Neighbour shocked by Karen Matthews' comments prior to Shannon's kidnapping revelation

Daily Record

21 hours ago

A new two-part documentary looking at the Shannon Matthews kidnapping case is available on Prime Video.
When Shannon Matthews, a nine year old lass, went missing on 19 February 2008, the residents of Dewsbury's impoverished Moorside Estate showered her mum, Karen, with an outpouring of support.
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Her friend Petra Jamieson recalls a poignant moment during a visit to a local chippy with Karen: "We went into a fish and chip shop, and she got fish and chips for the family.
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"The person behind the counter says, 'They are on us. We're really sorry about what's gone with your daughter.'"
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Karen's shocking response was, according to Petra, "'I should get rid of one of my kids more often.' At the time, I just slapped her on the side of the arm... 'why would you say that?'"
This chilling revelation is part of a new two-part Prime Video documentary, The Hunt for Shannon Matthews, set to be available in the UK and Ireland on Sunday, August 17. It also delves into the life of Shannon Matthews' mum Karen while she was in prison, reports the Mirror.
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The documentary unravels the astonishing tale of how, after Shannon vanished for 24 days, it emerged that Karen had actually conspired to stage the kidnapping with her boyfriend's uncle, Michael Donovan. Petra, one of Karen's neighbours featured in the documentary, remembers watching Karen pleading outside her West Yorkshire home for the return of her "beautiful princess daughter" Shannon.
Living just a couple of doors down from Karen, their children attended the same school and the mums had developed a close friendship. With the typical generosity of residents living on the council estate, Petra stood by Karen throughout the 24 days that Shannon remained missing.
And when she was discovered, the neighbourhood rejoiced. Petra, who was present at Karen's house when officers arrived to inform her Shannon had been located, recalls: "We were all bouncing about! We didn't know what would happen."
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The sole disappointment was that Shannon, who required police questioning, couldn't return home immediately. Remembering the youngster, Petra reflects: "Shannon was a pleasant, lovely girl to have around. Never any bother. She would play in the garden with her siblings. She never wandered far."
A fortnight after Shannon was discovered, a relieved Petra went with Karen to the neighbourhood chippy to collect food for her family, where the sympathetic proprietor declared the meal was complimentary. Like other estate dwellers, the chip shop owner had been hoping Shannon - who purportedly didn't arrive home after being collected from school following a swimming lesson - would be located unharmed.
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For Petra, as a mother herself, she recognised what Karen was enduring represented every parent's greatest fear. And she was delighted when Shannon was found alive.
She reflects: "It meant everything. No parent wants to think that their child is not going to come home."
However, Petra couldn't dismiss the insensitivity of Karen's peculiar remark after receiving a complimentary chippy meal.
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She had already felt uneasy about how much Karen "liked the attention" of appearing in the media. She reveals: "She liked the fact that she could go into town, and everyone recognised her. People had sympathy for her and compassion, giving her hugs."
However, she never suspected her friend of planning her own child's abduction and was heartbroken when she uncovered the truth.
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"She (Karen) didn't have a lot. But from my perspective her kids were clothed, fed and looked after. She was just like me, a mum."
Petra shares, her voice filled with emotion. Even now, 16 years on, the betrayal still stings.
Once a firm defender of Karen and her partner Craig Meehan, Petra even featured in a 2008 Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary Shannon Matthews: The Family's Story, which offered an intimate look at a family grieving their missing daughter.
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Petra is seen reading a newspaper article, where Karen's parents claimed her children were physically assaulted by Craig. Outraged on Karen's behalf, she said: "I really hope I don't see your mum."
Tragically, she had been entirely deceived by Karen and Craig, who were arrested 19 days after Shannon was found - a horrifying turn in an already shocking tale. Alongside a large-scale search for Shannon led by the Moorside community, West Yorkshire Police conducted an extensive search for the child, costing £3.2 million, involving more than 200 officers and three-quarters of all the UK's specially-trained police dogs.
After ten days of no new developments, some media outlets began to delve into Shannon's background and her "disordered family life" with Karen, then 32, and her stepdad Craig, 22. However, these reports were labelled as "classist," drawing comparisons to the sympathetic coverage of Madeleine McCann's doctor parents Gerry and Kate McCann, nine months earlier, when she was abducted while they were dining at a restaurant.
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As time went on, it became increasingly hard for those who knew Karen to overlook her peculiar behaviour, given what had allegedly happened to Shannon. In the Prime Video documentary, local journalist Richard Edwards recounts a strange moment when he visited Karen's house to interview her about the search.
To his surprise, she jumped out from behind the living room door, laughing, as if playing hide and seek. "I thought probably she was painting on a smile just pretending all was okay for the other kids at home. Maybe she was just pretending all that was okay for them," Petra comments on the incident.
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On March 14, 2008, Shannon was found alive, hidden in the base of a divan bed at the flat of Craig's uncle, Michael Donovan, 39, who was arrested on the spot and charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment. Tests on strands of Shannon's hair revealed she had been drugged with sedatives.
Further tests indicated she may have been drugged for as long as 20 months before she was discovered. An elasticated strap with a noose on the end was discovered at the flat, which may have been used as a method of restraint.
With it around her waist, Shannon would have been able to use the toilet and turn the TV on, but she would not have been able to leave the flat. During his arrest, Donovan - who died from cancer in April 2024, aged 54 - had shouted: "Get Karen down here! We'd got a plan. We're sharing the money - £50,000!"
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Karen vehemently denied the accusations. But another friend, Natalie Brown, was becoming suspicious. Eventually, Natalie - along with fellow Moorside resident and Chair of the Moorside residents and tenants association, Julie Bushby, who had put her life on hold to lead the community search - confronted her directly.
Karen confessed she'd been deceiving everyone the whole time. She had known Shannon was with Donovan and had fabricated lies to friends, neighbours and the press - accepting everyone's kindness and concern. Karen was arrested and tried with Donovan at Leeds Crown Court. There, she withdrew her confession and told police five different versions of events.
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Karen and Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Each was jailed for eight years. Shannon was placed in emergency social services care and later given a new identity. Petra says: "At the trial I still didn't want to believe that Karen had anything to do it
"Even though she admitted it, I wanted to see if she would sit and admit it in the court. At the end, she still couldn't be honest. She lied and lied and lied. Is that because she thought she could get away it? Who knows?".
Karen was freed in April 2012 after completing half her sentence. Despite grappling with her mate's betrayal, Julie questions whether everything Karen did stemmed from vile images on her partner Craig's computer.
"Did Karen know? Maybe that's why she did what she did. To keep Craig away from her," she says. "Can we ever get the truth? I don't think we ever will."