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00:00in February 2004 human remains have been found at the side of the River Kent in Sedgwick in the
00:13Lake District the remains themselves were actually found just meters from the road in
00:23the undergrowth here a really remote and quite lonely spot really there'd been a lot of rain the
00:34river had overflowed and when those water levels dropped that's when these remains were discovered
00:41no idea how this person had died or any more details but I knew in my gut who it was
01:11six years would pass before reports of an armed robbery in suburbia led detective chief inspector
01:27Geraint Jones to discover what had happened to the remains found in the Cumbrian countryside I
01:33always had a close eye on this case obviously it had been with me for a long time I was in holiday
01:40in France and I got a phone call from a colleague to say she's talking and I knew straightaway what
01:48he meant the family kept gold in the house instead of using a bank account so the family report to the
01:59police basically that someone's broken in the house threatened them with weapons and took their gold but
02:05when a family member was arrested and interviewed for carrying out the robbery a much darker story
02:11began to unfold about what had happened behind closed doors at the house in Great Sankey Warrington
02:18events that took DCI Jones and his team back to 2003 when local girl 17-year-old Shafilia Ahmed was reported missing
02:31Shafilia was 17 year old girl from Warrington she went to school at Great Sankey High School then into the sixth form she went missing
02:50we got the press release from Cheshire police to say Shafilia had gone missing that was it it was a
03:02missing person's appeal but I knew as soon as it came in I don't know why but you sometimes you get a
03:10sense as a journalist something is going to be a bit different and Shafilia came in I looked at the
03:15picture and that I said to the news team this is going to develop into something
03:25Warrington is just a normal northern town you know nothing outstanding nothing really remarkable about it
03:35in between Liverpool and Manchester just like any northern town when something big happens in
03:46Warrington everybody talks about it and everybody knows what is going on but who was the girl everybody
03:56was talking about who was Shafilia Ahmed Shafilia lived at home with the mum and dad she had three sisters and a
04:05brother all of whom were younger than her she was at college she had a dream of becoming a lawyer from what her
04:15friends said about her she was bubbly really intelligent really ambitious and you know really really wanted to
04:25make something of a life Shafilia was someone who really loved her younger siblings they would have
04:35dancing contests or singing contests she's someone that really I think loved life as happy as Shafilia
04:46seemed to the outside world at home where the traditional values of her parents Farzana and Iftika were taken to the
04:53extreme things were very different from what we know about Shafilia now her home life with her parents was absolutely horrendous
05:03she's made a lot of friends at school and at college wanting to spend time with them but her mum and dad didn't want
05:10her to do that their culture was completely different I'm Nina Olk I'm an activist I speak out against
05:19honor-based violence I survived on myself at the hands of my family and now I train the police Shafilia and I both shared a
05:29similar upbringing in the sense of girls are not wanted in our culture there's a lot of violence there's a
05:35lot of control from my own experience living in a culture where honor-based abuse is rife when you go home from
05:43school your heart sinks you don't want to be there it definitely wasn't a home where she would have felt
05:49safe she was abused quite badly physically but also emotionally she would be beaten a lot of the things
06:01that I think triggered the violence at home was what we would consider normal she wants to dress in a
06:09certain way or she wants to have contact with boys but her parents found this very very difficult the
06:18result of that would be that Shafilia was very heavily controlled it was later revealed that Shafilia had
06:27tried to break free from the abuse by running away from home but her attempt at freedom was short-lived she
06:33was found brought back against her will drugged and then forced onto a flight to Pakistan
06:40as the investigation progressed we were told that Shafilia had actually been taken to Pakistan for a
06:48forced marriage while she was there she had drunk bleach to avoid this arranged marriage because her mum had
06:57told her she was going to stay in Pakistan you can't imagine how desperate you would be to have to drink
07:06bleach she was trying to end her life her dad explains that away by saying Shafilia had mistakenly drunk
07:17bleach instead of mouthwash it was totally accidental and that's what she told the doctors here in the
