I discovered remains of Shafilea Ahmed who was suffocated by monster parents – I’ll never forget their chilling reaction
I discovered remains of Shafilea Ahmed who was suffocated by monster parents – I’ll never forget their chilling reaction
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BRIGHT, popular and harbouring big dreams for her future, Shafilea Ahmed was desperate for a life like any other teenage girl. Instead, she was cruelly betrayed by her monstrous parents, who murdered their 17-year-old daughter in a merciless 'honour killing' after she was driven to a suicide attempt over an arranged marriage.
![[Photo of Shafilea Ahmed, a missing teenager.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/best-quality-available-undated-police-963921490.jpg?strip=all&w=342)
Now, the heartbreaking story of the eight-year quest to bring the killer pair to justice will air in a new ITV documentary A Murder Without Honour. Superintendent Gairant Jones, senior investigating officer for Cheshire police, had been searching for the teenager for five months before a body was discovered in undergrowth near the River Kent in Cumbria.
![[Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed arriving at Chester Crown Court, charged with the murder of their daughter.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iftikhar-farzana-ahmed-arrive-chester-4979029.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Shafilea, a budding lawyer from Warrington, had not been seen since September 11, although it was her teachers who reported her missing a week later. Her body was discovered on Feb 18, 2004, hidden by thick undergrowth which had grown over her remains. Police believed she was killed somewhere else.
![[Press conference following guilty verdicts in a murder trial.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2010-press-conference-following-todays-967318192.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
After the decomposed, dismembered remains were identified by dental records and later DNA, the investigations into what happened revealed a life of torment, abuse and control at the hands of the very people who were meant to protect her – her parents.
![[Photo of Shafilea Ahmed.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/cheshire-police-pa-wire-note-5120027.jpg?strip=all&w=506)
The investigating officer visited Farzana and Iftikhar Ahmed to break the news and was shocked at their reaction. Spt Jones said: “They were almost dismissive. I told them DNA results would confirm the identity but that dental records matched, and they told me to come back when I was 100 per cent sure.
![[Mugshot of Iftikhar Ahmed, found guilty of murdering his daughter.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/3d179dff-42cf-4b6f-b07d-f6aade343c03.jpg?strip=all&w=376)
