Teenager 'who feared forced marriage' unlawfully killed

An unlawful killing verdict was recorded today on a Muslim teenager who was found dead on a river bank five months after she disappeared.

The body of Shafilea Ahmed, 17, was discovered beside the River Kent in Cumbria, England, in February 2004, following claims from friends and teachers that she feared being forced into an arranged marriage.

Police launched a murder inquiry and arrested her parents on suspicion of kidnapping the teenager but both were released without charge.

During the four-day inquest in Kendal, Cumbria, Shafilea’s mother, Farzana Ahmed, accused detectives of not doing enough to find her daughter’s killer.

Coroner Ian Smith told the inquest today: “She was murdered. I’m convinced of that because of the way in which the body was disposed, it had been hidden and she had been taken many miles away from home.”