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Mother of Shannon Matthews arrested

By Carla Bevan on Monday 7 April 2008

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Marie Claire News: Shannon Matthews

The mother of Shannon Matthews has reportedly been arrested over her daughter's kidnap.

Karen Matthews is, according to reports, being held on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Although police have not confirmed it is definitely Shannon's mother who has been arrested, a spokesman for West Yorkshire Police told reporters: 'Police investigating the alleged abduction of a nine-year-old girl have arrested a 32-year-old woman in Dewsbury on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.'

Full details about the arrest are due later today.

The arrest comes just days after Shannon allegedly told her mother, 'I don't want to come home.'

The nine-year-old, who has been in care since her rescue 24 days after she went missing on 19 February, was reunited with her mother for the first time last week, but told her she didn't want to leave her new foster family.

'She's inconsolable. She doesn't know what to do and feels totally isolated,' a friend of Karen Matthews told the Daily Mail.

'She was so excited to see Shannon after everything, but now fears she may never see her again. She's heartbroken.'

In further news, Michael Donovan - the man accused of kidnapping Shannon and the uncle of her stepfather, Craig Meehan - has been rushed to hospital following a suicide attempt.

The 39-year-old was in Armley Jail in Leeds where he is awaiting trail when he slashed his wrists and took an overdose.

Craig Meehan was arrested last week over charges of possessing child pornography. He has since split with Shannon's mother, Karen.

Monday 7 April 2008

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What a family eh!!!
Things just keep on emerging and it makes you wonder just what has been going on. We can only speculate at the moment, but the guy who abducted Shannon is in hospital. Well that is a shame isn't it. Why do these people do these sorts of things? It is nearly always men that are the child abusers. There is something fundamentally flawed in the male dna i think.
Women give life and men take away life all over the world and rape and mess about with children. I wonder about the future of the planet in more ways than one. We need a third sex, that would be a move in the right direction.
Comment by Paula on April 07 12:15

This is a very strange case. Although I initially had sympathy for the family, the more I think about it the more it becomes clear. Is it possible that this family saw the McCann story and thought they could raise money like the McCanns have and therefore the whole thing is a hoax??
Comment by Matt Brazil on April 07 12:34

Mmm! Don't like to be judgemental but 7 kids with 5 different fathers and a stepfather with dodgy fingers on the computer, no wonder Shannon prefers her foster home to her family home. Poor kid needs some stability, maybe this is it. Not healthy when a child refuses to go home after being abducted.
Leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
Comment by anna kioufi on April 07 13:43

Feel really sorry for Shannon - 10 year olds don't say they don't want to go home and mean it. It makes myself and a lot of other people wonder what has been going on. Let's just hope it is all resolved and the best outcome is reached for all people involved. It can be a sad world that we live in sometimes - a real Shame!!!
Comment by maggie on April 07 14:19