Casefile True Crime - Case 58: Shannon Matthews

Episode Date: August 12, 2017

Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews lived with her family at the Moorside Council Estate in West Yorkshire, England. On February 19 2008, she said goodbye to her mother Karen before setting off on the half-mile walk to school. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Anna Priestland For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-58-shannon-matthews

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For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode deals with violence towards children and child neglect. It won't be suitable for all listeners. Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews woke up on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008, on the top bunk of the bed she shared with her two-year-old half-sister. It was a school morning, and for once she really had something to look forward to. Her fourth-year class had their first swimming lesson that day,

and she had been looking forward to it for ages. Despite the freezing room, she crawled out and sleepily climbed down the ladder to get ready. It didn't take Shannon long to remember the argument she'd had with her mother, Karen Matthews, and her stepdad, Craig Mayan, the night before. They'd got into it, and Shannon had sworn at Craig. Afterwards, Shannon ran down the road in tears to her uncle Martin's. Martin was her mum's brother, and Shannon was good friends with his children, her cousins. Shannon cried and asked Martin if she could stay with them.

Martin had heard this before, and he was reluctant to say no, but he didn't want to interfere. After a short stay, he asked his 10-year-old daughter to walk Shannon back home. Shannon cried the whole way. That morning, Shannon got dressed in her Westmore Junior School black jumper, white cotton t-shirt, and black trousers. She pulled on her favourite rain boots. They were bright pink with grey fur around the edges. She picked up a swimming bag and a blue striped towel, and then walked out of her room.

Her bedroom had one wall painted sky blue, and the others were covered in half-peeled pink wallpaper. Her room was a safe haven that held her favourite possessions. Her brats and porcelain dolls all lined up in a row. No one had really cared or paid attention to her scribblings on the part of the wall where the wallpaper had ripped. In marker pen, she had recently scrawled, I want to live with my dad. By the time Shannon was ready to leave at 8am, her mother, Karen, was up, and the argument started again. Karen shouted at Shannon as she left the school, get out of the house, and don't come back. School mornings were busy on the Moorside Council Estate in West Yorkshire, England,

with many of the 220 estate homes having kids rushing out the door at 8am. The temperature was barely over-freezing as Shannon started her half-mile walk to school. When she saw her cousins further down Moorside Road, she told them about what her mum had said when she was leaving. It was nothing new. That morning would be the last time Shannon Matthews would ever walk out of her home on the Moorside Estate. It would be the last time she would ever attend Westmore Junior. And it would be the last time that any of her friends saw her. The town of Dewsbury is almost halfway between Huddersfield and Leeds in North Yorkshire.

On the edge of town is an area called Dewsbury Moor. Dewsbury Moor is dotted with council estates, including Moorside Estate, where Shannon lived. The estate was built in the 1930s, when the Homes for Heroes project was in place. The aim of the project was to give working-class veterans from World War I an opportunity to live comfortably away from the stressful inner-city estates, a better life for the working-class who had served their country. Rows of two-story semi-detached redbrick houses were built along the hillside, overlooking Spen Valley in one direction and Dewsbury in the other.

A keen eye would have no trouble spotting the foothills of the Pennines in the distance. Dewsbury had once been known as the hub of Yorkshire's heavy wool industry, mainly heavy-duty wool textile items for ropes, blankets and wore uniforms, and the whole area, including Moorside Estate, benefited from the seemingly endless factory work. For the mill workers and those placed in the available government housing, Moorside was like a dream come true. Many people who had come from the cities or nearby towns where their homes were old and cramped felt the immense space and safety of Moorside.

From its early days, the community was strong and supportive of each other. They struggled together through the closing of the mills, World War II, and the hard times that followed. The decades that followed were tough, and by the 1970s, the only working mills left were bedding and biscuit manufacturers. Buses on the estate took fewer and fewer workers into town, and people were forced to find whatever work they could to feed their families. Some turned to crime.

By the 1980s, things were grim, and criminal and social difficulties were a serious problem. Much of the youth saw their parents unemployed, and in turn grew up without a trade or a reason to work. As Dewsbury got on with revamping disused buildings and factories into apartments and retail, Moorside continued to become known as the rough area. The elderly especially stopped feeling safe, and burglaries were constant. By the time Karen Matthews moved to Moorside in the early 2000s, Shannon was four years old. The government was about to revamp the area. The housing estates up on Dewsburymore, including Moorside, had a burglary rate double the national average.

Something needed to be done. A new strategy for robust policing was enforced, and plans to upgrade the area were approved. Four million pounds was spent on the regeneration of the estate. Emphasis was placed on slowing down traffic and making the streets safer and more enjoyable for kids. By adding features such as park benches, tables and play equipment, the government hoped to encourage community interaction. With the help of some local kids, they came up with fresh ideas for their anti-joyride bollards. These bollards dotted around the estate were built in the shape of penguins, while other bollards replicated fossils. All of these features were designed to calm the area.

Money was also spent on upgrading dilapidated homes with new fences, roofs and windows. By 2008, Moorside estate was highly sought after on the council house register. But the estate hadn't changed overnight. Most families were still getting by on one income, which was usually minimum wage. Many residents had pride in their homes and then newly upgraded surroundings. But others still continued to dump rubbish and furniture in their yards. One house on the estate was made available as a community house, run by the Tenants and Residents Association. The idea was that it be a hub for the community.

