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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website today's episode deals with violence
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towards children and child neglect it won't be suitable for all listeners 9 year old Shannon Matthews woke up on
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Tuesday February 19th 2008 on the top bunk of the bed she shared with her two-year-old half-sister it was a school
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morning and for once she really had something to look forward to her 4 the--it class had their first swimming
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lesson that day and she had been looking forward to it for ages despite the freezing room she crawled out and
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sleepily climbed down the ladder to get ready it didn't take Shannon long to remember
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the argument she'd had with her mother Karen Matthews and her stepdad Craig Mian the night before they got into it
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and Shannon had sworn at Craig afterwards Shannon ran down the road in tears to her uncle Martin's Martin was amongst
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brother and Shannon was good friends with his children her cousins Shannon cried and asked Martin if she could stay
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with them Martin had heard this before and he was reluctant to say no but he didn't want to interfere after a short
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stay he asked his ten-year-old daughter to walk Shannon back home Shannon cried the whole way that morning
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Shannon got dressed in her West more junior school black jumper white cotton t-shirt and black trousers she pulled on
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her favorite rain boots that were brought pink with grey fur around the edges she picked up a swimming bag and a
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blue stripe to tell and to then walked out of her room her bedroom had one wall painted sky
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blue and - the others were covered in half peeled pink wallpaper her room was a safe haven that held her favorite
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possessions her brats and porcelain dolls all lined up in a row no one had really cared or paid attention to her
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scribblings on the part of the wall where the wallpaper had ripped in marker pen she'd recently scrawled I want to
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live with my dad but the time Shannon was ready to leave at 8 a.m. her mother current was up into the
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argument started again Karen shouted at Shannon as she left the school get out of the house and don't come back
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school mornings were busy on the more side council estate in West Yorkshire England with many of the 220 estate
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homes having kids rushing out the door at 8 a.m. the temperature was barely over freezing as Shannon started a half
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mile walk to school when she saw her cousins further down more side road she told them about what her mum had said
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when she was leaving there was nothing new that morning would be the last time Shannon Matthews would ever walk out of
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her home on the more side estate it would be the last time she would ever attend West Moore jr. and it would be
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the last time that any of her friends saw her [Music] the town of Jewsbury is almost halfway
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between Huddersfield and Leeds in North Yorkshire on the edge of town is an area
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called Jews be more Jews be more is dotted with council estates including more site estate where Shannon lived the
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estate was built in the 1930s when the homes for Heroes project was in place the aim of the project was to give
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working-class veterans from World War one an opportunity to live comfortably away from the stressful inner-city
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estates a better life for the working class who had served their country rows of 2-story semi-detached red brick
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houses were built along the hillside overlooking spent Valley in one direction in the Jewsbury and the other
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a keen I would have no trouble spotting the foothills of the pen islands in the distance Jewsbury had once been known as
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the hub of yorkshire 'he's heavy wool industry mainly heavy-duty wool textiles for ropes blankets and war uniforms and
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of the whole area including more site estate benefited from the seemingly endless factory work for the mill
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workers and those placed in the available government housing Moorside was like a dream come true
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many people who had come from the cities or nearby towns where their homes were old and cramped fill the immense space
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and safety of more soil from its early days the community was strong and supportive of each other they struggled
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together through the closing of the mills World War two and the hard times that followed the decades that followed
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were tough and by the 1970s the only working Mills left were bedding and biscuit manufacturers buses on the
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estate took fewer and fewer workers in the town and people were forced to find whatever work they could to feed their
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families some turned to crime but the 1980s things were grim and criminal and social difficulties were a serious
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problem much of the youth saw their parents unemployed and in turn grew up without a trade or a reason to work
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as Dewsbury got on with revamping disused buildings and factories into apartments and retail more site
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continued to become known as the rough area the elderly especially stopped feeling safe and the burglaries were
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constant by the time curran-matthews moved to more site in the early 2000s Shannon was four years old the
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government was about to revamp the area the housing estates up on Jewsbury more including more site at a burglary rate
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double the national average something needed to be done a new strategy for robust policing was enforced and cleans
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to upgrade the area were approved four million pounds was spent on the regeneration of the estate emphasis was
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placed on slowing down traffic and making the streets safer and more enjoyable for kids by adding features
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such as park benches tables and play equipment the government hoped to encourage community interaction with the
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help of some local kids they came up with fresh ideas for their ante Joyride bollards these bollards dotted around
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the estate were built in the shape of penguins while other bollards replicated fossils all of these features were
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designed to calm the area money was also spent on upgrading dilapidated homes with new fences roofs and windows by