07:24hospital when she came back as well forgive me but how do you drink a bottle of bleach accidentally it wasn't
07:30actually a bottle of bleach that she drank it was just a sip that she mistakenly taken it as a mouthwash
07:37so she was incredibly poorly with that she was in hospital in Pakistan for a while then got so ill she was brought
07:44back to Warrington straight to hospital after months recovering from the severe damage to her throat Shafilia
07:53eventually returned to college but on the 18th of September 2003 police received a phone call
08:02it came about that a teacher at school heard rumors that Shafilia wasn't around anymore that teacher was aware
08:14of some of the issues that were going on in the house so she alerted the police
08:21when the police went to the house to carry out a missing person investigation they initially talked to
08:31Farzana who said she couldn't speak English and for them to wait for her husband Iftika to come home
08:39when the police went to the house Iftika told the officers that Shafili had run away similarly to
08:46how she had run away a couple of years before in that she'd gone in the night and put the keys through
08:51the letterbox and they hadn't seen her since
08:582003 and police were still searching for schoolgirl Shafilia Ahmed Shafilia Ahmed disappeared 11 weeks ago
09:10it's thought she fled her family because they were arranging a marriage for her
09:17she's in need of regular medical treatment after swallowing a caustic substance
09:25my suspicions grew very quickly that Shafili's disappearance was not right
09:32the emerging picture of a girl that had been kept prisoner in the house been subject to domestic abuse
09:42and talk of being forced into marriage in Pakistan so there was little bits culminating in a big picture
09:50that these parents were abusing Shafili and were somehow involved in a disappearance
10:01the police were contacted that a pharmacy in Edinburgh had some footage of a girl that they said looked like Shafili
10:07so that video was collected and shown to Iftika and Farzana
10:13they indicated that it's Shafili and basically said well that's it then is that okay she seems okay
10:26unusual so we showed the video to the school teacher as well
10:32she said that didn't look like Shafili
10:36it transpires when we did some more inquiries that that girl was not Shafili
10:41it was a Turkish girl who was bigger than Shafili as well
10:45and what really when you look at images of Shafili you'd be quite clear that it's not her
10:50so again it rose more suspicion on the family that why would they say it was her when they know her better than anyone else
10:57As the search for Shafili continued local journalist Claire Hanna realised that this was no ordinary missing persons investigation
11:10As time went on it grew bigger
11:15because I think the police had an inkling straight away that something wasn't right
11:21because her parents it wasn't them that had initially reported her missing
11:25it was a college that had flagged it up
11:28and then as the police looked more into it it became a bigger story
11:31there was an actress called Shabna Gulati
11:34she read some of Shafili's poems out
11:37I don't pretend like we're the perfect family no more
11:40desire to live is burning
11:42my stomach is turning
11:44but they all think it's about honour
11:47we just knew that something was different
11:54As suspicion grew about Iftaka and Farzana Ahmed's involvement in their daughter's disappearance
12:01Geraint Jones turned to forensics for answers
12:06When conducting these type of investigations of serious crime
12:10there's extensive searching and forensic work
12:13so in Shafili's house there was a thorough examination
12:18looking for any evidence of a crime, blood
12:27a lot of work on mobile telephones
12:29now this was back in 2003
12:31so the evidence available from mobile telephones
12:34was a bit more challenging to obtain than it is today
12:38during this investigation we carried out what we call intrusive surveillance
12:43into the house at Great Sankey
12:47to see if we could obtain evidence and intelligence
12:51as to what's happened to Shafili or where she might be
12:57what we found was that the language they spoke Punjabi
13:00was a challenging language for us to find an accredited interpreter
13:04what was emerging as the tapes were transcribed
13:16was that there was clear indication that these two were involved
13:25there was a lot of arguing and pointing of fingers
13:27but mainly they were talking about how to get off it
13:29and what the police would be doing
13:31rather than the act itself of killing her
13:34and that was a frustrating part
13:36where they didn't actually at any time say they'd killed her
13:40on that audio recording
13:42as the investigation intensified Shafili's parents appeared on TV
13:47with Iftaka asserting their innocence
13:50and denying any involvement in their daughter's disappearance
13:53Would we kill our own daughter?
