Saudi Arabia has admitted journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead, more than two weeks after the critic of the Saudi royals disappeared during a visit to the consulate in Istanbul.

The announcement and claim that the 59-year-old writer died in a “fist-fight” sparked new questions about the kingdom’s shifting public explanations of what happened on 2 October, and how the investigations have developed since. Turkish officials have slowly released details in the astonishing case of alleged Saudi state-sponsored murder.

Here is how the events have unfolded:

Friday 28 September

Khashoggi, after seeking assurances for his safety, visits the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to pick up paperwork he needs in order to get married. He is told to return next week when the documents will be ready.

Tuesday 2 October

The journalist pays a second visit to the Saudi consulate. Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancee, waits outside the building for several hours with his personal effects including his phone – these are not allowed to be taken inside the diplomatic building – and then calls the police when he does not return.

Wednesday 3 October

The Saudi government issues a statement confirming Khashoggi is missing. It says he disappeared after leaving the consulate building the day before and it is working with the Turkish authorities to find him. Turkish officials say they believe Khashoggi is still inside the building, which they cannot search without an invitation.

Thursday 4 October

Turkey summons the Saudi ambassador in Ankara to the foreign ministry to discuss Khashoggi’s whereabouts. Human Rights Watch says if Saudi Arabia has detained Khashoggi without acknowledging it, his detention constitutes an enforced disappearance.

Friday 5 October

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, says in an interview with Bloomberg that the Turkish authorities are welcome to search the consulate building in Istanbul. He declines to say whether Khashoggi is facing any charges at home, adding: “If he’s in Saudi Arabia, I would know that.”

Saturday 6 October

Reuters news agency is given a tour of the six-storey Saudi consulate to prove that the missing journalist is not being detained there. In the afternoon, Turkish prosecutors confirm an investigation has been opened.

Reuters claims two Turkish officials have leaked that their intelligence suggests Khashoggi was killed shortly after entering the consulate. Sources confirm to the Guardian that they believe the journalist is dead, adding – without providing evidence – that he was tortured and his body removed from the premises. Saudi Arabia denies what it says are “baseless” allegations.

Sunday 7 October

Officials say they believe a hit squad of 15 men arrived from Saudi Arabia on 29 September and were present in the building on the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance, leaving shortly afterwards. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, says he is “saddened” by the case and will wait for the results of the police investigation.

Monday 8 October

Turkey summons the Saudi ambassador for a second time in order to request Riyadh’s “full cooperation” in the investigation, including permission to search the Istanbul consulate.

Tuesday 9 October

British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, demands answers in a meeting with the Saudi ambassador to London, releasing a statement saying, “Violence against journalists is going up and is a grave threat to freedom of expression. If media reports prove correct we will treat the incident seriously – friendships depend on shared values.”

Wednesday 10 October

Details of an alleged hit squad are listed on flight manifests leaked to Turkish media. Reports emerge that Saudi special forces officers, intelligence officials, national guards and a forensics expert were allegedly part of a 15-person team tied to the disappearance of Khashoggi. Authorities also claim that security camera footage was removed from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul the day of the disappearance. Donald Trump says the US is “demanding” answers from the Saudi government.

Thursday 11 October

Trump announces an investigation, but insists that the US will not forgo lucrative arms deals with Riyadh, regardless of the outcome. The Turkish and Saudi governments also announce they will conduct a joint investigation into the case, raising new fears of a cover-up of evidence.

Friday 12 October

Turkish investigators allege that there are video and audio recordings to prove that Khashoggi was killed. Some officials say the evidence demonstrates that his body was dismembered.

Sunday 14 October

US officials suggest that treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin may not attend an economic conference in Saudi Arabia due to the presumed murder of Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia’s stock market tumbles, with the biggest fall in years.

Monday 15 October

Saudi Arabia says it will retaliate against any sanctions imposed over the disappearance of Khashoggi after JP Morgan and Ford pull out of the conference in Riyadh. Pressure intensifies as the French, German and UK foreign secretaries release a joint statement calling on the Saudi government to give a full account of the disappearance. Trump speculates that “rogue killers” may have been responsible for the death.

Tuesday 16 October

Trump defends Saudi Arabia in a controversial interview, comparing the case to allegations of sexual assault against supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. “Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I’m concerned,” Trump tells the Associated Press.

Wednesday 17 October

It is revealed that a key suspect in the alleged torture and murder of Khashoggi worked in Australia for three months at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. Turkish officials say an audio recording proves Khashoggi was attacked by a Saudi hit-team when he entered the consulate. The audio allegedly reveals Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, a forensic specialist, ordering the team to put on headphones and listen to music while dismembering Khashoggi’s body. Trump also says the US has asked Turkey for an audio recording.

On Wednesday evening, the Washington Post also publishes Khashoggi’s final column for the paper with the headline, Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression.

Thursday 18 October

Turkish investigators get access to the Saudi consul general’s residence in Istanbul and deploy floodlights and a drone. The search for Khashoggi’s body also extends to two woodland areas outside the city, a major expansion of the geographical scope of the inquiry.

The US and UK also join key European partners and pull out of a major economic forum in Saudi Arabia.

Friday 19 October

Saudi Arabia admits that Khashoggi is dead. Riyadh claims that he was killed in a “fist-fight” with Saudi officials and announces a purge of senior officials, including Saud al-Qahtani, an influential adviser to Salman, and General Ahmed al-Assiri, a senior intelligence official. It is reported that 18 Saudi nationals have been arrested.

Trump calls the explanation credible, but Saudi Arabia’s claims are met with derision and incredulity from members of Congress.

Saturday 20 October

An unnamed Saudi official tells Reuters that forensics expert Dr Tubaigy was part of the alleged extradition team in order to clean up evidence such as fingerprints.

Bob Corker, chair of the powerful Senate foreign relations committee, says the US “must make its own independent, credible determination of responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder”.

Sunday 21 October

Erdoğan promises that he will reveal the “naked truth” about what happened to Khashoggi in his weekly parliamentary address on Tuesday.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt joins his French and German counterparts in a joint statement demanding “complete and detailed response” from Saudi Arabia.

Trump backtracks, accusing Saudi Arabia of “lies”.

Reuters gives an account of the murder from an unnamed Saudi official, who says Khashoggi was choked to death as the result of the fight, and his body wrapped in a rug and disposed of by a “local collaborator”.

Monday 22 October

CNN airs security tape footage from 2 October which shows a body double dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes leaving the consulate and touring Istanbul’s landmarks.

A car is found in an underground garage which belongs to the Saudi consulate. It cannot be searched without permission from Riyadh. CCTV footage shows men removing something from the car and driving away with it four days ago.

CIA director Gina Haskel flies to Ankara to assist with the Turkish investigation.

Tuesday 23 October

In Ankara, Erdoğan delivers a parliamentary address in which he tears down Riyadh’s claims Khashoggi died in a fight, makes fresh allegations that the murder was premeditated and calls for Turkey to take control of the criminal investigation.

He stops short of acknowledging Turkey has audio and video evidence of the crime, as is widely believed, and does not implicate bin Salman.

Meanwhile, in Riyadh, King Salman and the crown prince receive Khashoggi’s grieving family members for an audience and Saudi Arabia’s second annual Foreign Future Investment Initiative opens. Mohammed bin Salman receives a standing ovation in an unscheduled appearance at the event.