Latest news with #TheHuntforShannonMatthews
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I was Karen Matthews' liaison officer and won't forget her eyes on first meeting'
A new documentary called The Hunt for Shannon Matthews will air on Prime Video today (August 17) and here we look at a telling snippet involving a family liaison officer A woman tasked with being the family liaison officer to Karen Matthews after her nine-year-old daughter Shannon went missing has revealed what the notorious mum was like behind closed doors. Shannon disappeared from the Moorside Estate in Dewsbury on February 19, 2008, before the community rallied to try and locate the young girl. Christine Freeman, a former family liaison officer for West Yorkshire Police, was by Karen's side when the investigation took place. Giving an insight into her initial impressions, she said: 'The first thing as a family liaison officer when you go out to a house to meet a member of the family is really to try and put them at ease. 'When I walked into Karen and Craig's house (her former boyfriend), Karen came across as a grieving mum. Her eyes were blackened underneath as if she had not slept. 'She did have my sympathy. Her support network consisted of Shannon's stepdad Craig and a few friends locally. We didn't see anything of Karen's close family members but the community themselves came together magnificently.' Christine's unique insight will be broadcast in the new two-part Prime Video documentary The Hunt for Shannon Matthews which airs in the UK and Ireland on Sunday (August 17). The programme focuses on Shannon's 24-day disappearance which was actually a kidnapping plot orchestrated by Karen and her boyfriend's uncle, Michael Donovan. They hatched the vile plan in the hopes of pocketing £50,000 reward money. And in the documentary, Christine spoke about the strange things Karen told the police in the days after her daughter went missing. In one interview, she told investigators: 'She is out there somewhere in a nice warm environment but the person who's got her is not coming forward, which is what we'd like really.' And speaking about the advice she gave Karen afterwards, Christine said: 'I constantly said to her, 'Karen, we need to prepare for the worst.' I don't think Karen had any grasp at all of the possible dangers for her child. She just doesn't seem aware of it. She didn't seem willing to accept the possibility. 'It was hard to control your own emotions that you were feeling. But there will come a time where I will have to bring Karen really down to earth by telling her something terrible has happened to her daughter.' However, during a press conference on Mother's Day on March 2, 2008, Karen told the media that she felt she could no longer trust people around her. And remembering the bombshell moment, Christine said: 'It was during that press conference that she came out with some things that were quite disturbing really.' One such comment was that she thought someone known to her and Shanon had kidnapped her. However, Christine revealed: 'That is the first time anything like that had been suggested. After that press conference, I have said, 'What do you mean somebody who knows you?' 'She said, 'Oh, just anybody.' She kind of poo pooed it, brushed it off – 'I don't mean anybody in particular, I just mean somebody who might know us.'' On March 14, 2008, Shannon, who had been drugged with sedatives, was found in the base of a bed at Donovan's house, before he was arrested at the scene. Donovan, who died of cancer last year, was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment before Karen eventually admitted to lying about the whole saga. The pair were jailed for eight years after being found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Shannon was given a new identity after being put in emergency social services care.
Scottish Sun
3 days 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
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Shannon Matthews detective reveals 'remorseless' Karen's chilling request days after arrest
EXCLUSIVE: One of the main investigators in the Shannon Matthews case has revealed the chilling words Karen Matthews said to him just days after her arrest Hero retired Detective Constable Nick Townsend, one of the main investigators in the Shannon Matthews case, has revealed her mother Karen Matthews' startling words to him just days after her arrest. Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was reported missing on 19 February 2008, sparking a huge police investigation and community search in Dewsbury's Moorside Estate in West Yorkshire for almost a month. Three weeks into the investigation, Nick received a tip off which became a break through moment. He raced to the home of Michael Donovan in Lidgate Gardens, where himself and his colleague Paul Kettlewell discovered Shannon hiding under a bed with her captor. It comes as Shannon Matthews' mum Karen's life in prison is revealed. It later transpired that Karen Matthews had plotted the entire thing with Michael, who was the uncle of her former partner Craig Meehan. It later transpired that Karen had planned the kidnapping with Donovan to make money from the publicity. In new Amazon Prime documentary, The Hunt for Shannon Matthews, a number of people revealed they had picked up on "strange behaviours". During the documentary Journalist Richard Edwards recalled Karen"tickling him" when her daughter was still missing. It appears her 'strange behaviours' didn't stop after Karen was exposed for her wrongdoings. Detective Constable Nick Townsend recalled one startling comment she made days after her arrest, which showed she had "no remorse" for what she had done. Asked on whether Karen ever showed any remorse, Nick told the Mirror: "No, she didn't show any remorse whatsoever." Just days after her arrest, Nick recalled taking Karen back to New Hall Prison at Flockton after a series of interviews. He revealed Karen barely said anything during the journey, but the words she did say still stay with him to this day. "The only thing that she said during the whole journey was, can you get me back before 6 o'clock?," Nick recalled. He then asked Karen why she was in such a rush to get to the prison, and her response left him in shock. "She said, 'Well it's chilli con carne tonight, that's my favourite'," Nick told us. He then continued: "She never once asked about her daughter, she showed no remorse. It was all about her, and that's quite a startling thing to say really. She didn't question about how Shannon was." Karen and Michael were later sentenced to eight years in jail, but were released after four. At the end of the documentary, we see Nick in tears as he reflected on the investigation. "I'm proud of being part of a team that was highly professional in the way that we conducted that investigation. I'm proud of the outcome. "The thought of what would've happened had we not have pursued that line on enquiry on that particular morning.... We were heroes for a day but we'd have been chumps for eternity if we'd have walked away." Expanding further, Nick told us that the case was one of the most emotional in his long serving career as a police officer. "It was the most emotional I've ever felt on an enquiry," he said. "At that moment in particular, when we discovered Shannon in the flat. "There have been other emotional times with detective crime, but that one took so much out of everybody." Nick, who said he could only describe the feeling of finding Shannon as "jubilant," said the new Amazon Prime documentary is more "in depth" than the others he's done. "I hope it's also come across in the documentary how much the community on Dewsbury Moor pulled together, and how amazing they really were. I hope the amount of effort from all parties has come across."
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
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.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
