Karen Matthews repulsed detectives with 'appalling' act when daughter Shannon was found
When Karen Matthews ' nine-year-old daughter went missing, her local community could not have been more supportive.
It was February 19, 2008, when Matthews called police to say her child had not returned home. The report sparked a huge police investigation and the mum's friends and neighbours on the Moorside Estate joined in the search, hunting around the clock for the youngster.
According to UK charity Missing People, when children disappear, some 90 per cent are found within just two days. Shannon was found alive and well after an agonising 24 days, by which point many people were fearing the worst.
The schoolgirl was found hidden in a bed drawer in the home of Michael Donovan, an uncle to Matthews' partner Craig Meehan. Donovan was arrested and to everyone's horror, immediately implicated Shannon's own mother in the kidnapping.
Matthews and Donovan had conspired together to make money from the publicity their sick hoax would generate but instead, each was jailed for eight years for kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Ahead of Matthews' arrest, huge red flags had begun to emerge.
Speaking in a new Amazon Prime documentary taking a deep dive into the notorious case, detectives described the moment Matthews was asking to formally identify her daughter. She sat with Shannon in a room, when her mother was asked to view her through glass to confirm it was her child.
For any other parent, it would be a heartbreaking moment, after not knowing where your young child had been for nearly a month. But the mum's reaction was chillingly cold. "Karen said: 'Yeah, that's Shannon and that was it," said Nick Townsend, who was one of the main investigators.
"No emotion. This is a mother who's seeing her daughter who had been missing for over three weeks for the first time. She's shown no inkling of wanting to hug her, to speak to her."
"I was sat with Shannon in one room and Karen was outside looking through," added retired detective Christine Freeman. "She never asked where she'd been found, she never asked how she was.
"As a detective I did find it strange but as a mum I found it absolutely appalling."
Disturbing details about Matthews and Donovan's cruel treatment of Shannon were revealed during their subsequent court case. The schoolgirl had been drugged with adult sedative temazepam after she was kidnapped, something which had been done to her regularly for up to two years.
Shannon is thought that have been tethered to a beam in Donovan's flat, which allowed her to use the toilet but preventing her from accessing doors or windows. She went onto to suffer nightmares from being restrained in this way.
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Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Is THIS why she did it?' Shannon Matthews' mum's friend makes shock kidnapping claim in new documentary
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SHANNON Matthews' mum stunned the nation when cops uncovered she had plotted the kidnap of her own daughter. The evil mother concocted her diabolical plan, with the help of the late Michael Donovan, in February 2008 in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Karen Matthews devised the kidnap of her own daughter Credit: PA:Press Association 7 Michael Donovan held her at his flat in dingy conditions for 24 days Credit: Getty Images 7 Matthews was jailed for eight years Credit: PA:Press Association She reported her nine-year-old daughter missing and sparked a 24-day search which cost West Yorkshire Police £3.2million and involved hundreds in the local community. Little Shannon was eventually found in the base of a divan bed at Donovan's flat. Donovan was the uncle of Karen Matthews' then-boyfriend Craig Meehan. It's thought the pair devised the fake kidnapping in a bid to claim the £50,000 reward money for eventually "finding" Shannon. They had planned to release the schoolgirl, "discover her" then take her to a police station and claim the reward before splitting. Donovan and Matthews were sentenced to eight years in jail each for the kidnapping. In April 2024, Donovan died from throat cancer. Meanwhile convicted paedophile Craig Meehan, and Karen's ex-boyfriend of five years, was never charged in connection with the abduction. He was however charged and found guilty of possessing child abuse images after detectives seized computer equipment from the house they shared at the time in Dewsbury. Meehan, then 22, was jailed in 2008 for 20 weeks. Brit boy, 6, arrested in £1.6m smuggling plot after 14kgs of drugs found stuffed in his case when he landed in Mauritius Now in a new documentary, The Hunt for Shannon Matthews | Mother Kidnaps Own Daughter, a former friend of Karen made a shocking claim. Petra Jamieson revealed a possible motive for the unthinkable plot. She said: "Did Karen know that Craig [Shannon's stepdad] had all those images of his computer? "Maybe she did. Maybe that's the reason she did what she did. To get Shannon away from him." 7 Petra Jamieson revealed a possible motive for the unthinkable plot. Credit: The Hunt for Shannon Matthews | Mother Kidnaps Own Daughter 7 Shannon Matthews was reported missing on February 19, 2008 Credit: PA:Press Association 7 Karen Matthews with her boyfriend of five-years Craig Meehan Credit: PA:Press Association This comes after police revealed chilling footage of the moment Karen Matthews admitted she lied about Shannon's disappearance. She said she didn't tell police were Shannon was as she was scared "everybody would have a go at [her] for it". The mum-of-six's shocking admission came after Shannon was found drugged and tethered in a relative's grubby flat. In the disturbing interview Karen says she phoned police "so nobody would suspect her" after her daughter vanished. At one point the detective asks Karen if she phones police as "part of an act to make it look like she was missing, when she really knew she wasn't missing"- and the mum agrees this is what she had done. When the detective asks why she didn't tell police where Shannon was when they came to the house, the bleary-eyed mum says: "Because I was in front of everybody and everybody would have had a go at me for it." She then tries to backtrack, claiming she "knew Shannon was somewhere, but didn't know where". Matthews previously confessed to her role in the despicable scheme to pal Natalie Brown, another neighbour Julie Bushby and a police officer. Detective Constable Paul Kettlewell found Shannon hiding under a bed, tied up with a rope and drugged. As he retraced his footsteps for a BBC documentary, DC Kettlewell said: "When we gained a landing we found a further door that was locked. "And then I heard Shannon's voice from within this bedroom. I clearly heard her say 'stop it you're frightening me now'. "Although I knew I'd heard her, I didn't know where she was. And then I became aware of movement within the bed. "As I went across to the far side of the bed, Shannon's head appeared on that side. I reached over, picked Shannon up and carried her out. I couldn't believe that I'd found her. "We had Shannon and she was alive, I just couldn't believe it." The policeman added: "I asked her where Mike was. She said: 'He was where I was.' I said: 'In the house?' And she said: 'Under the bed.'" Following the horrific ordeal Shannon was taken off Karen and placed in the care of her local authority after the trial. She was given a new identity and is now living with a new family.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Karen Matthews repulsed detectives with 'appalling' act when daughter Shannon was found
