7 days ago
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Shannon Matthews' mum Karen assaulted in prison as pal shares shocking details about jail stint
Karen Matthews friend Julie Bushby opened up on This Morning about her friend's eight years in prison following her conviction of kidnapping her daughter Shannon in 2008
A friend of Shannon Matthews' mum Karen has disclosed that she would make prison visits during her eight-year stretch for orchestrating her daughter's kidnapping. Nine-year-old Shannon vanished on February 19, 2008 in West Yorkshire, triggering a massive police hunt and community search that lasted nearly a month.
Shannon was discovered safe and sound at a property owned by Michael Donovan - the uncle of her mother Karen's partner Craig Meehan. It subsequently emerged that Karen had plotted the abduction with Meehan to cash in on the media attention.
Karen's pal Julie Bushby featured on This Morning (Tuesday) ahead of Prime Video's new documentary The Hunt for Shannon Matthews, reports the Mirror.
Discussing the prison visits, Bushby revealed that Karen would occasionally be "black and blue" during her jail stays.
Speaking on This Morning, she told Andi Peters and Emma Willis: "There was a time I went that she was black and blue but she walked into that many doors.
"It was a different story each time I went. She just tells me she was scared of family."
She added: "I had so many questions. I used to go visit her at prison. I asked her the same questions."
When questioned about her feelings when Karen was nicked for kidnapping Shannon, Bushby said: "When she actually came out with it, it was mixed emotions.
"Relief that it was over, anger, disappointment, used and abused - but not just me, the entire community. She just made us look like plant pots."
Matthews was freed from jail in April 2012 after completing half her term.
This follows reports that her paedophile former partner has been 'forced to flee again as his home is vandalised'.
Karen is set to feature in Amazon Prime Video's forthcoming documentary The Hunt for Shannon Matthews.
Last year, a musical parody about the shocking abduction of Shannon Matthews was branded "cruel and sadistic" by the public.
Performances by troupe K*** and the Gang were completely sold out when Shannon Matthews: The Musical premiered in 2022, with the group planning a film adaptation of the production.
Local Labour councillor Mussarat Pervaiz condemned the show for trivialising the girl's ordeal, describing it as "disgusting".
Prime Video will re-examine the case in its upcoming documentary which forms part of a large series of true crime investigations airing on the streaming service this year.
A TV insider previously told The Sun: 'The original case dumbfounded the nation when it happened and it took years before many could truly grasp what had happened.
'Shows like 2017 ITV drama The Moorside, which starred Sheridan Smith, tried to shed some light on the events but it continues to be a subject that stirs up an array of emotions.
'The creators of the new documentary hope that the passing of time and the benefit of distance might help lend some perspective on the story.'
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