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2008 more site estate was highly sought after on the council house register but the estate hadn't changed overnight
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most families were still getting by on one income which was usually minimum wage many residents had pride in their
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homes and their newly upgraded surroundings but others still continued to dump rubbish and furniture in their
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yards one house on the estate was made available as a community house run by the tenants and residents Association
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the idea was that it be a hub for the community the Association was run by long-term resident Julie Bush B Shannon
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Matthew's mother Karen Matthews had grown up in Dewsbury Karen left school at 16 and had her first baby at 17 by
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the time she met Shannon's father Leon rose she had a son from a previous relationship within months of meeting
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Leon she was pregnant and due they had a son together with the demands of their children put on the couple their
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relationship became strained but Karin fell pregnant again and at the age of 23 she gave birth to her third child and
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first daughter Shannon Matthews shannon was taken to the home of Karen's parents June and Gordon straight from
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the hospital it was known that Karen wasn't coping and she had already shown signs of child neglect with her sons
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June and Gordon was strong parents having gotten through tough working-class life to bring up seven
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children themselves they were determined to be there for their grandchildren June
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and Gordon had recently recovered from a falling out with Karen their focus was to make sure their grandchildren were
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okay Karen and Shannon stayed with June and Gordon for the first few months of Shannon's life when it was time to
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return home to lay on Karen had no intention of keeping up the care of Shannon in the same way June of Gordon
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had Karen refused to buy diapers instead using pieces of curtain tail or even plastic bags she spent her child benefit
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money on cigarettes crisps and to be when Shannon was 2 years old her father Leon left and took Shannon's brother
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with him moving 10 miles away to Huddersfield Shannon stayed with Karen at Karen's request within a few months
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Karen had taken up with someone else and was pregnant again when that relationship ended she screamed at her
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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
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be taken away at Karen's request to live with the father by the time Karen had moved to Moorside
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estate she had six children to five different fathers she moved there with only three of her kids though one of
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whom was Shannon when she met Craig men on the Moorside estate she was 28 and Craig was 18 within weeks of getting
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together Craig moved into her three-bedroom council house which happened to be next door to Craig sister
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Amanda and her husband Neil Craig's mother Alice also lived just the stone's throw away as did another one of his
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sisters Caroline things seemed fairly settled and Karen soon felt pregnant with baby number 7 Shannon's baby sister
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Karen and Craig will close with Amanda and Neil closer than Karen was with her own sister Julie Julie and her husband
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John had no time for Karen and worried constantly about her children over the years Julie had grown tired of the
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arguments with Karen about not buying diapers or real food for her kids and many times when Julie gave Karen money
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she would just spend it on beer and cigarettes social services were informed by family neighbors and the school in
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late 2002 early 2003 Shannon and her brothers and sister were placed on the council's at risk register social
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workers show concern that Karen and Craig were leaving their children alone all night on occasions and two that
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there was serious alcohol abuse going on in the house they concluded that Karen's
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ability to protect her children was compromised by her inability to successfully place her children's needs
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above her own it was determined that Karen would require constant monitoring and support
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throughout the lives of her children but Shannon and her siblings were taken off
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the at-risk register only a year later in 2004 despite another allegation of serious neglect social workers advised
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that the children were not at risk of any serious harm at that stage social services had tapered down their
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visits and always called ahead this gave Karen a chance to make sure the house was tidied so she could show
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her family being well looked after according to June Karen's mum quote I always knew when social services were
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due because Karen would ask to borrow money from me when I asked what it was for she would
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say I have to buy food to fill the cupboards the social worker is coming it was the only time she filled the
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cupboards with proper food Shannon's teachers worried about her level of concentration as she was unable to focus
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on reading and writing for long periods of time her head teacher notified social
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services again when they started noticing the amount of dirt Shannon had caked on her body and feet and her
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clothing never seemed washed until six months prior Shannon had enjoyed regular visits to her dad Leon's place in
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Huddersfield she loves spending time with her brother and she got along well with leon's wife but Karen and Leon fell
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out over money and Karen cut him off and wouldn't let Shannon see him anymore Shannon started the dream of living with
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her father by February 19th 2008 Shannon was 9 she was living with her older half-brother who was 12 her younger
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half-brother who was 5 and her baby two-year-old half-sister whose father was Shannon's stepdad Craig Craig worked
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at the fish counter at the local Morrison supermarket and Karen stayed home she rarely cooked a meal most
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dinners were frozen or takeaways she spent her days watching daytime TV and smoking cigarettes
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so that morning when Shannon left for school running down Moorside road towards her cousins she had experienced
