August 2002:

Shafilea passes 10 GCSEs at good grades at Great Sankey High School. She was known as a popular pupil and was committed to her education.

 

January 2003:


Shafilea goes missing from home for 12 days.
She has been missing before but this was the longest she had disappeared.

 

February 2003:


The family flies to Pakistan. Shafilea stays until May during which time she drinks bleach in protest about a possible arranged marriage.

 

May 2003:


Shafilea is admitted into hospital due to the caustic nature of the bleach. She remains in hospital for eight weeks.

 

September 2003:


Shafilea is reported missing to police by a teacher. Iftikhar and Farzana smother their daughter  with a carrier bag and dump her body in the Lake District.

 

November 2003:


Police search the family home in Great Sankey and wasteland near Sankey Bridges tip. They also fly out to Pakistan.

 

December 2003:
Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati joins the appeal by reading letters Shafilea wrote when she was running away from home. Parents arrested on suspicion of kidnap.

 

February 2004:
Police find a body in Cumbria and confirm it is that of the missing teen. The body is found in the River Kent and police discover the corpse had been there for months.

 

March 2004:


Parents appear on BBC Newsnight to deny involvement in the murder of Shafilea. Iftikhar said: “I’m not a strict parent in any way, but the police portrayal of me is different.”

 

April 2004:


Around 150 mourners gather for Shafilea’s funeral.

 

July 2004:

Police drop kidnap claims and parents are released on bail. Solicitor Milton Firman says a ‘cloud’ has been hanging over their lives.

 

September 2004:


Five members of the extended Ahmed family from Bradford are arrested on suspicion of interferring with the investigation. Three more are later arrested.

 

February 2006:


All eight family members are released without charges.

 

January 2008:


An inquest into Shafilea’s death is held in Cumbria.
A pathologist reports she most likely died as a result of smothering and that she had also been strangled.

 

January 2008:


Coroner Ian Smith concludes Shafilea was the victim of a ‘very vile murder’. He said: “I sincerely hope that further inquiries will be carried out by the police and that they will find out who did it. This young woman has not had justice.”

 

June 2009:


Iftikhar’s appeal fails at London’s High Court.
A High Court judge says there was ‘no bias’ and the verdict was correct.

 

July 2009:


Iftikhar appears at Warrington Magistrates’ Court to appeal a decision to revoke his taxi licence for flouting the rules and leaving a young woman stranded at night.

 

August 2010:


Robbery reported at the family home on Liverpool Road. Farzana and the siblings of Shafilea are tied up and threatened. Sister Alesha is arrested for being involved.

 

September 2010:
Parents then arrested for murder and bailed by police.

 

April 2011:


Alesha admits robbery in a court appearance. Her sentence is delayed.

 

September 2011:


Parents are charged with murder. They are remanded in custody and appear at Halton Magistrates’ Court. The nation’s media awaits a trial date.

 

May 21 2012:


Parents go on trial at Chester.
The court is told the case will last 11 weeks. The pair deny murder but in a trial of drama, Farzana claims it was Iftikhar who killed Shafilea.

 

August 3 2012:


A jury of seven men and five women find both defendants guilty with a unanimous verdict.
Both are handed life sentences and will serve at least 25 years.