Greedy for reward money, Karen Matthews hatched to plot to kidnap her little girl, then made tearful TV appeals for her return.
The chilling story of a British mother who faked her own daughter’s kidnapping to claim the reward money has shocked the world.
Karen Matthews, 33, was arrested nearly a month after her child went missing, when a tip led police to the house of Michael Donovan, where nine-year-old Shannon had been held prisoner for 24 days.
Matthews ? mother of seven children to at least five different fathers ? and her slow-witted accomplice Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping Shannon to grab the 50,000 pounds ($113,000) reward money offered for her return.
Tests revealed Shannon had been drugged with a “powerful hypnotic” drug for at least 20 months before she vanished, as well as during her kidnapping.
Matthews met Donovan, 40, through her then partner Chris Meehan, 22, a convicted child pornography pervert who was duped into believing he was the father of one of her brood. Donovan was Meehan’s uncle.
Karen’s evil actions were inspired in part by the tragic disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, which resulted in $2.26million being raised to help find her.
It’s now come to light that the McCanns wanted to donate to the search for Shannon, but were warned against it by police suspicious of the mother’s story.
Shannon went missing after leaving home for a swimming field trip on February 19.
Over the next three-and-a-half weeks, Matthews made a number of public pleas for help to find her daughter. “If anyone has got my daughter, my beautiful princess daughter, let her come home,” she sobbed in one TV appeal.
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