The association was run by long-term resident, Julie Bushby. Shannon Matthews' mother, Karen Matthews, had grown up in Dewsbury. Karen left school at 16 and had her first baby at 17. By the time she met Shannon's father, Leon Rose, she had a son from a previous relationship. Within months of meeting Leon, she was pregnant and they had a son together. With the demands of the children put on the couple, their relationship became strained. But Karen fell pregnant again and at the age of 23, she gave birth to her third child and first daughter, Shannon Matthews. Shannon was taken to the home of Karen's parents, June and Gordon, straight from the hospital.

It was known that Karen wasn't coping and she had already shown signs of child neglect with her sons. June and Gordon were strong parents, having gotten through tough working class life to bring up seven children themselves. They were determined to be there for their grandchildren. June and Gordon had recently recovered from a falling out with Karen. Their focus was to make sure their grandchildren were okay. Karen and Shannon stayed with June and Gordon for the first few months of Shannon's life. When it was time to return home to Leon, Karen had no intention of keeping up the care of Shannon in the same way June and Gordon had. Karen refused to buy diapers, instead using pieces of curtain, towel or even plastic bags.

She spent her child benefit money on cigarettes, crisps and a beer. When Shannon was two years old, her father Leon left and took Shannon's brother with him, moving 10 miles away to Huddersfield. Shannon stayed with Karen at Karen's request. Within a few months, Karen had taken up with someone else and was pregnant again. When that relationship ended, she screamed at her ex to take their son with him. The cycle continued and a new partner bore a baby girl who would follow the same path and be taken away at Karen's request to live with her father. By the time Karen had moved to Moorside Estate, she had six children to five different fathers. She moved there with only three of her kids though, one of whom was Shannon.

When she met Craig Meehan on the Moorside Estate, she was 28 and Craig was 18. Within weeks of getting together, Craig moved into her three bedroom council house, which happened to be next door to Craig's sister Amanda and her husband Neil. Craig's mother Alice also lived just a stone's throw away, as did another one of his sisters, Caroline. Things seemed fairly settled and Karen soon fell pregnant with baby number seven, Shannon's baby sister. Karen and Craig were close with Amanda and Neil, closer than Karen was with her own sister Julie. Julie and her husband John had no time for Karen and worried constantly about her children. Over the years Julie had grown tired of the arguments with Karen about not buying diapers or real food for her kids. And many times when Julie gave Karen money, she would just spend it on beer and cigarettes.

Social services were informed by family, neighbours and the school. In late 2002, early 2003, Shannon and her brothers and sister were placed on the councils at risk register. Social workers showed concern that Karen and Craig were leaving their children alone all night on occasions, and that there was serious alcohol abuse going on in the house. They concluded that Karen's ability to protect her children was compromised by her inability to successfully place her children's needs above her own. It was determined that Karen would require constant monitoring and support throughout the lives of her children. But Shannon and her siblings were taken off the at-risk register only a year later in 2004. Despite another allegation of serious neglect, social workers advised that the children were not at risk of any serious harm. At that stage, social services had tapered down their visits and always called ahead.

This gave Karen a chance to make sure their house was tidied, so she could show a family being well looked after. According to June, Karen's mum, quote, I always knew when social services were due because Karen would ask to borrow money from me. When I asked what it was for, she would say, I have to buy food to fill the cupboards, the social worker is coming. It was the only time she filled the cupboards with proper food. Shannon's teachers worried about her level of concentration as she was unable to focus on reading and writing for long periods of time. Her head teacher notified social services again when they started noticing the amount of dirt Shannon had caked on her body and feet and her clothing never seemed washed. Until six months prior, Shannon had enjoyed regular visits to her dad Leon's place in Huddersfield.

She loved spending time with her brother and she got along well with Leon's wife. But Karen and Leon fell out over money and Karen cut him off and wouldn't let Shannon see him anymore. Shannon started the dream of living with her father. By February 19th, 2008, Shannon was nine. She was living with her older half-brother who was twelve, her younger half-brother who was five, and her baby two-year-old half-sister, whose father was Shannon's stepdad, Craig. Craig worked at the fish counter at the local Morrison supermarket and Karen stayed home. She rarely cooked a meal. Most dinners were frozen or take-aways. She spent her days watching daytime TV and smoking cigarettes. So that morning, when Shannon left for school, running down Morside Road towards her cousins, she had experienced hardship greater than many other kids her age.

She was a resilient kid, always able to forget things easily and snap out of it, which is exactly what her cousins said she did on their way to school. Shannon was good and aged, and other kids liked her. She got teased a little, but according to her friends, she never really let it bother her too much. She was often shy, but also had the ability to be really outgoing given the right situation. That morning, Shannon sat with her best friend Megan, who noticed that she was a little more withdrawn than usual. Megan knew how much Shannon was looking forward to swimming that day and thought it was strange when she didn't perk up on the bus on the way to Dewsbury Sports Centre. Usually, if Shannon had a quiet morning, she was happy by the afternoon. Megan, quote, Shannon was quiet on the way to swimming instead of talking all the time like she would normally. I didn't ask her why.

But when we got to the lesson and had two armbands on each, we started giggling and splashing. It was funny. She was a better swimmer than me. Shannon had mentioned running away to some of her friends in recent weeks. Lots of the kids talked about what they would do if they ran away, but none of the discussions ever seemed serious, and the conversations quickly turned to something else. Swimming finished around 3pm, and on the bus home, Shannon went back to being quiet. The bus pulled up outside Westmore Junior on Church Lane. One of the teachers, Mrs. Tingle, was standing outside the gate. Neither she nor Megan remembered which direction Shannon walked when she got off the bus. The time was 3.10pm. When Shannon wasn't home at 4, Karen knocked on her neighbour's door asking if she had seen her.

