The parents of teenager Shafilea Ahmed have been found guilty of her murder and jailed for a minimum of 25 years each.
The remains of the 17 year-old were found on the banks of the River Kent in Cumbria six months after she went missing from her home in Warrington, Cheshire in 2003.
Taxi-driver Iftikhar, 52, and wife Farzana Ahmed, 49, had denied killing their daughter but a jury at Chester Crown Court refused to believe their version of events.
As they returned their guilty verdicts Mrs Ahmed wiped tears away from her eyes with a tissue at the prospect of life imprisonment while her husband stood impassively.
The prosecution claimed Shafilea was killed because she "brought shame" on her family for refusing to participate in an arranged marriage with another family member.
In an apparent "honour killing" the couple suffocated the 17 year-old by stuffing a plastic bag in her mouth and murdered her in front of their other children.
Shafilea's sister Alesha, who was 16 at the time, told the court she heard her mother say "just finish it here".
Father Iftikhar told police that Shafilea had ran away in the middle of the night and he never saw her again.
That was the agreed alibi between him and his wife until half way through the three month trial Farzana changed her story.
The 49 year-old claimed she saw her husband beat Shafilea on the night of her murder and that he threatened to do the same to her and the other children.
She claimed that if they ever asked him what happened to Shafilea then their lives would be at risk.
When the guilty verdicts were given, the other children Junyad, Mevish and the youngest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wept in the public gallery.
The parents repeatedly abused and attacked Shafilea throughout her life because of her westernised way of life and the allure of freedom from her domineering family.
At trial Alesha Ahmed spoke about the night her sister died.
The 23 year-old told the court: "You could tell she was gasping for air.
"That was it, she was gone."
The sister described how she and her siblings ran to their bedrooms after Shafilia was killed while her dad carried her to his car wrapped in a blanket.
Due to the threat from the parents, they were all too scared to tell the authorities the truth about what happened.
But Alesha's sister, Mevish, supported her parents throughout the trial.
Shafilia went missing on 11th September 2003 and was reported missing by a teacher one week later.
When her body was found by workmen in February 2004 she was identified by dental records and jewellery.
Two post mortem examinations failed to determine a cause of death but an inquest in 2008 ruled Shafilea had been unlawfully killed.
Mr. Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "I wish to condemn the evil nature of the murder of Shafilea Ahmed and welcome the guilty verdicts of her parents at Chester Crown Court.
"These are gruesome and evil people that failed in their ultimate duty as parents to provide safety and security and instead killed her in their twisted defence of protecting their honour.
"Islam is very clear on honour killings and forced marriages, they are totally forbidden and those that carry out these crimes do not carry them out in the name of our great faith.
"Honour killings and forced marriages are a cultural reaction often found in the Indian sub-continent and we have seen cases affecting the Hindu and Sikh communities too.
"The message this court case sends out is that you will never be able to evade justice in our country, these are crimes that you will be jailed for a very long time.
"There can be no justification or excuse for such crimes and we would urge people not to refer to them as honour killings as there is nothing honourable about them.
"We salute the Police and Crown Prosecution Service for their determination in never giving up in getting justice in this case and ensuring that the parents were brought to justice.
"Finally we would urge anyone in fear of being forced into a marriage against their will or if their life is in danger to contact the police or your local Council.
"We send our prayers and condolences to the wider family."


