THE parents of a suspected honour killing victim have denied murdering their daughter.
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, aged 52 and 49, and of Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, Warrington, appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday. They were both charged with the murder of their daughter, 17-year-old Shafilea, in September this year, after a seven-year police investigation.
The teenager disappeared from her family home in September, 2003. Her decomposed remains were found by the side of the River Kent, in Cumbria, five months later.
Mr and Mrs Ahmed are alleged to have killed their daughter on September 11, 2003. At a previous hearing, High Court judge Mr Justice Henriques ruled it could be reported that the couple were charged after “a family member” accused them of murder.
Mr and Mrs Ahmed sat with an interpreter throughout the hour-long hearing in Manchester. A provisional trial date of May 8 at Chester Crown Court was set. Mr and Mrs Ahmed were granted bail with a number of conditions.
At the inquest into Shafilea’s death, a pathologist said it was most likely that she had been strangled or suffocated. South Cumbria Coroner Ian Smith later recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.