Karen was worried as it was unusual Shannon wasn't home, but there were plenty of kids' houses she might have stopped at on the way, maybe even her cousin's home. Karen went to the shops with Craig's sister Amanda, who lived next door. Karen thought Shannon would be back by the time she got back from the shops, but when they returned just before 7, there was still no sign of Shannon. Karen called 999. Have you been in touch with any of her friends or anybody like that? Everywhere I've been covered by friends, wives and family and everything, and nobody at all. Any information on where she can be? Does she go to school and come back on her own normal event?

Yes. Right, so do you expect her to come back at 4pm? About half a seat, where does she come from? Does she have a mobile phone or anything like that? She's home, just to be right, so there's no way I'd actually ring and join now. Have you been around all her friends? Yes. Have you been in touch with all her relatives?

Yes. And there's nowhere else that you've got left to look? No. Have you been in touch with the school or have they come from? Have you been on your own normal time at 10 past 3? Right. What do you call her? Shannon locks yours.

Has she been missing before? No, it's her first time. There's been nothing for people to get into that while she should go. Police were at Karen's door by 7.15pm. Craig and the other three kids answered the door as Karen was out searching for Shannon. When the officers went inside they saw the house was filthy with rubbish. Shoes and clothes were scattered around and take away containers were piled up in the kitchen. The house had little ventilation and the stench of cigarettes was strong.

Shortly after, Karen returned and was visibly upset. She sat down and began answering the officers' questions. They asked her if there was any reason to believe Shannon had run away. Karen explained that Shannon's older brother had just gotten a computer from school and she was jealous and angry about that. Karen kept saying over and over, I just know she is out there somewhere. The officers then asked if they could search the house. At this point Craig lashed out saying, what are you accusing us of? They explained it was just routine procedure and that they might find something to help them locate Shannon.

Craig relaxed a little after hearing that. It's not unusual for parents to lose their temper at police during the different stages of their child going missing. Some feel questioning by police is directed at them. Others feel the police are wasting precious time that should be spent looking for their child. Family and neighbours started arriving wondering what was going on. Soon many people from the estate were out looking for Shannon. Police went to Huddersfield to see Shannon's father Leon. They thought she might have gone there, but she hadn't.

Leon was distraught to hear his daughter was missing and drove straight to Dewsbury Maw to aid in the search. A search team was dispatched and while teams of officers completed line searches in the neighbouring fields, others retraced Shannon's steps from school. Neighbours from the estate, families from school and others in the community came out to help in the search. Many people searched through the entire night, calling out Shannon's name as they walked the streets and crossed the fields, but she was nowhere to be found. By the early hours of the morning, searches had checked and rechecked every place that a child might hide. Police knew the grim reality of a young girl outside overnight. By the early hours of the morning, the temperature had dropped to minus 4 degrees Celsius or 25 degrees Fahrenheit. If Shannon was outside and they didn't find her, she would surely suffer from hypothermia.

The following morning, Shannon's uncle Neil said, quote, We searched everywhere, driving around the whole area until 4am. We looked in neighbour's gardens and checked all the places she would normally be, but came up with nothing. We're extremely worried. We're in limbo now and don't know what to do. It's completely out of character and unexpected for her to just go off. It's a horrible feeling that she might not even be in Yorkshire anymore. She could be a million miles away by now if someone has her.

She is a quiet girl and very shy. You might even say she is timid. If she had a problem, she was not the kind of kid who would go running for help straight away. She is scared of the dark. That's why it's all a mystery. Neil had said what everyone was thinking and what everyone was too scared to say out loud. What if Shannon was a million miles away and someone had her? As a sharp frost cracked across Dewsbury more that morning,

police considered this was not a runaway case at all. They had to accept that there was a chance that Shannon may have been abducted. The Dewsbury community house opened its doors and Julie Bushby, who ran the tenants association, stood up immediately to help coordinate the estate's residents to continue searching for Shannon. Karen was a mess. She was cooped up at home with Craig and the kids waiting for news. That next morning, the major inquiry and homicide teams were called in. Police continued to visit Karen and Craig, hoping that any new piece of information might help, no matter how little.

They took items from the house they thought might be helpful, including both Karen and Craig's computers. Every available police department aided in the search. As the morning unfolded, officers continued door knocking, asking every household whether they had seen Shannon or anything suspicious in the lead up to her disappearance. The nearby town of Wakefield heard the district's police academy. They closed their doors that day and sent every available cadet to the streets surrounding Dewsbury more. Julie Bushby continued to lead the civilian search. No one was asked to come. There were no invitations.

People just turned up in droves to help. The community pulled together. Shannon could have been their daughter. Many residents walked the streets in tears, determined to do everything they could to help find her. That afternoon, an emergency press conference was called by Chief Superintendent Barry South, commander of the area. It had been nearly 24 hours since anyone had seen Shannon. The press conference was packed. It had only been nine months since three-year-old English girl Madeline McCann had gone missing while on holiday in Portugal. She has never been found.

Chief Superintendent South was mindful that the country was still reeling from that, and he wanted to be very careful with his words. With all the press and talk over the McCann case, there would be few people who hadn't heard the following statistic. 96% of abducted children are killed within the first 24 hours. Chief Superintendent South confirmed that their priority was locating Shannon safe and well, and that every available resource was being utilized in the search. By then, 200 police officers were searching. Within the first day or so, 1,800 homes had been door-knocked. That number would eventually grow to over 3,000. A helicopter with heat-seeking technology was dispatched and constantly droned overhead. Mounted police searched the moor and rolling hills and gardens nearby.