13:57Or would you?
13:58Never
14:01Couldn't even dream of it
14:04With time going on and all the evidence being gathered
14:08and all the circumstances presented
14:10this was moving from a suspicious disappearance
14:13to something quite different
14:15and at that point I was treating this case
14:18as a murder investigation
14:25It was six months after Shafili went missing in September
14:28we got a press release about human remains
14:31being discovered at the side of a river
14:35I was listening out all the time for any news
14:37or any bulletins in policing
14:39about bodies being found
14:41and I was driving into work
14:42and I heard on the Northwest News
14:46that a body had been found in Cumbria of a female
14:52This body was badly decomposed
14:55and the work they'd done so far had been unable to identify her
15:03As soon as the press release landed in the inbox
15:06to say a body had been found
15:08I actually said to the news team
15:10that's Shafiliya
15:12I would stake my life on it
15:13I don't know how I knew
15:15but I just knew it was
15:19But decomposition meant the identity of the body on the riverbank
15:23would remain a mystery
15:25until forensic scientists stepped in
15:30When a body is found in a decomposed state
15:33there are a number of challenges that the pathologist would face
15:36in identifying the body
15:38the discoloration of the skin
15:41could make it difficult
15:42for example
15:43to tell the ethnicity of the person
15:45the facial features may change
15:47because of the decomposition
15:49rendering it impossible to know
15:51who the person was
15:52for example
15:53from comparison with a photograph
15:55and then as decomposition advanced
15:58you would lose soft tissue
16:00there may be interference by animals
16:03insects
16:05that change the state of the body
16:07further
16:09the body may become disarticulated
16:11so parts of the body
16:13could fall away
16:14or be taken away
16:15by scavenging animals
16:18all of this would make it very difficult
16:20to identify an individual
16:22I made contact again with the Cumbria police
16:34and asked them to send
16:36the dental records of this body
16:38that they'd found
16:39so that came through
16:42and we quickly took that dental chart
16:45to Shafira's dentist
16:46they said there's some real similarities
16:50but the difference was
16:52there are two white fillings
16:54and Shafira's lower teeth
16:56and they're not on this chart
16:59so close but not Shafira
17:03but there was something about
17:06the way the family were behaving
17:08and all the circumstances to me
17:11I just wasn't satisfied with that
17:14as a senior investigating officer
17:19it's ingrained in you
17:20to absolutely check everything
17:21so I thought
17:22right I'm not happy with this
17:24so I travelled up to Cumbria
17:26because there was something
17:28that wasn't quite right
17:29I then asked to look at the mandible
17:32which is the lower jaw
17:34that the police had recovered
17:35and I could actually physically see
17:37the white fillings
17:39that had been described by the dentist
17:41I seized the mandible
17:44with the intent to show it
17:45to Shafira's dentist
17:47Mr. Southern, her dentist
17:50looked at that mandible that day
17:52and confirmed that the dental work
17:54is his and that is highly likely
17:56to be Shafira
18:02so we were now armed with the fact
18:04that the dental records
18:06are showing this is Shafira
18:08but we needed more
18:10alongside dental records
18:12jewellery that was found on the body
18:14was identified by her parents
18:16as being similar to that
18:18which Shafira would have worn
18:20all clues pointed to who the body was
18:23but it was the key component
18:25of every modern-day forensic investigation
18:27that would provide ultimate proof
18:30in cases where the soft tissue
18:33of the body has been lost
18:34and you are left with skeletal remains
18:37DNA becomes vital
18:39in identifying the body
18:41in such cases this DNA
18:45would be taken from bone
18:47typically from the bone marrow
18:49within the femur, the thigh bone
18:51The identification of Shafira
18:56was properly done through DNA
18:59by obtaining a sample of bone marrow
19:02and that took a few days to get through
19:07I knew it was going to be Shafira
19:09and when that DNA evidence came through
19:13it was a sense of real momentum
19:16with DNA proving who the body was
19:20scientists now had to turn
19:22their forensic expertise
19:24to finding out how Shafira had died
19:27In this case because of the nature
19:29of where the body was found
