Stephen Lawrence Murder: A Timeline

As Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, are found guilty of the 1993 Stephen Lawrence murder, International Business Times UK looks back at the 18 year quest for justice.

Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline

April 22, 1993: At around 22:00 while waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks, Stephen Lawrence is stabbed to death in a racist attack by a group of white men.

May - June 1993: Stephen Lawrence's family say the police should be doing more to catch their son's killers.

Leading up to June, five young men who were under police surveillance are arrested in connection with the murder. Jamie Acourt, Neil Acourt, David Norris , Gary Dobson and Luke Knight.

Neil Acourt and Luke Knight are charged with Lawrence's murder following the identification of Acourt in a parade by Duwayne Brook.

July 1993: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) drops the prosecution against the pair because of insufficient evidence.

December 1993: The inquest into Lawrence's death is halted after the family's barrister Michael Mansfield QC brings new evidence.

April 1994: The CPS rules out the new evidence as insufficient to bring a murder prosecution.

September 1994: Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Stephen's parents, begin a private prosecution of the suspects in the case.

April 1996: Neil Acourt, Luke Knight and Gary Dobson start their trial for the murder of Stephen Lawrence at the Old Bailey.

April 1996: The Lawrence's case against the trio collapses when the judge rules that the identification evidence by Brooks is inadmissible.

All three accused are acquitted.

February 1997: Stephen Lawrence was "unlawfully killed by five white youths", according to the jury's verdict of the inquest into his death.

The Daily Mail splashes the pictures of the five men initially arrested under the headline "Murderers" saying "If we are wrong, let them sue us."

March 1997: The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) starts an investigation.

July 1997: Home Secretary Jack Straw launches a judicial inquiry into the case, so the police can learn lessons on how it handles racially-motivated crime.

Retired High Court judge Sir William MacPherson heads the inquiry.

MacPherson says the suspects in the case must give evidence or face prosecution.

December 1997: PCA reports "significant weaknesses, omissions and lost opportunities" in the Metropolitan Police's original investigation.

June 1998: The inquiry is shown a recording taken by a secret police camera in one the accused's home, where he brandishes knives and expresses racist views.

The Lawrence's call for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon.

July 1998: The original suspects give their evidence to the MacPherson inquiry. They are accused of being evasive and face angry crowds of protesters as they leave the inquiry rooms.

February 1999: The MacPherson report concludes that the Metropolitan Police is "institutionally racist" and that the police investigation suffered as a result, as well as because of a failure of leadership and "incompetence".

May 2004: The CPS finally rules out any chance of a second trial, saying there is insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone for the murder.

April 2005: Parliament scraps the double-jeopardy laws, where you can't be tried for the same crime twice, for cases where there is "new and compelling evidence".

July 2006: A BBC documentary uncovers allegations of police corruption at the heart of the investigation. A senior investigating officer is accused of taking bribes for case information from one of the suspects' fathers.

October 2007: The Independent Police Complaints Commission says finds no evidence of corruption relating to the original investigation.

November 2008: Metropolitan Police investigate new forensic evidence relating to the case.

September 2010: Two people are arrested in connection with Stephen Lawrence's murder, though legal reasons prevent this being revealed.

May 2011: It's revealed that "sufficient, reliable and substantial new evidence" will mean a prosecution is finally brought against two people for the murder of Stephen Lawrence. They are Gary Dobson, who was one of the original suspects, and David Norris, who is a new face in the case.

November 14, 2011: Gary Dobson and David Norris start their trial at the Old Bailey, accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

Mr Justice Treacy tells jurors that they must ignore the "irrelevant" past and base their decision solely on what they hear in the courtroom.

November 15: A witness to the murder, hospital worker Royston Westbrook, tells the jury how a group of white men "collided" with Lawrence in a frenzied 10-second attack.

November 17: Duwayne Brookes, Lawrence's friend who was with him when he was murdered, broke down in court as he recalled the attack.

"Blood was streaming out around his neck and through his jacket," said Brooks, speaking about the moments after the attack.

November 25: The jury is shown the new forensic evidence, which came to light after a 2007 cold case review. It amounted to tiny specks of blood and one of Lawrence's hairs found among Dobson and Norris's clothes siezed after the murder in 1993.

The defence said this was the result of cross-contamination because of police mishandling of the evidence.

December 13: Secret footage taken by police as part of the original investigation, which shows Dobson and Norris using violent, racist language, is played to the court.

December 14: Gary Dobson's mother tells the court he was at home on the night of the murder

December 15: David Norris tells the court he can't remmeber where he was on the night Lawrence was murdered, but he knows he is innocent.

"I am no angel but I am not a murderer," he said.

December 28: As jurors prepare for deliberations, Justice Treacy tells them that sympathy and emotions have "no part to play" in reaching their verdict.

January 3, 2011: After two and a half days of deliberations, the jury find the two men guilty of murder.