It was the missing child case that captured the nation but when Shannon Matthews was found alive against all odds after nearly a month, her mother Karen's reaction troubled cops When Karen Matthews ' nine-year-old daughter went missing, her local community could not have been more supportive. It was February 19, 2008, when Matthews called police to say her child had not returned home. The report sparked a huge police investigation and the mum's friends and neighbours on the Moorside Estate joined in the search, hunting around the clock for the youngster. According to UK charity Missing People, when children disappear, some 90 per cent are found within just two days. Shannon was found alive and well after an agonising 24 days, by which point many people were fearing the worst. The schoolgirl was found hidden in a bed drawer in the home of Michael Donovan, an uncle to Matthews' partner Craig Meehan. Donovan was arrested and to everyone's horror, immediately implicated Shannon's own mother in the kidnapping. Matthews and Donovan had conspired together to make money from the publicity their sick hoax would generate but instead, each was jailed for eight years for kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Ahead of Matthews' arrest, huge red flags had begun to emerge. Speaking in a new Amazon Prime documentary taking a deep dive into the notorious case, detectives described the moment Matthews was asking to formally identify her daughter. She sat with Shannon in a room, when her mother was asked to view her through glass to confirm it was her child. For any other parent, it would be a heartbreaking moment, after not knowing where your young child had been for nearly a month. But the mum's reaction was chillingly cold. "Karen said: 'Yeah, that's Shannon and that was it," said Nick Townsend, who was one of the main investigators. "No emotion. This is a mother who's seeing her daughter who had been missing for over three weeks for the first time. She's shown no inkling of wanting to hug her, to speak to her." "I was sat with Shannon in one room and Karen was outside looking through," added retired detective Christine Freeman. "She never asked where she'd been found, she never asked how she was. "As a detective I did find it strange but as a mum I found it absolutely appalling." Disturbing details about Matthews and Donovan's cruel treatment of Shannon were revealed during their subsequent court case. The schoolgirl had been drugged with adult sedative temazepam after she was kidnapped, something which had been done to her regularly for up to two years. Shannon is thought that have been tethered to a beam in Donovan's flat, which allowed her to use the toilet but preventing her from accessing doors or windows. She went onto to suffer nightmares from being restrained in this way.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Karen Matthews' odd 'intimacy' with toyboy lover that 'concerned' detectives
Karen Matthews became one of the most hated women in Britain when it was revealed she had known where her missing daughter Shannon was all along - we take a look at her odd love match Shannon Matthews was just nine years old when she was reported missing. The search for the schoolgirl from Dewsbury, West Yorks who was last seen on February 19, 2008, sparked a huge police investigation. The tight knit community in the town's Moorside Estate rallied round Shannon's mother Karen Matthews, who tearfully pleaded to the cameras: "Let Shannon go". But Matthews' distraught appearance was a facade - the evil mum had planned Shannon's kidnapping with Michael Donovan, the uncle of her then partner Craig Meehan. The sick plot was a ruse to make money from the publicity but instead, Matthews was found out and later jailed for eight years for kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Now a new documentary has taken a deep dive into one of the most high-profile police investigations in recent history, with startling revelations emerging about key players in the case. When Shannon went missing her mother, then 32, was living with Meehan, 22 and her police liaison officer found their relationship concerning. "There were times that I was concerned for Karen," said retired detective Christine Freeman. "I think it wasn't easy for her with Craig, he was like having another child but also he was quite controlling of her. She never seemed able able to stand up and say what she wanted to do." Journalist Richard Edwards was a local reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post when the news broke of Shannon's disappearance. He was invited into the home of Matthews and described her relationship with Meehan as "awkward". "The relationship between Craig and Karen, it was not one of obvious warmth or intimacy in any way," he said. "They appeared to be quite awkward around each other, it was almost like two unusual people who just happened to find themselves in each other's orbit for reasons unknown. They didn't even appear to really like each other." Meehan proposed to Matthews following her arrest. He was not involved in Shannon's kidnapping and never charged with any offence relating to her. The ex-supermarket fishmonger was later convicted for possessing images of child abuse and sentenced to 20 weeks in jail. It was reported this week he had been driven out of his home in Huddersfield, West Yorks, after graffiti was sprayed on the exterior wall calling him a paedophile. Matthews was released from prison in 2012 after serving half of her sentence. Donovan, who was also jailed for eight years his part in the twisted kidnap plot, died last year in hospital, aged 54. The Hunt for Shannon Matthews will be available on Prime Video in The UK & Ireland from Monday, August 17