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hardship greater than many other kids her age she was a resilient kid always able to forget things easily and snap
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out of it which is exactly what her cousin said she did on their way to school Shannon was good-natured and other kids
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liked her she got teased a little but according to her friends she never really let it bother her too much she
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was often shy but also had the ability to be really outgoing given the right situation that morning
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Shannon sat with her best friend Megan who noticed that she was a little more withdrawn than usual Megan knew how much
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Shannon was looking forward to swimming that day and thought it was strange when
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she didn't perk up on the bus on the way to Jewsbury Sports Center usually if Shannon had a quiet morning she was
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happy by the afternoon Megan quote Shannon was quiet on the way to swimming instead of talking all the time like she
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would normally I didn't ask her why but when we got to the lesson and had two armbands on H we started giggling and
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splashing it was funny she was a better swimmer than me Shannon had mentioned running away to some of her friends in
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recent weeks lots of the kids talked about what they would do if they ran away but none of the discussions ever
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seemed serious into the conversations quickly turned to something else swimming finished around 3:00 p.m. and
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on the bus home Shannon went back to being quiet the bus pulled up outside West Moore jr. on Church Lane one of the
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teachers mrs. tingle was standing outside the gate neither she nor Megan remembered which
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direction Shannon walked when she got off the bus the time was 3:10 p.m. when Shannon wasn't home at 4:00 Karen
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knocked on a neighbor's door asking if she had seen her Karen was worried as it was unusual Shannon wasn't home but
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there were plenty of kids houses she might have stopped at on the way maybe even her cousin's home Karen went to the
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shops with Craig sister Amanda who lived next door Karen thought Shannon would be back by
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the time she got back from the shops but when they returned just before 7:00 there was still no sign of Shannon Karen
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called the 999 from the Auto Show flattened 9 yeah when did you last fare church torrance morning will be in any
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arguments or no obviously read further they were friends or anybody like the rascal think other friends while
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everything and nobody at all you know any information or where she can be does she go to school uncle Makhan or normal
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yeah right so he just you guys but she was nowhere like to the rink in Toronto but you've been around all a friend more
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they've been in touch with all the relatives and you said nowhere else is what got like to look have you been in
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touch with the school they confirmed before no there's been nothing since May I should go
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[Music] police were at Karen's door by 7:15 Kraig and the other three kids answered
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the door as Karen was out searching for Shannon when the officers went inside they saw the house was filthy with
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rubbish shoes and clothes were scattered around and takeaway containers were piled up in the kitchen the house had
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little ventilation and the stench of cigarettes was strong shortly after Karen returned and was visibly upset she
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sat down and began answering the officers questions they asked her if there was any reason to believe Shannon
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had to run away Karen explained too that Shannon's older brother had just gotten a computer from
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school and she was jealous and angry about that Karen kept saying over and over I just know she is out there
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somewhere the officers then asked if they could search the house at this point Craig lashed out saying what are
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you accusing us of they explained it was just routine procedure and that they might find something to help them locate
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Shannon Craig relaxed a little after hearing that it's not unusual for parents to lose their temper at police
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during the different stages of their child going missing some feel questioning by police is directed at
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them others feel the police are wasting precious time that should be spent looking for their child family and
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neighbors started arriving wondering what was going on soon many people from the estate were out looking for Shannon
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police went to Huddersfield to see Shannon's father Leon they thought she might have gotten there but she hadn't
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Leon was distraught to hear his daughter was missing and drove straight to Jewsbury Moore to aid in the search a
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search team was dispatched and while teams of officers completed line searches in the neighboring fields
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others retraced Shannon steps from school neighbors from the estate families from school and others in the
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community came out to help in the search many people searched through the entire
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night calling out Shannon's name as they walked the streets and crossed the fields but she was nowhere to be found
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by the early hours of the morning searchers had checked and rechecked every place that a child might hired
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police knew the grim reality of a young girl outside overnight while the early hours of the morning the temperature had
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dropped to minus 4 degrees Celsius or 25 degrees Fahrenheit if Shannon was outside and they didn't find her she
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would surely suffer from hypothermia the following morning Shannon's uncle Neal said quote we searched everywhere
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driving around to the whole area until 4:00 a.m. we looked in neighbors Gardens and checked all the places she would
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normally be but came up with nothing we're extremely worried we're in limbo now and don't know what to do that's
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completely out of character and unexpected for her to just go off it's a horrible feeling that she might not even
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be in Yorkshire anymore she could be a million miles away by now I wish someone has her she is a choir girl and very shy
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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
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straight away she is scared of the dark that's why it's all a mystery Neal had said what everyone was thinking and what
