Kidnapping of Shannon Matthews
2008 crime in West Yorkshire, England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On 19 February 2008, nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.[1] The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.[2] Shannon was found alive and well on 14 March 2008 at a Batley Carr house belonging to 39-year-old Michael Donovan. Donovan was the uncle of Craig Meehan, the boyfriend of the kidnapped girl's mother, Karen Matthews.
Date | 19 February – 14 March 2008 (2008-02-19 – 2008-03-14) |
---|---|
Location | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England |
Accused | Michael Donovan Karen Matthews |
Charges | Abduction, false imprisonment (Donovan) Child neglect, perverting the course of justice (Matthews) |
Trial | 11 November – 4 December 2008 (2008-11-11 – 2008-12-04) |
Verdict | Guilty |
Convictions | Abduction, false imprisonment, perverting the course of justice |
Sentence | 8 years |
The kidnapping was planned by Matthews and Donovan to generate money from the publicity. Donovan—also known as Paul Drake—was to have eventually "found" Shannon, taken her to a police station, and claimed the reward money, which would be split between Donovan and Matthews. Donovan was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.[3][4] Matthews was charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice on 8 April 2008. Their joint trial at Leeds Crown Court commenced on 11 November 2008[5] and concluded on 4 December with both defendants found guilty.[6] They were both given eight-year prison sentences.[7]
Meehan was convicted of possessing child pornography which was discovered on his computer during the investigation,[8] but had nothing to do with the kidnapping.[9] On 16 April 2024, Donovan died of cancer in hospital at the age of 54.[10]