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A man accused of killing his teenage daughter in England because of her "Westernized" lifestyle denied the murder in court Wednesday, CNN reported.

Iftikhar Ahmed said it was "devastating" to be on trial for murdering his daughter Shafilea, CNN affiliate ITV reported.

He was taking the stand for the first time in a case which has gripped Britain since the 17-year-old disappeared in September 2003.

The court case took a startling turn Monday when Iftikhar's wife Farzana abruptly changed her long-standing story and said she had seen her husband attack their daughter on the night Shafilea died.

Both parents are accused of the murder. One of Shafilea's sisters testified that she saw her parents push Shafilea onto a couch, stuff a bag into her mouth, and hold her down until she suffocated.

Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed have both pleaded not guilty at their trial in Chester, England.

Newspapers, television and radio have all been reporting on the prosecution case that Shafilea's parents killed her because they felt her "Western" lifestyle brought shame on the family.

The teenager's dismembered body was found on a riverbank months after she disappeared. She had been stripped of anything that would identify her, prosecutor Andrew Edis told the jury in May, according to ITV.

Shafilea's sister Alesha testified last month that she saw her parents kill the girl.

She said her parents were angry that Shafilea was wearing a short-sleeved, V-neck top, and no sweater, on the night she was killed.

"Just end it here," Farzana said to Iftikhar, according to their daughter.

They pushed Shafilea down onto a sofa and suffocated her despite her struggles, Alesha testified.

Prosecutor Edis called it "an act of suffocation by both parents acting together."