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everyone was too scared to say out loud what if Shannon was a million miles away
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and someone had her as a sharp frost cracked across Zhu's bring more that morning police considered this was not a
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runaway case at all they had to accept that there was a chance that Shannon may have been
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abducted the Dewsbury community house opened its doors and Julie Bushby who ran the
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tenants association stood up immediately to help coordinate the estate's residents to continue searching for
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Shannon Karen was a mess she was cooped up at home with Craig and the kids waiting for news that next
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morning the major inquiry in homicide teams were called in police continued to visit Karen and Craig hoping that any
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new piece of information might help no matter how little they took items from the house they thought might be helpful
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including both Karen and Craig's computers every available police department aided in the search as the
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morning unfolded officers continued door-knocking asking every household whether they had seen Shannon or
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anything suspicious in the lead up to her disappearance the nearby town of Wakefield held the district's Police
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Academy they closed their doors that day and sent every available cadet to the streets surrounding Jewsbury more Julie
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Bush be continued to lead the civilian search no one was asked to come there were no invitations people just turned
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up in droves to help the community pulled together Shannon could have been their daughter
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many residents walk the streets in tears determined to do everything they could to help find her that afternoon an
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emergency press conference was called by Chief Superintendent Barry south commander of the area that had been
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nearly 24 hours since anyone had seen Shannon the press conference was packed it had only been nine months since
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three-year-old English girl Madeleine McCann had gone missing while on holiday in Portugal she has never been found
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Chief Superintendent South was mindful that the country was still reeling from that and he wanted to be very careful
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with these words with all the press and talk over the McCain case there would be
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few people who hadn't heard the following statistic 96% of abducted children are killed within the first 24
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hours Chief Superintendent south confirmed that their priority was locating Shannon's safe and well and
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that every available resource was being utilized in the search by then 200 police officers were searching within
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the first day or so 1800 homes had been door knocked that number would eventually grow to over 3,000 a
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helicopter with heat-seeking technology was dispatched and constantly droned overhead mounted police searched the
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Morand rolling hills and Gardens nearby some of the scrub was thick and overgrown but they left a no stone
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unturned a section of crow nest Park was cordoned off where the lake was officers
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broke the ice which sat like a she'd across the top and sent divers down they came up with nothing
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Julie Bush be in the residence of the estate gathered around Karen they printed hundreds of posters with
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Shannon's photo saying have you seen this girl they also printed hundreds of t-shirts in the sea of residents wore
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them as they take two posters to every fence and pole in the area the Sun newspaper put up a 20,000 pound reward
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for any information leading to her safe return another 5,000 was donated by a business
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in Huddersfield and in the newspaper would later make the total reward 50,000 pounds
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Karin spoke to the media outside her home it was easy to mistake the black circles around her eyes as black eyes
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she looked like a deer in the headlights dungeon if you help there please come and love you Tibby to miss you so much
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Milla feel so more please go home I don't have you heard anything at all from her account no I just want when she
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belongs with the family if anybody's got Charlaine please return her home safe please I'm begging you baby come on the
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feeling of helplessness was near besieging their country and the public felt desperate for Karen and her family
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Karin's words always seemed on the hopeful sight though she often said she thought Shannon was out there somewhere
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and hoped she would be home soon the press didn't move their vans remained camped on more side road in the estate
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after one week passed the search was continuing but there was still no clues the police were under immense pressure
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the Madeleine McCann case being in the forefront of people's minds meant that West Yorkshire police wanted to avoid
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the criticisms of the Portuguese investigation in the background detectives were looking into everything
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and everyone they could Julie Bushby continued to rally the local community she became the pillar for the estate and
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the pillar for Karen who crept deeper and deeper into herself at home Karen planted flowers for Shannon in the front
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garden with local children from the estate a large group gathered to release balloons in Shannon's honor and candles
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were lit at night along the road two weeks after Shannon went missing police set up another press conference
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to appeal for help wearing a help find Shannon T show into clutching one of Shannon's small teddy
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bears Karen posed for pictures she appeared a lot calmer than in her frantic TV please
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in the early days of the search the darker rings around her eyes were fading karen was flat all the notion gone
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Shannon's dad Leon Rose also spoke at this press conference it's a case of if somebody's out there that has actually
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got Shannon he's just broken the family that we had apart the family don't feel safe anymore so the brothers are asking
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for her out time sisters crying I thought I might cry myself to sleep her stepdad which is Craig he cries softly
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and being able to go to work whoever's got Shannon please let her go my family's missing out all our friends
