Timeline: the key events that brought about justice
4 October 2002
Teacher Joanne Code refers case of Shafilea Ahmed to social services after Shafilea attended school with injuries to her face.
9 October 2002
Shafilea tells friends her parents have been hitting her because they think she has been sleeping with boys.
11 October 2002
The teenager tells a social worker she is to be married in Pakistan in February 2003.
20 November 2002
Shafilea tells a school friend she is running away because her parents "will not let her be".
January 2003
Shafilea runs away to Blackburn with a male friend, Mushtaq Bagas. She tells him about the domestic violence she is suffering at the hands of her parents and the fact they are forcing her into a marriage in Pakistan with a cousin against her will.
February 2003
Shafilea runs away again and tells housing officers: "My parents are going to send me to Pakistan and I'll be married to someone and left there."
10 February 2003
Iftikhar Ahmed snatches Shafilea as she is walking to college, bundles her in the car and takes her back home.
19 February 2003
Ms Code reports Shafilea missing again but Farzana Ahmed tells police the teenager has gone to Pakistan.
May 2003
In Pakistan, Shafilea refuses to go ahead with any arranged marriage and drinks bleach in protest. She is brought back to the UK where she spends eight weeks in hospital.
11 September 2003
Shafilea is murdered in the family home by her mother and father after another row about her western clothing. She was not reported missing for a week.
December 2003
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed are arrested on suspicion of kidnapping the youngster.
February 2004
Shafilea's body is found in the River Kent near Sedgwick, Cumbria. Two post-mortem examinations were unable to establish a cause of death.
April 2004
Shafilea's parents lead 150 mourners at her funeral at Warrington Islamic Community Centre. Their solicitor claims police officers "jumped to conclusions" when they arrested the couple.
June 2004
The parents are released without charge after the Crown Prosecution Service rules there was insufficient evidence against them.
January 2005
Shafilea's parents accuse Cheshire Police of making "no progress" in the hunt for her killer and say they will sue.
January 2008
Pathologist Dr Alison Armour told the inquest into her death it was "not credible" that she died of natural causes. Although a cause of death could not be established for certain, Dr Armour said the teenager was "probably" smothered or strangled. Coroner Ian Smith rules she had been unlawfully killed.
August 2010
Shafilea's youngster sister, Alesha, is arrested on suspicion of armed robbery at the family home. She tells police that she witnessed the murder.
September 2010
Parents Iftikhar and Farzana are re-arrested by Cheshire Police, this time on suspicion of Shafilea's murder, and released on bail.
April 2011
Alesha pleads guilty to robbery.
September 2011
Police charge Iftikhar and Farzana with Shafilea's murder.
December 2011
Iftikhar and Farzana enter not guilty pleas to murder at Manchester Crown Court.
May 2012
The trial begins at Chester Crown Court.
3 August 2012
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed are found guilty of murdering their daughter Shafilea.
Bravery of Shafilea Ahmed's younger sister praised
