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Shannon mother 'told friends she knew who took her daughter'
THE mother of Shannon Matthews broke down sobbing after admitting to friends she had known who had her daughter during the 24 days she was missing, saying everybody would hate her now, a jury heard.
Det Con Christine Freeman told Leeds Crown Court yesterday that three weeks after the schoolgirl was found she was in a car with Karen Matthews, when her friends Natalie Brown and Julie Bushby met her.
Mrs Brown put a theory to Matthews that she had planned to leave her partner Craig Meehan and had got Michael Donovan to pick up Shannon ready to do that but had "bottled it" and had not gone through with it.
She suggested Matthews had then found herself having to report Shannon missing, the police response being bigger than she expected "and it had all got out of hand".
Det Con Freeman, a family liaison officer for Matthews, said: "Karen took the biggest intake of breath I've every heard in my life and said: 'yes, that's right'."
"She went on to say she had arranged for Mick to take Shannon for a while, that everybody was going to hate her."
"She said that she'd planned to leave Craig and she'd asked for Mick to take Shannon and she'd packed her bag intending to leave but then she ended up having to report Shannon missing to cover her back."
Mrs Brown and Mrs Bushby told the jury Matthews was "babbling" and crying after making the admissions.
When the detective, after taking advice from her boss, told Matthews she was going to be arrested, she was saying she could not go in a cell.
"She said she had arranged for Mick to have Shannon for a couple of days to keep Shannon safe while she and Craig sorted out their problems."
Mrs Brown said Matthews insisted she had not abducted her own daughter and began backtracking on her account and blaming others, adding: "She kept saying 'what are people in the street going to think?'."
When they pressed her about how she had got in touch with Donovan, she claimed it was Craig and his mother Alice Meehan who had arranged it.
She said people would hate her because she "disgraced" her kids.
Mrs Bushby said Matthews "was crying, well sobbing really, then saying 'it wasn't me, it was Craig and his mum'."
When Frances Oldham QC, defending Matthews, suggested in cross-examination to the officer, Mrs Brown and Mrs Bushby that Matthews had not said she asked Mick to look after Shannon while she got strength to leave Craig Meehan, all three insisted she had.
Det Con Freeman told the court after Matthews arrived at Dewsbury Police Station she said unprompted: "As far as I'm concerned he has abducted her off his own back, people are putting words in my mouth."
Later that evening she said: "I wasn't involved in the abduction. I just thought he was going to keep her overnight."
The court heard when a superintendent authorised an extension of time for her to be held in custody Matthews said: "The person involved is Amanda Hyett – Craig Meehan's sister. I told her everything, she told me to keep it hush hush. She told me how much money we could make out of it , go on holiday and such."
When she was charged on April 8, Matthews said: "I didn't know where she was. I just knew who she was with."
Matthews, 33, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, and Donovan, 40, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, both deny kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon and doing acts intending to pervert the course of justice.
The prosecution claim Donovan kept her imprisoned in his flat as part of their plan to claim reward money.
Prison custody officer Margaret Denyer said after Matthews was remanded in custody she said: "Craig's arranged all this, I've just done as I was told. It was decided between that lot it should be me because I have not got a criminal record."
Rachel Day, another custody officer, told how in the van on the way to prison Matthews said Craig Meehan had been violent to her, adding that he was "behind it all and if I'm going down he's coming with me".
The trial continues.
More coverage:
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'>>
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