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in me seen her at school I've been looking on every day where Cercle out driving about Lee under not
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leaflets just asking about anyone soon all you know you know I mean any little littlest detail could mean a great thing
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a great big deal and his best we'll just I would doing stuff like moment Shannon
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stepdad Craig man told the Sun newspaper quote I know people start pointing fingers at family and friends when
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things like this happen but I had nothing to do with Shannon's disappearance Karen continued to share her belief that
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someone out there had Shannon quote I think that somebody out there who knows Shannon they probably know me as well
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and I just want her home safe really and makes me think now that I can't trust people who are really close to me
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anymore I just can't trust them she got abducted that's all I can say when asked if she thought it was someone
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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
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swimming costume a towel or anything like that that she's taken with her a reporter pressing Karen further asked
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why someone close to her would do it Karen said just to hurt me really Karen then told the press that the last thing
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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
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stage West Yorkshire police had questioned 1,500 motorists and searched over 3,000 houses more than 250 officers
00:28:53
and 60 detectives were involved in the investigation around 10 percent of the entire operational strength of West
00:29:00
Yorkshire Police at the time half of the recovery dogs in the UK were utilized and these dogs were used to search more
00:29:07
than 500 homes lining shannon's reactor school they found nothing the sex offenders register was scrutinized and
00:29:15
800 CCTV tapes and computer hard drives were checked the search for Shannon became the largest police search for a
00:29:22
missing person since the Yorkshire Ripper investigation 30 years earlier not since January 1991 when Peter
00:29:31
Sutcliffe was charged with the Yorkshire Ripper murders had Jewsbury had such a high-profile police event West Yorkshire
00:29:38
Police created a website called help us find Shannon had held information for the missing Shannon Matthews appeal
00:29:45
police also used the launch to release a new photograph of Shannon enter the 999
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call made by Karen as media interviews rolled on questions put to Karen and Craig got tougher at one point Craig was
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asked if the rumours he had been violent towards Shannon were true he was defended by Leon Shannon's father Karen
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said there was no way Craig was involved in Shannon's disappearance nothing had swayed Karen's belief that Shannon was
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still alive quote wherever she is she's going to be frightened and it's just breaking everybody's
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on the street just let her go karen and craig remained home dealing with influx of friends police and reporters
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constantly at their door they still had three children at home the two boys from
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Karen's previous relationships and also Karen and Craig's baby girl police were interested in everyone in Shannon's
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family they spent countless hours drawing up Shannon's family tree which by that stage had over 350 names on it
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they were slowly working through each name and paying visits to everyone they compiled a list of significant
00:30:58
individuals who were persons of interest they were prioritizing everyone who was
00:31:04
spoken to who gave as much information as they could they all just wanted Shannon to be found as part of the
00:31:11
investigation Karen Craig and Shannon's siblings gave their DNA Karen also handed over several
00:31:19
items belonging to Shannon with this officers were able to piece together a full set of Shannon's fingerprints and
00:31:25
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
00:31:34
DNA on file especially if they needed to match something in a hurry but when they
00:31:40
got the results in police had to sit down with Karen and Craig and inform them that their youngest daughter the
00:31:47
baby girl Karen had fallen pregnant with shortly after meeting Craig wasn't actually Craig's on Friday the 14th of
00:31:57
March 2008 24 days since Shannon was last seen many of the residents of the estate woke up with hangovers the
00:32:05
previous night Julie Bushby and other locals had organized that this go up at the Cricket Club there was a chance to
00:32:11
raise money for the missing Shannon Matthews appeal which didn't seem to be going anywhere and also a chance to
00:32:17
relax for many of those who had dedicated night and day to finding Shannon Karen and Craig were in
00:32:23
attendance and seemed to be having a fairly good time although they mostly kept to themselves
00:32:29
prior to the disco police received some information one of Craig's relatives had
00:32:36
spoken to Craig's uncle Michael Donovan and dimensioned that police were building a family tree and one of his
00:32:42
details the strange thing was that neither Craig or Karen had given Michael Donovan's name to the police as part of
00:32:49
the family tree and Donovan only lived close by less than a mile down the road on the morning of March 14th police plan
00:32:59
to speak to Michael Donovan with hundreds of names on Shannon's family tree it was possible that he had just
00:33:05
been forgotten stranger things had happened during one media interview karen Matthews forgot that she had seven
00:33:12
children only remembering at the time that she had six so the chance that Craig's uncle Michael Donovan had simply
00:33:19
been forgotten from the family tree was very possible although something of note
00:33:23
was Michael Donovan hadn't turned up to take part in any of the searches for Shannon despite only living close by
00:33:32
Detective Constable znik Townsend and Paul Kettlewell were dispatched to visit Donovan and get his details they had
00:33:39
spent the last three weeks speaking to all relatives and people who had ties to Shannon they had completed over 700 door
00:33:45
knocks into nothing of any significance had come up Donovan lived in lead gate Gardens a large estate full of two-story
00:33:54
vanilla brick flats in Bartley car less than one mile from Shannon's Home Office's Townsend and Kettlewell arrived
00:34:01
at Donovan's estate in the late morning they walked up the communal stairs to unit number 24 on the first floor they
00:34:09
knocked but no one answered so they knocked on the neighbor's door the neighbor told them that Donovan should
00:34:16
be home as his car was parked outside and he never went anywhere without it the officers then checked with the
00:34:24
downstairs neighbors the woman who lived in the flat directly underneath Donovan
00:34:28
said she was sure that she had heard him upstairs that morning after a few more questions
00:34:33
the woman said that in the last few weeks she had heard the sound of a child's fate shuffling around upstairs
00:34:39
Donovan's kids weren't there anymore but he did have a new girlfriend and of the
00:34:44
neighbor thought his girlfriend must have had a child but Townsend and Kettlewell thought otherwise
00:34:51
they found for backup the operational search team arrived and the group met at the stairs to discuss the plan they
00:34:59
decided that if Donovan was in and had innocently not heard them knocking and nothing untoward was found then that was
00:35:06
a risk worth taking they broke Donovan's doherty on after going up a small flight of stairs to the
00:35:13
living area they realized the flat was in total silence but then one of the officers tried a bedroom door and it was