Some of the scrub was thick and overgrown, but they left no stone unturned. A section of Crow Nest Park was cordoned off where the lake was. Officers broke the ice which sat like a sheet across the top and sent divers down. They came up with nothing. Julie Bushby and the residents of the estate gathered around Karen. They printed hundreds of posters with Shannon's photo saying, Have you seen this girl? They also printed hundreds of t-shirts, and the Sea of Residents wore them as they taped posters to every fence and pole in the area.

The Sun newspaper put up a £20,000 reward for any information leading to her safe return. Another £5,000 was donated by a business in Huddersfield, and the newspaper would later make the total reward £50,000. Karen spoke to the media outside her home. It was easy to mistake the black circles around her eyes as black eyes. She looked like a deer in the headlights. Have you heard anything at all from her, Karen? Nothing at all. I just want her home.

Where she belongs with the family, if anybody's got a challenge, please return home safe. Please, I'm begging you baby, come home. The feeling of helplessness was now besieging the country, and the public felt desperate for Karen and her family. Karen's words always seemed on the hopeful side though. She often said she thought Shannon was out there somewhere, and hoped she would be home soon. The press didn't move, their vans remained camped on Moorside Road and the estate. After one week passed, the search was continuing, but there was still no clues.

The police were under immense pressure. The Madeleine McCann case being in the forefront of people's minds but West Yorkshire police wanted to avoid the criticisms of the Portuguese investigation. In the background, detectives were looking into everything and every one they could. Julie Bushby continued to rally the local community. She became the pillar for the estate and the pillar for Karen, who crept deeper and deeper into herself. At home, Karen planted flowers for Shannon in the front garden with local children from the estate. A large group gathered to release balloons in Shannon's honour, and candles were lit at night along the road.

Two weeks after Shannon went missing, police set up another press conference to appeal for help. Wearing a help find Shannon t-shirt and a clutching one of Shannon's small teddy bears, Karen posed for pictures. She appeared a lot calmer than in her frantic TV plays in the early days of the search. The dark rings around her eyes were fading. Karen was flat. All emotion gone. Shannon's dad, Leon Rose, also spoke at this press conference. Well, it's the case of if somebody's out there that has actually got Shannon. He's just broken the family that we had apart.

The family don't feel safe anymore. The brothers are asking for her all the time. Sisters crying. Half the time, I cry myself asleep. My stepdad, which is just Craig, he cries himself asleep. I've been able to go to work. Whoever's got Shannon, just please let her go. The family's missing her. All the friends are missing her at school.

I've been looking every day, basically. Out driving about, handing out leaflets. Just asking about it without anyone seeing it. Any little, littlest detail could mean a great thing. A great big deal. And it's basically just out doing stuff like that at the moment. Shannon's stepdad, Craig Mann, told the Sun newspaper, quote, I know people start pointing fingers at family and friends when things like this happen.

But I had nothing to do with Shannon's disappearance. Karen continued to share her belief that someone out there had Shannon, quote, I think that somebody out there who knows Shannon, they probably know me as well. And I just want her home safe, really. It makes me think now that I can't trust people who are really close to me anymore. I just can't trust them. She got abducted. That's all I can say. When asked if she thought it was someone she knew who took her, she said, quote,

It seems that way because there's no trace of her at all. There's no trace of her swimming costume, her towel, or anything like that that she's taken with her. A reporter pressing Karen further asked why someone close to her would do it. Karen said, just to hurt me, really. Karen then told the press that the last thing Shannon said to her when she left the house that morning was, quote, I'll see you at tea time, mum. Love you. By this stage, West Yorkshire police had questioned 1,500 motorists and searched over 3,000 houses. More than 250 officers and 60 detectives were involved in the investigation.

Around 10% of the entire operational strength of West Yorkshire police at the time. Half of the recovery dogs in the UK were utilised and these dogs were used to search more than 500 homes lining Shannon's route to school. They found nothing. The sex offenders register was scrutinised and 800 CCTV tapes and computer hard drives were checked. The search for Shannon became the largest police search for a missing person since the Yorkshire Ripper investigation 30 years earlier. Not since January 1981, when Peter Sutcliffe was charged with the Yorkshire Ripper murders, had Dewsbury had such a high profile police event. West Yorkshire police created a website called Help Us Find Shannon. It held information for the missing Shannon Matthews appeal.

Police also used the launch to release a new photograph of Shannon and the 999 call made by Karen. As media interviews rolled on, questions put to Karen and Craig got tougher. At one point, Craig was asked if the rumours he had been violent towards Shannon were true. He was defended by Leon, Shannon's father. Karen said there was no way Craig was involved in Shannon's disappearance. Nothing had swayed Karen's belief that Shannon was still alive. Quote, wherever she is, she's going to be frightened and it's just breaking everybody's heart on the street. Just let her go.

Karen and Craig remained home, dealing with the influx of friends, police and reporters constantly at their door. They still had three children at home, the two boys from Karen's previous relationships and also Karen and Craig's baby girl. Police were interested in everyone in Shannon's family. They spent countless hours drawing up Shannon's family tree, which by that stage had over 350 names on it. They were slowly working through each name and paying visits to everyone. They compiled a list of significant individuals who were persons of interest they were prioritising. Everyone who was spoken to gave as much information as they could. They all just wanted Shannon to be found.

