THE man accused of keeping schoolgirl Shannon Matthews a prisoner in his flat for 24 days, was too unwell to attend his trial yesterday after having surgery on a broken jaw.
Michael Donovan, 40, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr was assaulted while on remand in Leeds Prison on November 13 and the jury at Leeds Crown Court heard last week he was on pain killers but could continue.
The trial judge, Mr Justice McCombe told
the seven-man five-woman jury when the trial of Donovan and Shannon's mother Karen Matthews was due to resume yesterday: "You will note there is one person missing from the dock."
"We all know what happened to Mr Donovan about a week or so ago.
"Just before the weekend we heard that the medical opinion was he had to have immediate surgery.
"That has been done on Saturday morning."
He said Donovan had been on good form on Sunday but after the anaesthetic wore off "he is in rather a bad way."
He told the jury he realised it was frustrating for them but it was not possible to proceed with the trial for the rest of the day.
Donovan and Matthews, 33, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, both deny kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon and doing acts to pervert the course of justice.
The prosecution claim the nine-year-old was kept drugged and imprisoned at Donovan's flat as part of their plan to claim reward money being offered.
More coverage:
Day seven: Shannon taken on trips to park>>Day six: Shannon mother 'told friends she knew who took her daughter'>>Day five: Shannon 'frightened and crying when we found her'>>Day three: 'Creepy' Shannon kidnap accused attacked in prison>>Day two: Shannon mother 'joked about sex with policeman' during search>>Day one: Shannon 'drugged and bound in £50,000 fraud plot'>>