00:35:20
locked he opened it with one kick the smell of cigarette smoke was fresh one of the officers put his hand down on the
00:35:29
bed and the sheets felt warm at that moment they heard the small cry of a child stop it
00:35:36
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
00:35:44
solid sides two of the officers attempted to lift it from its base but it was so heavy they could barely get it
00:35:51
off the ground there was movement from the other side and before the officers even had a chance to look at each other
00:35:57
a small girl crawled out from a drawer underneath the bed she tried to stand but she was confused and dazed
00:36:04
Kettlewell picked her up and left the room with her safely in his arms he asked her where Donovan was where I was
00:36:12
under the bed the other officers bent down and peered through the hole for the draw Michael Donovan Craig's uncle was
00:36:23
caught up under the bed in the fetal position no amount of yelling at him de coming up
00:36:27
did any good they placed him under arrest on suspicion of abduction Donovan was lying under the bed with six hundred
00:36:37
pounds in cash a prescription for temazepam a box of travel sickness medication entered the Sun newspaper
00:36:44
with the headline about Shannon's new fifty thousand pound reward from the moment the officers tried to
00:36:51
cuff him and while trying to getting me out of the flattened to the police car Donovan kicked and yelled and tried to
00:36:57
break free from their grasp neighbors had gathered downstairs they were shocked when Detective Constable
00:37:03
Paul kilowatt walked out of the stairwell holding a girl in his arms one neighbor whispered to the officer is
00:37:11
it Shannon yes she's OK Kettlewell replied as Michael Donovan was dragged on his knees refusing to walk to the
00:37:21
police car neighbours shouted abuse at him he yelled back don't hate me I'm a poorly man Shannon sat safely in
00:37:30
the back of the other police car Townsend and Kettlewell took a moment to shake each other's hands they didn't
00:37:36
need to say anything they both knew exactly how the other felt they reminded Shannon that everything was going to be
00:37:43
ok she was safe Neil when detective Superintendent Andy Brennan received the call his first reaction was that a body
00:37:52
had been found he had the double check Shannon was alive the first thing Shannon was given
00:37:59
when she arrived back at Jewsbury police station was a coloring book and some pencils a white tent was set up at the
00:38:11
entrance to the communal stairs and a Donovan's flat was searched by crime scene officers who took fingerprints and
00:38:17
swabs for DNA they found a long fabric strip coming from the main hole in the hallway when
00:38:23
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
00:38:30
when Donovan had to go where she could reach the bathroom and the bed I think that's an idea
00:38:37
they also found a handwritten list of rules that read you must not make any noise or bang your feet you must not go
00:38:45
near the windows you must not get anything or do anything without me being here keep the TV volume low only up to
00:38:53
eight or lower you can play the Super Mario games and you can play some DVDs and you can play the CD music it ended
00:39:02
with the letters I PU which stood for I promise you amongst some of the things Shannon had been playing with in the
00:39:10
flat they found a copy of a children's magazine called arrival life it was a colorful book for kids on traveling
00:39:18
safely the book explains to children to make sure people know where they are going and recommends that they always
00:39:24
choose the safest route in the bedroom police found two packed bags of clothes by the door with the packed clothes the
00:39:33
cash and the travel sickness medication it was clear that Donovan was about to flee a check of his police record showed
00:39:41
that he had been arrested for abducting his own daughter just over a year before
00:39:44
but the case was withdrawn from the courts after social services got involved police believed that Donovan
00:39:52
was preparing to leave as the heat around Shannon's disappearance hadn't gone away they believe he was intending
00:39:58
to take Shannon with him and if he did the likelihood of her ever being found her life would have been very slim
00:40:07
Shannon's father Leon Rose was informed Shannon had been found he described the moment is feeling like
00:40:14
yield won the lottery he thanked everyone that helped in the search saying he was just so thankful she was
00:40:20
home Julie Bushby was at the community center when she got the call she started yelling that Shannon had been found the
00:40:28
cheering could be heard down a road and people came rushing the residents hugged
00:40:33
each other as they cried and shook their heads in disbelief no one could believe
00:40:37
it there were yet to be any questions everyone was just glad to hear Shannon was okay
00:40:43
word quickly spread and soon text messages and calls were flying all over that Shannon had been found
00:40:49
Karen's neighbors ran to her house and screamed out the news Karen stared frozen and then burst into tears as did
00:40:59
Craig bucket Jewsbury police station they were also celebrating detective Superintendent Andy Brennan described it
00:41:09
as like nothing he had ever seen quote everyone was in tears I've never seen an incident room like it
00:41:16
it was a very emotional time the vast majority of staff and officers were parents or grandparents themselves they
00:41:23
didn't need anyone to remind them of the consequences of not finding Shannon news
00:41:30
footage of Karen and Craig outside their house showed them shell-shocked Karen clutched Craig and turned her face
00:41:36
away from the cameras in a way she hadn't done in the 24 days before at one point during the live news broadcast
00:41:44
Julie Bushby who was inside the house was yelling small woman why isn't she smiling some of her other friends also
00:41:52
joined in the God's sake Karen smile Karen turned back to the camera and smiled at that moment you could hear the
00:42:02
crowd inside the house cheering it wasn't just Moorside celebrating people came from all over the area they tore up
00:42:10
the missing posters and danced around the streets the relief felt by the community was undeniable people found it
00:42:17
hard to control their emotions they felt proud of the way their community had pulled together and showed their
00:42:23
strength in total the search for Shannon Matthews cost 3.2 million pounds and involved over 300 police officers
00:42:32
Karen's house was full of people when police arrived and they asked everyone to give them some privacy when the
00:42:39
officers confirmed the details of Shannon's rescue Craig's eyes filled up and he cried Karen turned her face away
00:42:46
hiding her emotion the officers offered the drive Karen and Craig down to the station to see Shannon
00:42:52
as Karen gathered her things the officers waited for a borough of questions from a worried mother about
00:42:59
her daughter but they never came Detective Constable Christine Freeman who was also the family liaison officer
00:43:09
during the search was asked to be the first person to speak to Shannon they had never met but Freeman knew a lot
00:43:15
about her as she had spent hundreds of hours with her parents and family in the previous weeks Freeman's first reaction
00:43:23
when she saw Shannon was to hug her but she reined it in and simply smiled at the bewildered nine-year-old saying am I
00:43:30
glad to see you Shannon was calm and a little confused by all the fuss she didn't really understand what was going
00:43:38
on when Karen arrived at Jewsbury police station she was informed that both her and Craig wouldn't be able to see
00:43:45
Shannon face to face they were told it was to preserve forensic evidence as Karen watched her daughter whom she
00:43:52
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
00:44:00
and blankly said she's got new clothes before being escorted from the room Shannon was taken into emergency care by
00:44:10
social services and placed under police protection police exercised powers under
00:44:16
Section 46 of the children Act 1989 which allows a child to remain subject to police protection for 72 hours in a
00:44:25
statement to the press that day police confirmed Shannon wouldn't be going home until they fully completed their
00:44:30
investigation Karen and Craig were put up in a hotel for the night to give them a break from the press a party had
00:44:39
