Shafilea Ahmed: Parents of Suspected ‘Honor Killing’ Victim Charged With Murder

The parents of Shafilea Ahmed, the British-Pakistani girl who is believed to have been the victim of an honor killing, has been charged with murder in connection with the girl’s death.

Shafilea, 17, was last seen alive in the town of Warrington, Cheshire in September 2003. Her decomposed remains were later found on the banks of the River Kent near Sedgwick, Cumbria in February 2004.

Her parents, Iftikhar 51, and Farzana 48, of Great Sankey, Warrington, have always claimed they had nothing to do with their daughter's death. Under custody, they will appear before Manchester Crown Court on Friday.

Warrington is between Liverpool and Manchester.

In December 2003, the parents had been arrested on charges they kidnapped Shafilea, but due to insufficient evidence they were released in June 2004.

Last year, they were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the girl’s murder, but released on bail.

However, on Wednesday the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorized Cheshire Police to again charge the parents with murder.

Due to the corpse’s decomposition, two prior autopsies failed to determine how Shafilea died, but pathologists believed she was probably strangled or suffocated. He body was also reportedly dismembered.

During a trip to Pakistan in 2003, Shafilea drank bleach, reportedly in a suicide attempt, distressed by her parents’ attempts to force her into an arranged marriage.