Shafilea Ahmed murder revisited in BBC's Crimewatch

This year marks 10 years since Shafilea's parents were convicted of her murder, which took place in September 2003.

The body of the 17-year-old was found five months after she disappeared when flooding washed out a river in Cumbria, which led to the discovery of her body.

Shafilea's body was discovered in March 2004, but her parents did not stand trial for her murder until 2011 - with them being convicted of her murder in 2012.

Shafilea's parents were convicted of her murder 10 years ago (Image: Newsquest)

Detective Superintendent Geraint Jones (Retired) from Cheshire Police was featured on the programme.

He said: "[Shafilea] wanted to live a Westernised, free life."

According to the programme, Shafilea was 'torn between her conservative upbringing and her dreams of a career in law.'

Shafilea's parents were convicted more than eight years after they murdered their daughter (Image: Newsquest)

Shafilea's parents arranged for her to be wed in Pakistan when they visited the country for another family wedding, but to escape the marriage Shafilea poisoned herself.

Her parents flew back to the United Kingdom without their daughter.

Det. Supt. Jones added: "I believe they left her there to die."

Shafilea eventually returned to the UK three months later, before she disappeared in September 2003.

The feature on Crimewatch was used to highlight how important witnesses are in bringing guilty parties to justice.

Shafilea was just 17 when she was murdered in 2003 (Image: Newsquest)

Det. Supt. Jones explained that despite forensic evidence, it was key testimonies from eyewitnesses that led to the conviction of Shafilea's parents.

Crimewatch's feature on the murder of Shafilea Ahmed aired on Tuesday, October 4 - it can be found here, and the feature was televised 18 minutes into the programme.