Shannon mum jailed for 8yrs

THE mother of Shannon Matthews was jailed today for eight years at Leeds Crown Court for the kidnap of her nine-year-old daughter in February last year.
Shannon's uncle Michael Donovan was also jailed for eight years.

Karen Matthews, 33, appeared today to be sentenced alongside Donovan, 40.
Both were found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice last month following Shannon's disappearance.

Giving mitigation on behalf of Donovan, Alan Conrad QC told the court the barristers in the case had a combined legal experience of more than 100 years but none had come across a case like it.

He said: “Nobody concerned has ever come across a case remotely like this before.

“The case here is truly unique.

“Despite all of us trawling through sentencing authorities, we managed to find nothing that came remotely close to this.”

Shannon, now ten, went missing on February 19 as she walked home from school near her home in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police launched a massive search operation costing almost £3.2million – one of the largest conducted by the force.

On March 14, Shannon was discovered in the base of a divan bed in Donovan’s flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, West Yorks, less than a mile away from her home.

It was revealed that Donovan kept her imprisoned as part of a plan he and Matthews hatched to claim a £50,000 reward offered by The Sun.



http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2164742.ece

Thought she'd have got 5 years max, think she got a bit extra because of the nationwide coverage the story got.

She probably will only do half that sentence anyway.

jackie 46 wrote:She probably will only do half that sentence anyway.

That goes without saying.

jackie 46 wrote:She probably will only do half that sentence anyway.

And then released with a new identity, brand new flat, and all the benefits she can muster.