As part of the investigation, Karen, Craig and Shannon's siblings gave their DNA. Karen also handed over several items belonging to Shannon. With this, officers were able to piece together a full set of Shannon's fingerprints and her DNA profile. If a discarded item of clothing or if a body was found, it would be better for police to already have her DNA on file, especially if they needed to match something in a hurry. But when they got the results in, police had to sit down with Karen and Craig and inform them that their youngest daughter, the baby girl Karen had fallen pregnant with shortly after meeting Craig, wasn't actually Craig's. On Friday the 14th of March 2008, 24 days since Shannon was last seen, many of the residents of the estate woke up with hangovers.

The previous night, Julie Bushby and other locals had organised the disco up at the Cricket Club. There was a chance to raise money for the missing Shannon Matthews appeal, which didn't seem to be going anywhere, and also a chance to relax for many of those who had dedicated night and day to finding Shannon. Karen and Craig were in attendance and seemed to be having a fairly good time, although they mostly kept to themselves. Prior to the disco, police received some information. One of Craig's relatives had spoken to Craig's uncle, Michael Donovan, and mentioned that police were building a family tree and wanted his details. The strange thing was that neither Craig or Karen had given Michael Donovan's name to the police as part of the family tree, and Donovan only lived close by, less than a mile down the road.

On the morning of March 14th, police planned to speak to Michael Donovan, with hundreds of names on Shannon's family tree. It was possible that he had just been forgotten. Stranger things had happened. During one media interview, Karen Matthews forgot that she had seven children, only remembering at the time that she had six. So the chance that Craig's uncle, Michael Donovan, had simply been forgotten from the family tree was very possible. Although something of note was, Michael Donovan hadn't turned up to take part in any of the searches for Shannon, despite only living close by. Detective Constable's Nick Townsend and Paul Kettlewell were dispatched to visit Donovan and get his details. They had spent the last three weeks speaking to all relatives and people who had ties to Shannon.

They had completed over 700 door knocks, and nothing of any significance had come up. Donovan lived in Lidgate Gardens, a larger state full of two-story vanilla brick flats in Bartley car, less than one mile from Shannon's home. Officers Townsend and Kettlewell arrived at Donovan's estate in the late morning. They walked up the communal stairs to unit number 24 on the first floor. They knocked, but no one answered, so they knocked on the neighbour's door. The neighbour told them that Donovan should be home, as his car was parked outside, and he never went anywhere without it. The officers then checked with the downstairs neighbours. The woman who lived in the flat directly underneath Donovan said she was sure that she had heard him upstairs that morning.

After a few more questions, the woman said that in the last few weeks she had heard the sound of a child's feet shuffling around upstairs. Donovan's kids weren't there anymore, but he did have a new girlfriend, and the neighbour thought his girlfriend must have had a child. But Townsend and Kettlewell thought otherwise. They phoned for backup. The operational search team arrived, and the group met at the stairs to discuss the plan. They decided that if Donovan was in and had innocently not heard them knocking, and nothing untoward was found, then that was a risk worth taking. They broke Donovan's door down. After going up a small flight of stairs to the living area, they realised the flat was in total silence. But then one of the officers tried a bedroom door, and it was locked. He opened it with one kick. The smell of cigarette smoke was fresh.

One of the officers put his hand down on the bed, and the sheets felt warm. At that moment, they heard the small cry of a child. Stop it, you're frightening me. It was muffled, and it was coming from under the bed. They took a look, and the bed seemed to have solid sides. Two of the officers attempted to lift it from its base, but it was so heavy they could barely get it off the ground. There was movement from the other side, and before the officers even had a chance to look at each other, a small girl crawled out from a drawer underneath the bed. She tried to stand, but she was confused and dazed.

Kettlewell picked her up and left the room with her safely in his arms. He asked her where Donovan was. Where I was, under the bed. The other officers bent down and peered through the hole for the drawer. Michael Donovan, Craig's uncle, was curled up under the bed in the fetal position. No amount of yelling at him to come out did any good. They placed him under arrest on suspicion of abduction. Donovan was lying under the bed with 600 pounds in cash, a prescription for a tamazepam, a box of travel sickness medication,

and the Sun newspaper, with the headline about Shannon's new 50,000 pound reward. From the moment the officers tried to cuff him and while trying to get him out of the flattened to the police car, Donovan kicked and yelled and tried to break free from their grasp. Neighbours had gathered downstairs. They were shocked when Detective Constable Paul Kettlewell walked out of the stairwell holding a girl in his arms. One neighbour whispered to the officer, Is it Shannon? Yes, she's okay, Kettlewell replied.

As Michael Donovan was dragged on his knees, refusing to walk to the police car, neighbours shouted abuse at him. He yelled back, Don't hate me, I'm a poorly man. Shannon sat safely in the back of the other police car. Townsend and Kettlewell took a moment to shake each other's hands. They didn't need to say anything. They both knew exactly how the other felt. They reminded Shannon that everything was going to be okay. She was safe now.

When Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan received the call, his first reaction was that a body had been found. He had to double check. Shannon was alive. The first thing Shannon was given when she arrived back at Dewsbury police station was a colouring book and some pencils. A white tent was set up at the entrance to the communal stairs, and Donovan's flat was searched by crime scene officers who took fingerprints and swabs for DNA. They found a long fabric strip coming from the manhole in the hallway.

