IT was a crime that horrified the nation 19 years ago when Shannon Matthews’ evil mum faked her kidnapping to cash in on £50,000.
The nine-year-old was drugged and hidden in the base of a divan bed at Michael Donovan’s flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.
Shannon Matthews was hidden in a divan bed as part of a fake kidnap plotCollect
Mum Karen Matthews hatched the plot to cash in on her daughter’s disappearance
Shannon’s mum Karen Matthews then spun an evil web of lies in a bid to profit from the fake abduction.
Now Donovan has died from cancer – 19 years after he stashed the schoolgirl in his grotty flat.
From a prison term for kidnap to being attacked with mushy peas in the street, here’s where Shannon’s kidnappers are now.
Karen Matthews
Branded Britain’s most hated mum, Matthews hatched the evil plot to make cash from the publicity when Shannon vanished.
On February 19, 2008, she called 999 in tears claiming her daughter never made it back from a swimming lesson at her school.
A huge search was launched, with 3,000 homes searched costing £3.2million as ten per cent of all of the local police force’s operational strength were drafted in to help.
The Sun offered £20,000 initially, but upped the reward to £50,000 when Shannon had been missing for 20 days.
Karen made countless tearful appeals for information – despite knowing where her daughter was all along.
She planned to “find” the schoolgirl but was beaten by police who discovered Shannon at Donovan’s flat 24 days after she vanished.
Matthews was jailed for eight years for her part in the kidnap plot but released early in 2012.
She dyed her red hair and moved to away from the North of England to get a job in a charity shop.
Matthews was also given a new identity upon her release but claimed her past made it impossible for her to find a job and she had to survive on £25-a-week handouts.
The SunShe was released early from her prison sentence[/caption]
After getting a job in a charity shop, the vile mum has attacked with mushy peas and hassled in the street – causing her to demand plastic surgery.
Craig Meehan
Although he was not involved in Shannon’s kidnap, Donovan was Meehan’s uncle.
He was was jailed for 20 weeks after police found child sex abuse material on his computer while searching for Shannon.
The paedo has been relocated five times since his release from prison after repeatedly being attacked.
AlamyCraig Meehan wasn’t in on the plot but was jailed when police found child sex abuse material on his computer[/caption]
Meehan, pictured in 2017, has been attacked on the street several timesMirrorpix
He first attempted to live back in Keighley but then headed to a village near Huddersfield.
Horrified locals again drove him out and he returned to Dewsbury where it was revealed Meehan was living 100 yards from a primary school.
Meehan – who is on the Sex Offender’s Register – was discovered by angry locals and confronted by a dad whose kids go to the school.
He was relocated again in 2017 and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Michael Donovan
Donovan was recruited by Matthews to help with the fake abduction plot.
He stashed Shannon in his grotty flat under a bed where her mum fed her the sedative drug temazepam.
Michael Donovan has died following a short battle with cancer
She was also subjected to a list of strict rules written by Matthews, including: “You must not go near the windows. You must not get anything or do anything without me been 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.”
When police arrived to rescue Shannon from her prison, they discovered Donovan hiding in the other drawer of the bed.
He was jailed for eight years and out on a suicide watch unit in Wakefield Prison where cameras followed his every move and prison officers checked him four times an hour.
He was also assaulted, and at one point refused to eat, dropping to eight stone.
He was freed on license in 2012 after serving half his sentence for kidnap and false imprisonment.
The Sun today revealed Donovan, 54, was pronounced dead at Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire, yesterday.
He collapsed in the courtyard of the secure mental health hospital around mid-afternoon.
Donovan was diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer and given just months to live in February.
Shannon Matthews
Now an adult herself, Shannon was rehomed with a new family and new name following the horror.
The schoolgirl’s ordeal saw her drugged with temazepam – a powerful sleeping pill – along with travel sickness tablets.
She had also been restrained with an elasticated strap tied to a roof beam that had a noose on the end.
Donovan would use the strap to keep Shannon tied up whenever he went out.
When police found her and asked if she wanted to go home to her mum, she replied: “No.”
HandoutShannon has been given a new identity[/caption]
News Group Newspapers LtdThe search for the schoolgirl cost £3.2million[/caption]