erupted on the more side estate people were embracing each other as they waited for their kids to come home from school
00:44:45
at Shannon's school an assembly was held where the children were told Shannon had
00:44:49
been found safe many of the kids burst into tears uncontrollably the effect Shannon's disappearance had on her
00:44:56
friends was evident in those few minutes as they walked arm-in-arm back to Moore
00:45:01
side Road many of them cried the whole way her friend Kelly clutched 22 letters that had been written fish Shannon
00:45:08
friends the estate partied into the night people lit fireworks and people drank all the booze they could find
00:45:15
shops donated champagne and one resident set up strobe lights and had music pumping from his house a bedsheet hung
00:45:24
from a window with the words welcome home painted in huge letters news crews filmed as drunken locals chanted for
00:45:31
Shannon and cried with happiness that she had been found alive at Halifax Police Station Michael Donovan had
00:45:42
initially refused to speak but after a wall he prepared a statement with his lawyer his statement implicated
00:45:50
curran-matthews Donovan said Karen had approached him with a plan he looks after Shannon can pretend she's missing
00:46:00
they wait for the reward to go up and then they share the money when the reward reached twenty five thousand
00:46:08
pounds Karen rang Donovan and said she would ring him again when it reached fifty our
00:46:12
telling what to do it had reached 50 but she hadn't given him any further instructions before he was arrested
00:46:19
Donovan said that he couldn't get out of it because Karen had threatened to sent
00:46:23
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
00:46:29
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
00:46:36
clothes Michael Donovan was born Paul Drake and was the youngest of nine he grew up on
00:46:44
an estate not far from the flat where Shannon was found he started getting in trouble with the law at age 11 his first
00:46:51
offenses were arson and shoplifting when he was 16 he was convicted of causing criminal damage after which he ran away
00:46:59
from home and never returned at 19 he changed his name by deed poll to Michael Donovan after his hero of the same name
00:47:07
from his favorite TV show v he found work as a labourer and delivery driver with an engineering firm where he
00:47:14
demonstrated little common sense Donovan was described as a man who kept mostly to himself Donovan had met Karen
00:47:24
Matthews the previous November at the wake for Craig's father Karen and Donovan hit it off drinking beers in the
00:47:30
kitchen after the service another member of the family walked in when Karen was sitting on Donovan's knee apparently
00:47:37
falling all over him rumors were floating around that Karen had been having an affair with Donovan the
00:47:46
following day police confirmed that Shannon was doing well specially trained officers had been gently questioning
00:47:53
Shannon to establish what had happened over several weeks that followed she would have daily 10-minute sessions at a
00:47:59
special children's suite resembling a classroom when Shannon ceased to be held in police protection she remained in the
00:48:06
care of Kirklees Family Services she was then moved from the Jewsbury area on March 17th 2008 three days after Shannon
00:48:16
was found Michael Donovan was formally charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment he was remanded in custody
00:48:23
he appeared at Leeds Crown Court via videolink from his prison cell under the trial date was fixed for November 11th
00:48:30
eight months later back in the estate friends and neighbors were discussing some of the strange
00:48:37
behaviors of Karen she wasn't asking when Shannon would be home and she wasn't kicking and screaming angry that
00:48:44
it was her boyfriend's uncle who had abducted her daughter people started to look back over the previous weeks and
00:48:51
some of the erratic things Karen had done she would laugh and knock about in the living room with Craig but then when
00:48:58
a camera started recording for an interview she would quickly change to a grieving mother those around her at the
00:49:04
time were oblivious they were all highly stressed and focused on finding Shannon
00:49:08
not scrutinizing how many times Karen broke down crying police informed Karen and Craig that Shannon wasn't able to
00:49:16
return home while they was still interviewing her and running medical tests for signs of abuse Karen simply
00:49:23
said okay she didn't ask after Shannon or us to give her a message police released the statement to the
00:49:32
press to reassure everyone that keeping Shannon away from home was for the best quote this may be a long process but
00:49:39
throughout this inquiry our main focus has been and continues to be Shannon's welfare we have therefore
00:49:45
taken the decision that for now it is in Shannon's best interests that should be
00:49:49
made subject of an emergency police protection order this will remain in place until we have had time to
00:49:55
establish the full facts of what happened in the time since her disappearance the real reason Shannon wasn't allowed
00:50:03
home was because of Michael Donovan's accusation that Karen was involved but there was also another reason
00:50:11
on April 2nd Shannon stepfather Craig man was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography these
00:50:19
charges came after police examined his computer during the search for Shannon Craig was remanded in custody and the
00:50:26
following day formally charged with 11 offenses of possessing indecent images of children the next day
00:50:33
Craig's sister Amanda who lived next door was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender Craig's mother
00:50:40
Alice who was Michael Donovan sister was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice
00:50:46
they were both released on bail some of Karen's friends had had enough they were
00:50:52
asking questions of Karen but they were continuing to get vague answers no one knew what to believe and after Craig was
00:50:59
arrested people were scared Julie Bushby and another friend Natalie decided to confront Karen although they
00:51:06
weren't aware of the statement that Donovan had made against current they had their own suspicions Julie and
00:51:12
Natalie got in touch with the police liaison officer Christine Freeman and told her that they plan to get Karen to
00:51:18
talk Freeman agreed to help them Freeman picked Karen up in her car Karen sat in the front passenger seat until
00:51:26
they then picked up Julie and Natalie Julie immediately told Karen about the rumors that had been going around the
00:51:33
estate that people were starting to believe Karen knew where Shannon was the entire torment Julie asked her flat-out
00:51:40
if she was involved Karen started sobbing uncontrollably it's true Karen cried hysterically with more emotion
00:51:48
than she had shown in all the weeks before it's true Karen was immediately arrested on the 6th of April 2008 47
00:52:00
days after Shannon disappeared her mother Karen Matthews was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the
00:52:06
course of justice and child neglect Shannen stepdad Craig man was not charged in relation to her disappearance
00:52:13
that later came out that detectives suspected Karen almost from the start an investigation into the role Social
00:52:20
Services played was also commenced looking at whether or not they could have done more to protect Karen's
00:52:25
children the day Karen was charged police announced that they were also investigating approaches that have been
00:52:32
made by Karen's family to the Madeleine McCann fund asking for money to assist in the search for Shannon Kate and Gerry
00:52:40
McCann had received phone calls and emails from Shannon's family asking if they would donate to the find Shannon
00:52:46
appeal the McKeon spokesman Clarence Mitchell said quote they were quite blunt saying things like Madeline's
00:52:54
family has got loads of money in the we want some fish Shannon the mckeon set up
00:52:59
the find metal and fund after their three-year-old daughter vanished on their holiday in Portugal in May 2007
00:53:05
nine months before Shannon vanished detectives believed Karen was inspired to stage her own daughter's abduction by
00:53:12
the mackenz plot inherited captured public emotion the mackenz felt the stress that Shannon's disappearance and
00:53:20
according to their spokesman Clarence Mitchell were on the verge of giving Shannon's family 25 thousand pounds but
00:53:26