19:31and the fact that this was a young person
19:33with no natural disease
19:35and the overtly suspicious
19:37background circumstances
19:39the pathological findings
19:40or lack of them
19:41was somewhat less important
19:43so a natural cause of death
19:45was ruled out on that basis
19:47rather than the pathological findings themselves
19:54So the pathologist
19:56once she knew it was Shafira
19:57she would know that
19:58there's a 17 year old girl
19:59that just wouldn't curl up and die
20:01so her conclusion was that
20:04some form of asphyxia
20:06would be the cause of death
20:08she was just driven up there
20:17in the dead of night
20:18just thrown at the side of the road
20:21like a piece of rubbish
20:24just a really lonely, dark, undignified, awful spot
20:29and she was just left there
20:31like a piece of rubbish
20:32it made me really sad
20:37I came home it seemed like a normal day
20:41but something wasn't right
20:43I wish I could have changed the event
20:45I should have killed myself instead
20:47I'd rather have been dead
20:48I wish I could have changed the event
20:49I should have killed myself instead
20:50I'd rather have been dead
21:00Six months after Shafilia Ahmed
21:02vanished from her home in Warrington
21:03DNA had proved the badly decomposed body
21:06on the banks of a river
21:0870 miles away
21:09to be that of the 17 year old missing girl
21:18When I'm informed about a case
21:20I'm normally told very little about it
21:22I was just told that a body had been found
21:26by the river Kent near Sedgwick in Cumbria
21:31and I was asked to attend there
21:33the questions that the police wanted me to help answer were
21:39how long Shafilia's body had been there
21:43how long she had been deceased
21:45and whether she had actually died at the scene
21:48or whether her body had been deposited there after death
21:54When an animal or a human dies
21:56the body starts to decompose straight away
21:58and so insects will come in
22:00and they will start colonising the body
22:02so with forensic entomology
22:05if I can work out how old those insects are
22:07that gives me the minimum time
22:09that the body has been deceased
22:11What was now crucial to the investigation
22:15was establishing when Shafilia had died
22:19it was down to forensic entomologist
22:22Amaret Whittaker
22:23to find that key evidence
22:25The most important insects for me are the blowflies
22:30so those are blue bottles and green bottles
22:32and the reason for that is because
22:34they are generally the first insects to find the body
22:38and in this case I did find a species of blue bottle blowfly
22:45called Collifera vomitoria associated with the body
22:49Because the insects' development rate is dependent on the temperature
22:55it means that in the summertime in warm temperatures
22:58the insects will develop very quickly
23:00and so it may be that within a couple of weeks or so
23:03the insects have gone through a full life cycle
23:06and so you can't really go any further back
23:09than a couple of weeks or so
23:11The fact that Shafilia's body was found during the wintertime
23:14was actually really useful
23:16because what it meant was that there were still insects developing
23:20both on the body and also in the surrounding soil
23:23so clearly they were associated with her body
23:26and so that meant that I was able to give quite an accurate minimum time since death
23:31I estimated that the insects had been colonising the body
23:37at least since the beginning of October
23:40so around the 9th or 10th of October
23:43That was approximately a month after Shafilia had gone missing
23:47So although the minimum time since death was October
23:52it's more than possible that the body was colonised
23:57any time between when Shafilia's body was deposited at the scene
24:01when she died
24:02and that date that I gave of 9th or 10th of October
24:10One of the implications that was made to the police
24:13was that Shafilia may have just run away from home
24:16and may have been living elsewhere
24:18and that potentially she had only died relatively recently
24:21and not when she went missing
24:23So what I was able to suggest with the analysis that I did
24:28was that she had actually died soon after she had gone missing
24:37It suggested that the circumstances were perhaps suspicious
24:41and that therefore the police should continue their investigation
24:48Amaret's findings proved that Shafilia must have died on
24:51or shortly after the last known sighting of her
24:54on the 11th of September 2003
24:58This placed Iftika and Farzana Ahmed firmly in the frame
