accused of ambushing Urfan Sharif inside a cell at HMP Belmarsh on New Year's Day last year, before allegedly slashing him to his neck while attempting "to slice his head off". Westminster Magistrates Court today heard how they lured Sharif, 44, who is serving a life sentence for killing his 10-year-old daughter Sara, to a cell under "the pretext of friendship" before attempting to kill him. Prosecutor Jack Wadsworth told the court Sansom made admissions immediately after the alleged incident, including telling prison guards: "I pulled him in here and then I tried to kill him." Asked why, Sansom allegedly said: "Because he killed his daughter... I wanted to cut his head off." Mr Wadsworth said: "This was a planned and co-ordinated prison cell attack. On that day, using the pretext of friendship after a period of signalling, Sansom lured Sharif to cell 16. Watson was already inside the cell when Sharif entered. "Watson immediately took hold of him and punched him repeatedly. Sanson then attacked Sharif from behind and mounted him on the floor and applied sustained pressure to his throat. Watson positioned himself at the cell door and stood against it to prevent entry. "Sharif states Watson passed an unidentified weapon to Sansom, understood to be a tin lid. Sansom made repeated cutting motions towards Sharif's throat. Sansom also tried to stuff an item into Sharif's mouth." Mr Wadsworth added: "The intention of Watson and Sansom was to kill Urfan Sharif and this was only prevented by the prison officers intervening and Urfan Sharif's resistance." The court heard Sharif suffered injuries to his neck, forearm and left middle finger before being found bloodied and distressed on the floor, with Sansom over him." Mr Wadsworth said Sansom made "significant admissions" to guards immediately after the attack, including that he wanted to cut Sharif's head off. But he said he later refused to be interviewed about the attack. Watson gave a no comment interview. The pair, who both today appeared via videolink from HMP Wakefield, were remanded in custody and told they will appear at the Old Bailey for a plea hearing on September 23. Sansom is facing three separate charges, including attempted murder, unauthorised possession in prison of a knife or offensive weapon and grievous bodily harm with intent. Watson also faces a charge of attempted murder. The court heard Sansom is already serving a whole-life term for murder. He killed Sarah Mayhew, 38, in 2024 and disposed of her remains in locations around London while he was out on licence after murdering a taxi driver in 1998. Watson is also in jail serving 21 years in 2024 for murdering mum-of-two Samantha Holden, 56, at her home in Farnborough, Hampshire. Sharif, who reportedly suffered cuts during the attack before receiving medical treatment at the Category-A prison in South East London, was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for Sara's murder in December 2024, just days before the alleged jail attack. He killed his daughter at their family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023. His wife Beinash Batool, 30, also received a minimum of 33 years, while Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with the couple, was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for causing or allowing her death. The trio fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five siblings, the day before her body was found, prompting an international manhunt. They were on the run there for four weeks before returning to the UK, where they were arrested onboard the plane they flew on. During a ten-week trial at the Old Bailey, a jury heard how Sara died after being subjected to a two-year “campaign of abuse”, which a judge said "can only be described as torture". Sara suffered 71 injuries, including 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, scalding marks to her feet and human bite marks and such was the severity of her injuries a postmortem concluded she died from complications from multiple injuries and neglect and could not give a definitive cause of death. After Sara died at the family home on August 8, 2023, her stepmother Beinash Batool called a travel agency to ask about flights to Pakistan. Sharif then booked one-way flights for the next day, falsely claiming it was urgent as a cousin had died. Sharif, who worked a taxi driver, later called UK police from Pakistan on August 10, alleging he had “legally punished”. He admitted he had beaten her, but claimed he had not intended to kill her. Officers attended the family home before finding Sara’s body in her bunk bed with a note written by Sharif, which included him claiming he had “lost it”. During his trial Sharif admitted he had throttled Sara and hit her with a cricket bat and metal pole, sometimes tying her hands and legs together with parcel tape. During his sentencing, Justice Cavanagh told the court "the degree of cruelty" was "almost inconceivable".