before any money was handed over the McCanns had advice from the police the police informed them that certain things
00:53:34
had come to light during the investigation and it would be best if they didn't donate Michael Donovan told
00:53:43
police the plan was for him to release Shannon at Jewsbury market and then he would pretend to find her by chance they
00:53:49
planned to do this in view of CCTV cameras so they had proof to claim their reward Donovan and Karen both told their
00:53:57
own separate and conflicting accounts of the day the plan was hatched by piecing
00:54:01
together parts of both of their stories police concluded the following in a small local cafe Karen arranged to meet
00:54:09
with Michael Donovan she arrived with her youngest daughter strapped into her buggy and over a mug of tea
00:54:15
Karen presented her plan initially she asked Donovan to look after her eldest son in what would be a
00:54:22
staged kidnapping when Donovan said no and explained that he didn't even know her oldest son Karyn changed her mine
00:54:29
she decided that Shannon was a much better option and that the reward to help locate her would probably be much
00:54:35
higher than her sons anyway Karyn explained that she would report Shannon missing and once the reward got to
00:54:42
50,000 pounds she would contact him with what to do next it was likely that Karyn
00:54:48
didn't realize it would take three weeks to reach that amount it seemed that in her plan she thought
00:54:53
it would be just a matter of days Karen pushed an a4 sheet of paper across the table to Donovan detailing the plan the
00:55:02
paper listed the date and time he was supposed to wait for Shannon and contained instructions about what he was
00:55:07
to do with her after learning his instruction by heart he was told to dispose of the paper down the toilet
00:55:14
Donovan claims to police that he didn't want to be non-current scheme and that it was only when she threatened him and
00:55:20
told him she'd get her heavy friends on to him if he didn't do it then he agreed
00:55:24
according to Donovan Karen said he'd be dead if he didn't help her Karen never admitted her involvement in the crime
00:55:34
after the arrests police had to go door-to-door on the estate with the individual any leaflets the locals felt
00:55:41
huge betrayal and some had begun attacking Karen's house Karen's other children had been taken into care and
00:55:48
her house sat empty it had to be boarded up and have metal screens placed against
00:55:53
the windows to stop any further damage the elation of Shannon being found was marred by the deep sadness everyone felt
00:56:00
that a mother could do this to her own child Shannon's friends felt like they had lost her all over again
00:56:06
and they had it was hard for anyone to comprehend when it was clear that Shannon would
00:56:13
never be going back to Jewsbury mall and would never see her loved ones again people grieved her loss
00:56:20
[Music] Craig men pleaded not guilty but was convicted of 11 counts of possessing
00:56:26
child pornography all images were found stored on his computer which police had taken from the house during the
00:56:32
investigation he was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment but because he had already spent longer on remand than that
00:56:39
he was released that day Michael Donovan and Karen Matthews were tried together at Leeds Crown Court on November 11th
00:56:49
2008 the trial lasted just over three weeks neither of them showed any emotion as they were led into court prosecutor
00:56:59
Julian Goose QC presented Karen as a quote proven consummate skillful and convincing lawyer
00:57:07
the plan was as dishonest as it was wicked both defendants stood by and watched the very large police
00:57:14
investigation and assistance by many people in the search it was based on a lie a trick and a deliberately false
00:57:22
complaint the court heard that Shannon knew nothing about what was happening and had been tricked into accepting a
00:57:29
lift from Donovan on her way home from school that day with a promise to take her to a fair instead he imprisoned her
00:57:36
less than one mile from her own house Donovan strongly denied mistreating Shannon telling the court he had taken
00:57:44
her shopping and for evening walks in a local park with her pink jackets hood hiding her face but it was reported in
00:57:51
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
00:57:56
remand as he sat in court he nursed a broken jaw a forensic toxicologist told the court
00:58:05
that tests on Shannon's hair indicated she had been given temazepam as well as travel sickness medication to subdue her
00:58:11
while being held captive but further tests also revealed that these drugs had been fed to Shannon
00:58:17
for up to 20 months prior to their disappearance experts believe that she would have constantly felt the effects
00:58:23
of the drugs and this would have been a contributing factor to her lack of concentration at school she was likely
00:58:29
to have been confused slow and a little fuzzy being so young she may not have identified these feelings as being
00:58:36
unusual and may have been all she knew on November 27th when Karen gave evidence she constantly sobbed while
00:58:45
denying having anything to do with her daughter's disappearance she claimed that Craig told her to take the blame
00:58:51
for what had happened and that she was scared of him the prosecutor told the jury that Karen had given the police
00:58:58
five different versions of the story stating she was quote telling lie after lie after lie
00:59:07
neither Karen Matthews then aged 33 Norma called Donovan then aged 44 showed any emotion as the jury returned
00:59:16
unanimous guilty verdicts after six hours of deliberation both were found guilty of kidnapping false imprisonment
00:59:23
and perverting the course of justice they both received eight-year sentences after it was all over Julie Bushby said
00:59:32
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
00:59:40
attention during Karen's prison sentence Julie Bushby was her only visitor every
00:59:47
month she would travel to the prison in Leeds in the hope that Karen may reveal why she did it
00:59:52
Julie asked her often and she always got the same response in one way or another
00:59:57
that she didn't do it Julie said Karen was often beat up and usually greeted her with a black eye Shirley write down
01:00:07
the details of their conversations religiously and every visit Karen's story was different
01:00:12
in June 2010 social services released the statement after completing their report they stated that there was no way
01:00:20
they could have predicted or prevented what happened to Shannon quote we are sorry that any child should go through
01:00:27
this traumatic experience it's even harder to comprehend that it was Shannon's mother who was the one to let
01:00:33
her down the most both Karen Matthews and Blanca Donovan were freed in March 2012 after serving half their sentence
01:00:42
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
01:00:51
a makeover and a new identity on her first outing with staff she was recognized immediately with an onlooker
01:00:57
stating quote the level of preparation and time given over to Karen Matthews and her rehabilitation is frankly
01:01:05
extraordinary in fact you would think she was a victim of an abduction not the perpetrator she had to serve only half
01:01:13
her sentence and now she is being rewarded with a makeover and a shopping trip it's insane Shannon Matthews was
01:01:23
given a new identity as were her siblings whom she lived with they were all placed with other families
01:01:29
Shannon never saw any of her friends family or neighbors ever again it's not known publicly why custody wasn't
01:01:37
granted to Shannon's father Leon Rose Shannon's grandparents who had always provided a safe haven for her she grew
01:01:45
up were also denied custody Shannon would never see them again Shannon's grandfather Gordon spoke of
01:01:53
his heartache of losing his granddaughter twice and how he longs for her to get in touch he in June
01:01:59
occasionally get updates from social services but otherwise have no contact with her recently they saw a picture of
01:02:06
her nearly a decade on from when they last saw her and said she looked beautiful
01:02:11
Gordon quote my one wish is that when she is old enough to understand what happened properly she will come and
01:02:19
knock on that door but I fear it will be too late and I won't be here to see her
01:02:24
I will be out there in heaven looking down on her [Music]