Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan
Matthews and Donovan kept Shannon "drugged and subdued"

The mother of Shannon Matthews has been jailed for kidnapping her own daughter in an attempt to claim reward money.

Karen Matthews, 33, and her co-accused Michael Donovan, 40, were earlier found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Both were jailed for eight years by a judge at Leeds Crown Court who said the offences were "truly despicable".

Shannon was held at Donovan's flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, for 24 days.

The judge, Mr Justice McCombe, said: "The offences that you committed were truly despicable.

"It is impossible to conceive how you could have found it in you to put this young girl through the ordeal that you inflicted upon her.

"It is incomprehensible that you could have permitted your friends, neighbours and in your case, Matthews, even your children to sacrifice time and energy in extensive searches for the supposedly missing child."

   

[Shannon] appeared to relive her experiences and she often complained of having nightmares where she is being tied up

Judge, Mr Justice McCombe

The judge said it was doubtful Matthews and Donovan could have planned and carried out the kidnap without other people.

He said: "Having regard to their low intellect... it must be doubtful whether they could have conceived or continued these offences without the assistance or connivance of others.

"The pre-sentence report in Matthews' case comments that neither defendant seems to have the cognitive ability to devise and orchestrate such an elaborate offence with any degree of likelihood of success."

Shannon, now 10, went missing on 19 February as she walked home from school.

During the trial, the jury heard pair Shannon was "drugged, subdued and hidden from the public" so the defendants could claim reward money.

She was found in Donovan's flat, hidden in in the base of a divan bed, less than a mile from her home, on 14 March, following a ?3.2m police investigation.

Shannon Matthews
Shannon Matthews went missing on her way from school in February

The judge said that although Shannon was not physically harmed, her experience must have been "highly disturbing".

He said: "It is clear as a matter of common sense that it must have been highly disturbing to a nine-year-old child to be removed suddenly from her normal environment... without knowing when, if at all, she would be returned."

Reading from the report about Shannon's recovery, he said: "She appeared to relive her experiences and she often complained of having nightmares where she is being tied up."

He said she would need to undergo psychotherapy sessions.

Media 'hysteria'

In mitigation for Donovan, Alan Conrad QC, told Leeds Crown Court the barristers in the case had a combined legal experience of more than 100 years but none had come across a case like it.

Frances Oldham QC, for Matthews, said her client had committed "serious offences" but she criticised the media "hysteria" that followed her conviction.

Verdict on Shannon case

Making reference to a comment by Det Supt Andy Brennan, who condemned Matthews as "pure evil", Ms Oldham said: "[This] is the one thing she is not."

The barrister said Matthews had been isolated in prison because of how she had been portrayed and had received no visitors except for her lawyers.

Ms Oldham said: "She is not Myra Hindley, she is not Rose West."

Det Supt Andy Brennan, the officer who led the investigation, said the case was now closed.

He said: "If new evidence comes to light, it will of course be investigated.

"We considered all the evidence, including what Shannon said, with the CPS and concluded there was not sufficient evidence to charge anybody else."

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    I  personally  think justice has been done  ...but  also  i do   hope she never gets her   children back ....
 This women is evil ..sick  ... an unforgivable

Like anything else in this country Chris  mebey it  was the  max  the courts could give them both, i dont know...


  Wheni  said justice was done i ment, id sooner  they go to prison than community service on the  grounds of them not been , lets say slightly intelegent then i dont get into  bother  for not been  PC .....
   
  Again  though the  services was alerted  an didnt  respond ....Poor Children to have a  life this  that

Evil !!!! I am thinking of a stronger word but for the life of me I cant remember it.

Yes GUILTY she is, and the system is also guilty of handing out such menial sentences. Things must improve for the victims whereby it is seen that Justice is being dealt out.

Its our fault
we have paid her to breed and stay at home
now she will never have to work again.........nobody will employ her.
On top of that we will have to bring up her other children too,and keep her in prison,lets hope they will educate her in there,and with a little bit of luck she might get a job when she comes out.........dont hold your breath !

I  just wished  they send um to another  country...with another ID   ....i  wouldn't feel  sorry....

That is awful Phoenix to threaten the grandparents like that, I didn't know grandparents have rights, perhaps they can give them a normal life when they visit, if they're still allowed.

does seem like anything goes now adays,id find it very distressing if my grandchildren were given over to anyone other than close family members .

 when my children were growing up ,there was always that worry what if.... i asked my sister if she would take care of mine and i would hers,if the worst ever happened .

 i suppose parents ought to think about these things when they have children nowdays ,and put it in their wills to who should bring the children up. as the state sometimes jump in without thinking

I didn't know that Phoenix, thanks for letting me know.