25:02as prime suspects for the murder of their eldest daughter
25:06The press conference took place
25:09It was full
25:11There was live television cameras
25:13This term, honour killing, is not a term that I've used during this inquiry
25:18We are treating this as simply as a murder inquiry
25:23However, the press conference came to an abrupt end
25:27I was made aware that Iftika and Farzana had come into the conference room
25:32So I made an escape
25:34Uninvited, unannounced, Shafilia's parents arrived to deny any involvement in their daughter's death
25:41Iftika and Farzana actually barged their way into that press conference
25:47with their legal team
25:50to accuse Cheshire police of profiling and of stereotyping
25:55That inquiry should be conducted with transparency
25:59rather than being based upon any form of ethnic stereotyping
26:05Immediately, trying to control the situation
26:08point the finger at the police
26:09to absolve themselves of any blame
26:11However, the Ahmed's cultural background and the notion of honour within the community
26:21became a major part of the investigation
26:24Iftika and Farzana come from a village in Pakistan
26:29A village that culture is very important
26:32that the male, the patriarch of the family is in control
26:37and the women are the ones who carry the honour of the family
26:44and that mentality or behaviour continued with them
26:50So for him, his family were the perfect family
26:55His girls would conform and be the way they should in his mind
27:01And Farzana was the enforcer of that
27:06I do understand the concept of shame and honour
27:12because it's a very real thing
27:14When you grow up in the culture, in the home, in the community
27:19It's really a real thing where you grow up to not want to do things that might shame your mum and dad
27:26in a community setting
27:29I think her mum and dad were so obsessed with the standing in the community and how they looked
27:36and they were so afraid of one of the children bringing shame to them
27:41Shafilia's parents came from a Muslim Pakistani background
27:47I know that her father moved to this country when he was quite young
27:53from a village in Gujarat
27:56where people would tend to have the same mindset
28:00the same cultural rules almost
28:03It's like an unspoken way of living your life
28:06It's not because she was Muslim, it's because of culture
28:10because a lot of people blame the religion
28:12It's not the religion, it's the cultural mentality
28:14As strongly as the police believed they had the right suspects
28:19the Ahmeds continued to protest their innocence
28:22Months after Shafilia's disappearance
28:24the two sides of the investigation had reached a stalemate
28:30I had a briefing with the barrister
28:33and he got to a point where he said
28:36there are strong aspects of the case
28:39that could well result in the prosecution and conviction of Iftik and Farzana
28:45but based a lot on circumstantial evidence
28:48So at that point the decision of the CPS was
28:51there was insufficient evidence for prosecution
28:59The inquest into Shafilia's death took place
29:01it was about four and a half years after Shafilia's body was found
29:07it took place at Kendall Town Hall
29:09and it was so important
29:11we know inquests don't blame anyone
29:14they just establish the circumstances of the death
29:20Really significantly at the inquest the coroner's verdict
29:23the coroner said Shafilia was the victim of a very vile murder
29:29During the inquest Shafilia's parents
29:35presented themselves as they have all along really
29:39there's kind of an arrogance with them
29:41and they kind of just look like they think
29:44they've done nothing wrong
29:46and Iftikar in particular
29:48just like you know I've done nothing wrong
29:50really really arrogant and Farzana
29:52for me she had quite a chilling air about her
29:55I could never understand she had given birth to Shafilia
30:02Despite the efforts of detectives and forensics
30:06the investigation into Shafilia's death made little progress
30:10Even after the coroner's inquest concluded her death was unnatural
30:15and suspicious there were still no clear leads
30:18for a long time justice seemed out of reach
30:23there's insufficient evidence to bring Iftik and Farzana to court
30:29but strong suspicion that they'd been responsible for murder
30:33so we were left hanging I would describe it
30:38seeking more evidence
30:39my own feeling was that it just needed someone from the family to open up
30:45without evidence from within the family we would never get them prosecuted
