Shannon mother guilty of kidnapping

4:08pm Thursday 4th December 2008

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The mother of Shannon Matthews has been found guilty of kidnapping her own daughter.

Karen Matthews, 33, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, was also convicted by a jury at Leeds Crown Court of false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Her co-defendant Michael Donovan, 40, was found guilty of the same offences.

Nine-year-old Shannon was found in Donovan's flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, 24 days after she went missing in February.

Mr Justice McCombe warned the pair that they face a "substantial custodial sentence". He said earlier that he would adjourn sentencing for reports. No application was made for bail.

During the three-week trial, the court heard that Shannon, now 10, went missing on February 19 as she walked home from school. After a massive search operation by West Yorkshire Police costing almost £3.2 million, she was found by police in Donovan's flat, less than a mile from her home, on March 14. The search was one of the largest ever conducted by the West Yorkshire force.

The prosecution told the jury that Donovan kept Shannon drugged and imprisoned in his flat as part of a plan he and Matthews hatched to claim £50,000 in reward money.

Matthews denied the abduction and blamed the crime on her former partner, Craig Meehan, and other members of his family. She said she was "disgusted" by allegations that she was involved in her daughter's kidnap.

Speaking outside the court, Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, who led the investigation, described Matthews as "pure evil". He said she deceived those closest to her from the moment Shannon was kidnapped.

"They had no reason to believe Shannon had been taken as part of an elaborate scam or hoax," he said. "It is difficult to understand what type of woman would subject her own daughter to such a wicked and evil crime. Karen Matthews is a manipulative individual who has demonstrated a remarkable ability to lie."