https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13323451/Karen-Matthews-Michael-Donovan-daughter-Shannons-kidnap.htmlBritain's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews seen for the first time since kidnapper Michael Donovan's death and still protests her innocence that daughter Shannon's ordeal had NOTHING to do with her
Michael Donovan died on Tuesday after collapsing in a mental health hospital
By Vivek Chaudhary and Eirian Jane Prosser and Aidan Radnedge
Published: 12:35, 18 April 2024 | Updated: 14:55, 18 April 2024
This is Karen Matthews, pictured for the first time since the man she conspired with to help kidnap her daughter died. Kidnapper Michael Donovan had colluded with Matthew's in 2009 when he abducted her nine-year-old daughter Shannon and held her captive in a plot to claim a £50,000 award. The schoolgirl, who had been drugged and hidden in the draw of a divan bed, was found 24 days later after police raided Donovan's council flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire. Donovan and Matthews were both found guilty of kidnap, false, imprisonment and perverting the court of justice and served half their sentence of eight years in jail. On Tuesday, it was announced that the Donovan had died age 54 after collapsing in a mental health unit at the Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley. He had been suffering from brain cancer. Emerging for the first time today, wearing a long beige puffer coat and with her face hidden behind a pink scarf, Matthews emerged from her shabby flat and shouted 'I'm innocent, leave me alone.'
She stared intensely ahead as she rushed away with her hands in her pockets. Matthews, 47, became a household name exactly 15 years ago when she appeared on TV crying as she appealed for people to come forward with information about her daughter's whereabouts. Speaking on behalf of Matthews, her boyfriend Paul Saunders, a convicted paedophile told MailOnline: 'She's over the moon that Donovan is dead. It's the best news she's had in ages. Karen hopes that he rots in hell, we both do. Donovan is scum, we hope that he had a painful death.'
He added: 'She was told about it in a phone call and she screamed with happiness. She was punching the air because this man deserved to die. Good riddance to him.'
Despite Matthews' conviction, Saunders insisted: 'She's innocent. It was Donovan who did the crime and kidnapped Shannon. She had nothing to do with it. People have got this all wrong.'
Shannon was reported missing from her home estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on February 19, 2008. Police launched a £3.2million search to find Shannon, only to discover that she had been tied up and drugged in Donovan's home for 24 days hidden in his bedroom with a list of rules on how to behave. The girl was found in the drawer of a divan bed in his bedroom, just a mile from her Dewsbury home. Saunders today revealed that Matthews has not seen her daughter or her other six children for 'several years' and has no contact with the rest of her family. He said: 'Karen has been unfairly portrayed as Britain's worst mother. But it's total lies. Donovan is the only criminal here.'
Saunders was jailed for five years at Oxford Crown Court in 2010 for sexual activity with a child and sexual assault. He must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life. He and Matthews live together in the south of England and are believed to have been together for around five years. They met after Saunders worked at her home as a handyman. Shannon and her siblings have been granted new identities and lifelong anonymity following a High Court injunction in 2020 and are kept apart from their mother. Matthews and Donovan were both jailed for eight years at Leeds Crown Court in January 2009 after being convicted of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Each served four years of their sentences before being released in 2012. Matthews was released in April 2012 and given a new taxpayer-funded identity and home. Her new name Kate was said to have been inspired by one of her Hollywood idols. Since leaving prison Matthews, who is apparently teatotal, previously was receiving regular support from a group of religious volunteers. Matthews was seen in a fish and chip shop despite her disguise and somebody noticed her and threw a plate of mushy peas over her head, according to a passerby who saw her in 2017. Following the alleged attack in a chip shop, a source said: 'Karen thinks this is just the start and wonders how many more attacks she will suffer. She was glad it was just a few peas but next time it could be worse. She was living quite a peaceful life until this programme came along. But Karen being Karen, she doesn't think it is anything to do with what she did by kidnapping her daughter.'
The source added: 'She is a long way from Dewsbury and has only been recognised a couple of times in a year. But now with this new drama on the telly she's petrified. The show is bringing her crimes to the attention of lot more people, who were younger at the time and weren't aware of what she did.'
Matthews case was pushed back into the public eye following the 2017 BBC drama The Moorside which saw Sheridan Smith play family friend Julie Bushby. The BBC1 programme was made by ITV Studios and watched by 7.2million viewers at the time. Matthews cousin, Susan Howgate, slammed the drama at the time saying it would 'bring everything back' and cause unnecessary pain. 'Family members will get grief like they have done in the past. I've had a lot of trouble, and same with my auntie. People keep saying stuff to her still,' Ms Howgate said at the time.
Following the programme's release, Matthews was said to be fearing for her life, using a face scarf to cover her identity walking the street. Since leaving prison she reportedly gave up drinking. She took up a job at a charity shop after struggling to find another because of her notoriety. Matthews claimed she was struggling to survive on benefits of £25 a week and prayed every day to find the strength to carry on. In 2020 it was revealed that Matthews had been fired from her job at the charity shop after bosses found out she wanted to marry a paedophile. The good cause store is linked to a Christian group who were appalled when they heard what she had done. After news of her engagement to Saunders was made public the shop told she can no longer work there over here 'error in judgement over the relationship. 'The boss was gobsmacked when they found out what had happened, a source told The Sun. 'They told her they can't have someone working there in a relationship with someone like that. It goes against everything the charity stands for.'
Despite their convictions, Matthews and Saunders both appear to be living a normal life. The mother has been spotted leaving a B&M store, buying trainers and visiting a Pets at Home Store. The couple have also been buying fish and chips together. Julie Bushby has suggested Shannon 'can get some peace now' that Donovan has died. She told the Mirror: 'At least now the taxpayer will save some money, and Shannon can get some peace and some closure. Every time a picture of him is shown it must hurt her every time there's a picture of Donovan or her mother, it's alongside her picture. That's got to be hard to live with.'
Ms Bushby was one of the woman involved in the search for Shannon, later describing how the community 'paid the price' for Matthews' and Donovan's crimes. She was among those who slept all night in a community centre with the lights kept on to act as a beacon to help the schoolgirl find her way home. In 2016, Ms Bushby said many people living in the area felt like they were partly blamed for what had happened, said: 'It's as if they punished us for what happened and killed our community spirit. There's only about a handful of the originals left on the estate most have moved because they don't want to be associated with it.'
Donovan is said to have told a relative earlier this year he had been given just three to nine months to live after being diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer. He was given the name Paul Drake when born but later changed it to Michael Donovan after a TV sci-fi character, before another recent switch to Aiden Johnson. West Yorkshire Police was last year investigating him for the alleged possession of child pornography and he was placed under a sexual harm prevention order after appearing at Bradford Crown Court. A relative of Donovan said: 'He had told me in the past that he had cancer, but I didn't believe him at first because he would make things up. I was told he had lung cancer which spread to his brain. I'm glad that his suffering is finally over. I feel sorry for Mick he was a fool to himself.'
And Ms Bushby suggested she was not surprised by the revelation about the sexual harm prevention order, saying: 'It's clear he was still a danger to children - so it's good he's dead.'
Ms Bushby added: 'It would have been over in a breath if we'd been told that but instead it turned into one of the biggest police hunts ever.'
Donovan was pronounced dead on Tuesday afternoon after collapsing at Three Valleys Hospital, whose private operators Elysium Healthcare refused to comment.