30:51Geraint would have to wait another two years before receiving the news he wanted
30:56I was in holiday in France and I got a phone call from a colleague to say she's talking
31:04and I knew straight away what he meant
31:07it transpired that Alicia Shafila's sister was in police custody on suspicion of robbery
31:14and whilst in custody she revealed the striking events that occurred on the 11th of September 2003
31:23from what we understand Alicia had staged a robbery at the family home she's been arrested
31:38while she's in custody she says I saw my mum and dad kill my sister
31:44and that changed everything
31:53detectives had determined that Alicia Ahmed like Shafila had been a victim of her parents abuse and control
32:07and in order to retrieve money taken from her she staged a robbery
32:12once in the safety of police custody the truth about what had happened to her older sister finally emerged
32:19I had a telephone call in 2010 from Cheshire police
32:29they told me that there had been an armed robbery at an address in Warrington
32:34and that a family member had been arrested because she was believed to be involved in the robbery
32:41she had been taken into interview and she asked for the interview to be suspended and she said that she wished to speak to police officers
32:53in an informal conversation with police officers she told them that she had witnessed her parents killing her sister
33:00when Alicia revealed that she and her siblings had witnessed her parents killing her sister
33:09I then had the witness that prosecution counsel had wished that he had had in 2005
33:15this was a long period of my life starting in 2003 through to 2012
33:30a long court case a dramatic court case with lots of twists and turns
33:35when the trial started obviously the media interest was huge Chester Crown Court is a huge old courtroom
33:42the press gallery was packed for the start of the trial and you know a real feeling amongst the journalists
33:49you know we recognised the significance of this that it was important we wanted to tell Sheffilia's story
33:55and how long it had taken to get them to court so there was a real buzz is the wrong word
34:01it was just you know everybody really excited that we were going to see justice for Sheffilia
34:08it was quite a long trial I've never seen a trial like it in my life
34:17today father 52 year old Ithaka Ahmed and mother 49 year old Farzana went on trial accused of murder
34:26Alicia Ahmed had told police that she would be willing to testify against her own parents in court
34:33it would appear that Alicia's evidence was the final piece of the puzzle to Sheffilia's murder
34:42but her credibility as a witness quickly fell into question
34:48there were various issues around Alicia's evidence
34:52clearly she was at odds with her parents
34:56there was also the problem that Alicia had made a statement earlier on supporting the parents' account
35:05to the effect that Sheffilia had run away in the night
35:10the two cases had to be handled separately so that it couldn't be suggested that she was given preferential treatment
35:17with regard to the robbery in return for her evidence in the murder case
35:21there was a fear that she might be at risk of violence from the extended family
35:28or from members of the community who felt that in giving evidence against her parents
35:34she was breaking some sort of code
35:39Alicia was in witness protection
35:42I was very relieved when Alicia finally gave her evidence in court
35:46when she was giving her evidence you could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom
35:53Alicia's evidence although given behind screens so no one could in the court could see her
36:01was sharp emotional and resilient
36:06despite having significant cross-examination by two barristers representing Iftica and Farzana
36:16she remained consistent, honest and reliable throughout her testimony
36:24Alicia gave evidence in such a way
36:28that it was obvious to everybody in the courtroom
36:32that she was actually describing something she had seen
36:37it wasn't a fabricated story
36:39she was describing events to which she was a witness
36:45Despite Alicia's composure and a cross-examination
36:49her involvement in the robbery was seized upon by the defence
36:52I remember reading online the trial reports
36:59and Alicia was the first witness
37:02and what she was saying was 100% true
37:06I remember reading how in cross-examination
37:10they were trying to paint her as a liar
37:12and I remember thinking she's not a liar