When they followed it up, they saw it was attached to a beam in the roof. It had been used to tie around Shannon's waist when Donovan had to go out. She could reach the bathroom and the bed. And that's about it. They also found a handwritten list of rules. At red, you must not make any noise or bang your feet. You must not go near the windows. You must not get anything or do anything without me being here.

Keep the TV volume low, only up to 8 or lower. You can play the Super Mario games and you can play some DVDs and you can play the CD music. It ended with the letters IPU, which stood for I Promise You. Among some of the things Shannon had been playing with in the flat, they found a copy of a children's magazine called Arrive Alive. It was a colourful book for kids on travelling safely. The book explains to children to make sure people know where they are going and recommends that they always choose the safest route.

In the bedroom, police found two packed bags of clothes by the door. With the packed clothes, the cash and the travel sickness medication, it was clear that Donovan was about to flee. A check of his police record showed that he had been arrested for abducting his own daughter just over a year before, but the case was withdrawn from the courts after social services got involved. Police believed that Donovan was preparing to leave as the heat around Shannon's disappearance hadn't gone away.

They believed he was intending to take Shannon with him, and if he did, the likelihood of her ever being found alive would have been very slim. Shannon's father, Leon Rose, was informed Shannon had been found. He described the moment as feeling like he had won the lottery. He thanked everyone that helped in the search, saying he was just so thankful she was home. Julie Bushby was at the community centre when she got the call.

She started yelling that Shannon had been found. The cheering could be heard down the road, and people came rushing. The residents hugged each other as they cried and shook their heads in disbelief. No one could believe it. There were yet to be any questions. Everyone was just glad to hear Shannon was okay. Word quickly spread, and soon text messages and calls were flying all over that Shannon had been found. Karen's neighbours ran to her house and screamed out the news.

Karen stared, frozen, and then burst into tears. As did Craig. Back at Dewsbury police station, they were also celebrating. Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan described it as like nothing he had ever seen. Quote, Everyone was in tears. I've never seen an incident room like it. It was a very emotional time.

The vast majority of staff and officers were parents or grandparents themselves. They didn't need anyone to remind them of the consequences of not finding Shannon. News footage of Karen and Craig outside their house showed them shell shocked. Karen clutched Craig and turned her face away from the cameras in a way she hadn't done in the 24 days before. At one point during the live news broadcast, Julie Bushby, who was inside the house, was yelling. Smile, woman. Why isn't she smiling? Some of her other friends also joined in. For God's sake Karen, smile.

Karen turned back to the camera and smiled. At that moment, you could hear the crowd inside the house cheering. It wasn't just Morside celebrating. People came from all over the area. They tore up the missing posters and danced around the streets. The relief felt by the community was undeniable. People found it hard to control their emotions. They felt proud of the way their community had pulled together and showed their strength. In total, the search for Shannon Matthews cost 3.2 million pounds and involved over 300 police officers.

Karen's house was full of people when police arrived and they asked everyone to give them some privacy. When the officers confirmed the details of Shannon's rescue, Craig's eyes filled up and he cried. Karen turned her face away, hiding her emotion. The officers offered to drive Karen and Craig down to the station to see Shannon. As Karen gathered her things, the officers waited for a barrage of questions from a worried mother about her daughter. But they never came. Detective Constable Christine Freeman, who was also the family liaison officer during the search, was asked to be the first person to speak to Shannon.

They had never met, but Freeman knew a lot about her as she had spent hundreds of hours with her parents and family in the previous weeks. Freeman's first reaction when she saw Shannon was to hug her. But she reigned it in and simply smiled at the bewildered 9-year-old saying, Am I glad to see you. Shannon was calm and a little confused by all the fuss. She didn't really understand what was going on. When Karen arrived at Dewsbury police station, she was informed that both her and Craig wouldn't be able to see Shannon face to face. They were told it was to preserve forensic evidence.

As Karen watched her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for 24 days, through a two-way sheet of glass, she didn't cry or call out. She just stood facing the glass and blankly said, She's got new clothes, before being escorted from the room. Shannon was taken into emergency care by social services and placed under police protection. Police exercised powers under section 46 of the Children Act 1989, which allows a child to remain subject to police protection for 72 hours. In a statement to the press that day, police confirmed Shannon wouldn't be going home until they fully completed their investigation. Karen and Craig were put up in a hotel for the night to give them a break from the press. A party had erupted on the Moorside estate.

People were embracing each other as they waited for their kids to come home from school. At Shannon's school, an assembly was held where the children were told Shannon had been found safe. Many of the kids burst into tears uncontrollably. The effect Shannon's disappearance had on her friends was evident in those few minutes. As they walked arm in arm back to Moorside Road, many of them cried the whole way. Her friend Callie clutched 22 letters that had been written for Shannon from her friends. The estate partied into the night. People lit fireworks and people drank all the booze they could find.

Shops donated champagne and one resident set up strobe lights and had music pumping from his house. A bed sheet hung from a window with the words welcome home painted in huge letters. News crews filmed as drunken locals cheered for Shannon and cried with happiness that she had been found alive. At Halifax police station, Michael Donovan had initially refused to speak. But after a while, he prepared a statement with his lawyer. His statement implicated Karen Matthews. Donovan said Karen had approached him with a plan. He looks after Shannon. Karen pretend she is missing.

They wait for the reward to go up and then they share the money. When the reward reached 25,000 pounds, Karen rang Donovan and said she would ring him again when it reached 50 to tell him what to do. It had reached 50 but she hadn't given him any further instructions before he was arrested. Donovan said that he couldn't get out of it because Karen had threatened to send three men to hurt him if he didn't do what she said. He didn't know who the men were but he guessed one of them was a man he knew of who had killed someone. He said he didn't hurt Shannon at all and had even gone and bought her toys and clothes. Michael Donovan was born Paul Drake and was the youngest of nine. He grew up on an estate not far from the flat where Shannon was found.

He started getting in trouble with the law at age 11. His first offences were arson and shoplifting. When he was 16 he was convicted of causing criminal damage after which he ran away from home and never returned. At 19 he changed his name by deed poll to Michael Donovan after his hero of the same name from his favorite TV show V. He found work as a laborer and delivery driver with an engineering firm where he demonstrated little common sense. Donovan was described as a man who kept mostly to himself. Donovan had met Karen Matthews the previous November at the wake for Craig's father. Karen and Donovan hid it off drinking beers in the kitchen after the service. Another member of the family walked in when Karen was sitting on Donovan's knee apparently falling all over him.

Rumors were floating around that Karen had been having an affair with Donovan. The following day police confirmed that Shannon was doing well. Specialty trained officers had been gently questioning Shannon to establish what had happened. Over several weeks that followed she would have daily 10 minute sessions at a special children's suite resembling a classroom. When Shannon ceased to be held in police protection she remained in the care of Kirkley's family services. She was then moved from the Dewsbury area. On March 17th 2008 three days after Shannon was found Michael Donovan was formally charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment. He was remanded in custody.

He appeared at Leeds Crayon Court via a video link from his prison cell and the trial date was fixed for November 11th eight months later. Back in the estate friends and neighbors were discussing some of the strange behaviors of Karen. She wasn't asking when Shannon would be home and she wasn't kicking and screaming angry that it was her boyfriend's uncle who had abducted her daughter. People started to look back over the previous weeks and some of the erratic things Karen had done. She would laugh and knock about in the living room with Craig but then when a camera started recording for an interview she would quickly change to a grieving mother. Those around her at the time were oblivious. They were all highly stressed and focused on finding Shannon not scrutinizing how many times Karen broke down crying. Police informed Karen and Craig that Shannon wasn't able to return home while they were still interviewing her and running medical tests for signs of abuse.

Karen simply said okay. She didn't ask after Shannon or asked to give her a message. Police released a statement to the press to reassure everyone that keeping Shannon away from home was for the best. Quote, But there was also another reason. On April 2nd Shannon's stepfather Craig Mann was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography. These charges came after police examined his computer during the search for Shannon. Craig was remanded in custody and the following day formally charged with 11 offences of possessing indecent images of children. The next day Craig's sister Amanda who lived next door was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Craig's mother Alice who was Michael Donovan's sister was arrested on suspicion of attempting to bevert the course of justice. They were both released on bail. Some of Karen's friends had had enough. They were asking questions of Karen but they were continuing to get vague answers. No one knew what to believe and after Craig was arrested people were scared. Julie Bushby and another friend Natalie decided to confront Karen. Although they weren't aware of the statement that Donovan had made against Karen they had their own suspicions. Julie and Natalie got in touch with the police liaison officer Christine Freeman and told her that they planned to get Karen to talk. Freeman agreed to help them.

Freeman picked Karen up in her car. Karen sat in the front passenger seat and they then picked up Julie and Natalie. Julie immediately told Karen about the rumors that had been going around the estate. That people were starting to believe Karen knew where Shannon was the entire time. Julie asked her flat out if she was involved. Karen started sobbing uncontrollably. It's true Karen cried hysterically with more emotion than she had shown in all the weeks before. It's true. Karen was immediately arrested.

On the 6th of April 2008 47 days after Shannon disappeared her mother Karen Matthews was arrested on suspicion of attempting to bevert the course of justice and child neglect. Shannon's stepdad Craig Meehan was not charged in relation to her disappearance. It later came out that detectives suspected Karen almost from the start. Investigation into the role social services played was also commenced looking at whether or not they could have done more to protect Karen's children. The day Karen was charged police announced that they were also investigating approaches that had been made by Karen's family to the Madeleine McCann fund asking for money to assist in the search for Shannon. Kate and Jerry McCann had received phone calls and emails from Shannon's family asking if they would donate to the find Shannon appeal. The McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said quote they were quite blunt saying things like Madeleine's family has got loads of money and we want some for Shannon. The McCann set up the find Madeleine fund after their three year old daughter vanished on their holiday in Portugal in May 2007 nine months before Shannon vanished.

Detectives believed Karen was inspired to stage her own daughter's abduction by the McCann's plight and how it had captured public emotion. The McCanns felt the stress that Shannon's disappearance and according to their spokesman Clarence Mitchell were on the verge of giving Shannon's family 25,000 pounds. But before any money was handed over the McCanns had advice from the police. The police informed them that certain things had come to light during the investigation and it would be best if they didn't donate. Michael Donovan told police the plan was for him to release Shannon at Dewsbury Market and then he would pretend to find her by chance. They planned to do this in view of CCTV cameras so they had proof to claim their reward. Donovan and Karen both told their own separate and conflicting accounts of the day the plan was hatched. By piecing together parts of both of their stories police concluded the following.

In a small local cafe Karen arranged to meet with Michael Donovan. She arrived with her youngest daughter strapped into her buggy and over a mug of tea Karen presented her plan. Initially she asked Donovan to look after her eldest son in what would be a stage kidnapping. When Donovan said no and explained that he didn't even know her older son Karen changed her mind. She decided that Shannon was a much better option and that the reward to help locate her would probably be much higher than her sons anyway. Karen explained that she would report Shannon missing and once the reward got to 50,000 pounds she would contact him with what to do next. It was likely that Karen didn't realize it would take three weeks to reach that amount. It seemed that in her plan she thought it would be just a matter of days.