37:15she's not lying about this
37:17Up until this point the prosecution's case hung on Alicia as their star witness
37:25that was until new evidence came to light in the form of letters written years earlier
37:31by younger sister Mavish to family friend Shaheen Mania
37:35Mavish explained to me that during the day
37:38a family friend had called her mum to gossip
37:43to complain about what Shafila was wearing in town
37:48that they didn't approve
37:50and I think this had made her mum quite angry
37:55and when it came to later in the day to pick Shafila up from work
37:59Shafila had forgotten her coat and was only wearing a T-shirt
38:03so when they were in the car her mum was really angry
38:08and Mavish said to me that she remembered Shafila actually being really quiet
38:14almost resigned
38:16it's almost like she knew
38:20Alicia described how they were all in the living room
38:24there had been an argument
38:28Farzana pushed Shafila down onto the settee
38:33and said something along the lines of just finish it
38:37just finish it here
38:38Mrs. Ahmed was really angry
38:45they went and got a plastic bag
38:53and her mum and dad held her down and covered her mouth
38:59and they used this bag to suffocate her
39:02I'll never get the image out of my head
39:11the terror in her eyes
39:14it's just horrific
39:16that poor girl, that poor beautiful girl
39:20the children had seen
39:22like the life got out of Shafila
39:25Shaheen's testimony validated what Alicia had told police
39:40that on the 11th of September 2003
39:44her parents had murdered Shafila in front of her younger siblings
39:48very brave girl Shaheen
39:51the fact that she'd said
39:53I saw this trial was happening
39:54I heard what was going on
39:55I knew it was wrong
39:56and I knew I could make a difference
39:58and that's why she came forward
39:59because she knew it was wrong
40:01so she did the right thing
40:03really brave
40:06being a witness in a murder trial
40:10especially when the people that are accused
40:13are your best and closest friends
40:16mum and dad
40:18it is very very difficult
40:21but when cross-examination happened
40:24I think for me it gave me a bit of a fire
40:27because I really wanted to make sure the truth was known
40:31and one of the things I said was
40:33what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong
40:35and that's why we're here
40:39Shaheen's evidence was the turning point in the trial
40:42and the Ahmed's defence quickly crumbled
40:48as the case progressed
40:50the defence were presenting their side of the story
40:56it was very clear to most people there that it was weak
40:59and this case is charging to a conviction
41:03after 25 years of marriage and a united front
41:06throughout this whole case
41:08today was the day Shafiliya's mother
41:09dramatically turned the tables on her own husband
41:15Farzana out of the blue
41:17comes up with a defence statement
41:19saying that she's innocent
41:21that she's a victim of domestic abuse
41:23and that Iftikah is the sole offender
41:25and he killed Shafiliya
41:28I think it was just desperation
41:30I don't think there was any credibility with that account
41:32After a three month trial and two days of deliberations
41:42in August 2012, nine years after Shafiliya went missing
41:47the jury returned with their verdict
41:49memorable day
41:50the jury weren't out that long really for a murder
41:56they came back with a unanimous verdict
42:00both parents were convicted of Shafiliya's murder
42:07and they were sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years
42:11For me it was relief knowing Shafiliya finally got justice
42:21and that the world knew the truth after all these years
42:25Finally Shafiliya's story was known that she could rest in peace
42:32On conviction Iftikah's demeanour changed from arrogance to anger
42:43and you could see that he is a dangerous individual
42:49Farzana's portrayal of a grieving mother changed to a wailing wreck
42:56but no sympathy for her
42:58because I know what that house was like
43:02and she is certainly no victim
43:17One of the things that I think back on and really reflect
43:20is how much you feel that actually changed the world
43:23It makes me really quite proud that her story was used to impact in such a positive way
43:32There's no honour in killing
43:36and there's definitely no honour in the murder of Shafiliya
43:39I think there's no honour in the murder of Shafiliya
43:42There's no honour in the murder of Shafiliya
43:43Transcription by CastingWords
44:13CastingWords
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