Karen pushed an A4 sheet of paper across the table to Donovan detailing the plan. The paper listed the date and time he was supposed to wait for Shannon and contained instructions about what he was to do with her. After learning his instructions by heart he was told to dispose of the paper down the toilet. Donovan claimed to police that he didn't want to be in on Karen's scheme and that it was only when she threatened him and told him she'd get her heavy friends onto him if he didn't do it that he agreed. According to Donovan Karen said he'd be dead if he didn't help her. Karen never admitted her involvement in the crime. After the arrests police had to go door to door on the estate with the anti-vigilante leaflets. The locals felt huge betrayal and some had begun attacking Karen's house.

Karen's other children had been taken into care and her house sat empty. It had to be boarded up and have metal screens placed against the windows to stop any further damage. The elation of Shannon being found was marred by the deep sadness everyone felt that a mother could do this to her own child. Shannon's friends felt like they had lost her all over again and they had. It was hard for anyone to comprehend. When it was clear that Shannon would never be going back to Dewsbury more and would never see her loved ones again, people grieved her loss. Craig Mann pleaded not guilty but was convicted of 11 counts of possessing child pornography. All images were found stored on his computer which police had taken from the house during the investigation.

He was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment but because he had already spent longer on remand than that, he was released that day. Michael Donovan and Karen Matthews were tried together at Leeds Crown Court on November 11th 2008. The trial lasted just over three weeks. Neither of them showed any emotion as they were led into court. Prosecutor Julian Goose QC presented Karen as a quote, proven, consummate, skillful and convincing liar. The plan was as dishonest as it was wicked. Both defendants stood by and watched the very large police investigation and assistance by many people in the search. It was based on a lie, a trick and a deliberately false complaint. The court heard that Shannon knew nothing about what was happening and had been tricked into accepting a lift from Donovan on her way home from school that day with a promise to take her to a fair. Instead, he imprisoned her less than one mile from her own house.

Donovan strongly denied mistreating Shannon, telling the court he had taken her shopping and for evening walks in a local park with her pink jacket's hood hiding her face. But it was reported in the media that he had tied her with a strap to a beam in the ceiling, which led to him being attacked in prison while on remand. As he sat in court, he nursed a broken jaw. A forensic toxicologist told the court that tests on Shannon's hair indicated she had been given to Mazapam as well as travel sickness medication to subdue her while being held captive. But further tests also revealed that these drugs had been fed to Shannon for up to 20 months prior to her disappearance. Experts believed that she would have constantly felt the effects of the drugs and this would have been a contributing factor to her lack of concentration at school. She was likely to have been confused, slow and a little fuzzy. Being so young, she may not have identified these feelings as being unusual and may have been all she knew.

On November 27th, when Karen gave evidence, she constantly sobbed while denying having anything to do with her daughter's disappearance. She claimed that Craig told her to take the blame for what had happened and that she was scared of him. The prosecutor told the jury that Karen had given the police five different versions of the story, stating she was, quote, telling lie after lie after lie. Neither Karen Matthews than aged 33 nor Michael Donovan than aged 44 showed any emotion as the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts after six hours of deliberation. Both were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. They both received eight-year sentences. After it was all over, Julie Bushby said, quote,

I personally don't think it was for the reward. I don't know what it was for. I don't know. It could have been attention. During Karen's prison sentence, Julie Bushby was her only visitor. Every month, she would travel to the prison in Leeds in the hope that Karen may reveal why she did it. Julie asked her often and she always got the same response in one way or another, that she didn't do it. Julie said Karen was often beat up and usually greeted her with a black eye. Julie wrote down the details of their conversations religiously and every visit Karen's story was different. In June 2010, social services released a statement after completing their report. They stated that there was no way they could have predicted or prevented what happened to Shannon, quote,

We are sorry that any child should go through this traumatic experience. It's even harder to comprehend that it was Shannon's mother who was the one to let her down the most. Both Karen Matthews and Bonkel Donovan were freed in March 2012 after serving half their sentence, four years. After Karen was freed, she was taken to a woman's hostel in the home counties in a private car. She was given a makeover and a new identity. On her first outing with staff, she was recognized immediately with a non-looker stating, quote, The level of preparation and time given over to Karen Matthews and her rehabilitation is frankly extraordinary. In fact, you would think she was a victim of an abduction, not the perpetrator.

She had to serve only half her sentence and now she has been rewarded with a makeover and a shopping trip. It's insane. Shannon Matthews was given a new identity, as were her siblings whom she lived with. They were all placed with other families. Shannon never saw any of her friends, family or neighbors ever again. It's not known publicly why custody wasn't granted to Shannon's father, Leon Rose. Shannon's grandparents who had always provided a safe haven for her should grew up were also denied custody. Shannon would never see them again.

Shannon's grandfather Gordon spoke of his heartache at losing his granddaughter twice and how he longs for her to get in touch. He and June occasionally get updates from social services, but otherwise have no contact with her. Recently they saw a picture of her nearly a decade on from when they last saw her and said she looked beautiful. Gordon, quote, My one wish is that when she is old enough to understand what happened properly, she will come and knock on that door. But I fear it will be too late and I won't be here to see her. I will be up there in heaven looking down on her.