sorry to come back to this

[tigerlily11]

Shannon Mathews.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorksh ire/7337258.stm
Starting to get the impression that some one has set this whole thing up.
It sounds like some kind of bizarre plot to get media attention or money or both.
If I didn't think any mother would put her child through a kidnap I would inclined to think she knew where she was all the time.

[ELVIS68]

Give over Boo, they don`t have a Threshers in Dewsbury

Mr Patels 24/7 shop more like

I bet he`s sold more cans of Stella in the last 2 months than he has all year

[Ethel]

I get the impression from the news reports that the mother was planning to leave her boyfriend and was going to live with the man who was hiding Shannon.

He collected Shannon from school as arranged but the mother changed her mind and invented this story to cover her tracks with the boyfriend, and it all spiralled out of control.

Or maybe it was a mad money making scheme.

[B00]

You forgot the bottles of Wikeds for the kids- with straws in 'em.

Ok ok ok, should stop now, tigerlily's going to shout at us for ruining her thread.

[ELVIS68]

Ethel...you mean she was planning to leave her boyfriend to move in with his uncle?

Now that doesn`t surprise me, what is it with these people?

Imagine having to work out their Family Tree

You`d be going round in circles lol

[libertie]

If even half the things they are saying about this case turn out to be true I wouldn't fancy the chances of any of those involved escaping a smack in the mouth the next time they drop into their local for a pint!

I'm also a bit bemused as to how some people seem to think that the police must be totally stupid!

Apparently when Shannon was found she hadn't realised that she had been abducted!! Whatever the outcome I sincerely hope that Shannon and her siblings are placed in decent foster homes and not shunted around from pillar to post!!

[4getmenot]

In this pic
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/
she looks worse now she's been caught and looks drained than when her daughter was missing

[Supernick]

Just a thought, but if all parties involved in the kidnap, including little Shannon were all aware of it, can a kidnap charge even be brought to court?
I imagine that the charges are more likely to be based around plotting to defraud people, wasting police time, and perjury.
It seems like the child porn on the stepfather's computer was very much a red herring in all of this, just a chance finding when the police started investigating the kidnap

I'm not surprised the McCanns don't give money to doorsteppers. Would you? Aside from that, it would have to go to the board of trustees before any money was approved. It's not like they keep it all stuffed in a mattress in the spare room for goodness sake.

On a seperate note, I can't stand it when people say that anyone appealing on TV should be in hysterics, wailing and rocking on the floor for the cameras. Some people don't want to lose it in front of millions, some people don't want to cry at the funerals of their parents, and most of internalise our grief. However, the incessant desire for reality TV and to see people's emotions poured out in front of us, had brought out a truly disgusting streak in the British public, that treats anyone as suspicious if they can't be prodded into tears in front of the camera.

[Ethel]

I agree with you, Supernick.

We cannot foresee how we will react ourselves in any situation. I have been at funerals where the loved ones were literally numb with grief to the point of appearing devoid of emotion.

With 24 hour news coverage on tv and unrestrained speculation in the press any news item seems to becomeo a drama for our entertainment.

Anyway, the mother is now being held on remand charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice.

Would it have got so far without media coverage?

[B00]

Totally agree suernick. I remember The Mccanns coming in for loads of flak because they weren't weeping and wailing. They were viewed as cold because they showed self control on TV.

[sue11]

Boo and Elvis, can you please stop making me laugh with your posts on what is a very serious issue!!!
I too had my suspicions on this one as soon as Shannon had been found and was not returned immediately to her family, this seemed very unusual to me and I posted here asking if anyone knew why she had not been returned, it is obvious why now!
I hope that Shannon will be placed with someone who will love and care for her, what she must be going through, poor thing.
It is difficult to believe that the family really thought that they could get away with their plan, I understand that some neighbours saw Shannon playing outside in the garden of the house she was being hidden in. If they were being this careless in their planning, I am surprised that they were not rumbled sooner, perhaps they were and the police were keeping cards close to their chest to make a good case? All very interesting, cannot wait to read the book when it eventually comes out!
I agree with the views re the fact that you should not blame someone because of the way they appear when making appeals on tv for the return of loved ones, people react in very different ways, some very emotionally and some possibly still in shock unable to convey any emotion. Sorry to veer off the subject a little but I still feel that the McCanns still have a lot to answer for re their little girls disappearance, I understand that they did not lock the door of the apartment the night she disappeared, that to me is just asking for trouble!

[daffy654]

Karen Matthews has now been remanded in custody charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice.The police have stated that she repeatedly witheld information about Shannon's whereabouts,so she did know all along where Shannon was.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorksh ire/7337898.stm

[sue11]

Thanks for this Daffy, I wonder how soon it took the police to realise that Shannon was not really missing, but an innocent part of an extortion plot, a lot of people were angry over the fact that the police did not seem to be rushing to find her, perhaps they knew where she was sooner than we all realised?

[daffy654]

This is a sad tale of a very disfunctional family.Thankfully the kids are all being looked after properly now. I hope the mother gets the harshest sentence possible if found guilty!

[tigerlily11]

TY Boo. I know I shouldn't laugh but I can just imagine them, all those poor souls kicking themselves for spending out on all that larger. I hear they have had to tell them not to get humpy and take the law into their own hands. That won't happen simply because they have no consept of the law so taking into their own hands could prove tricky.
But the one I feel for most at the end of the day is poor Shannon. Knowing the rest of her life that she was nothing but a meal ticket to mummy.

[bubbles4920]

maybe her friend who says she will stand by her would care to look up the definition of 'vindicate'! re sky news.

[twinny-15]

I watched the documentary they did and their main grievences was they did not get the financial help the mc cans did ..now we know why. what is this world coming to????

[bananie]

Maybe the 'friend' that is standing by her was involved in the plot as well - either that or she's holding out for �500 off Take a Break, or Chat or the Daily Slur or others of that Ilk. Gift horse and all that. I think that the police knew from the start that there was something funny going on and had to play along with it to wait on them tripping up. How the plotters ever thought that they could be smarter than one of the biggest police forces in England, defies belief! The mother and b/f will get a better life at the end of it anyway - safe house, new identity etc. Better than living in that schiezenhause that she was.

[daffy654]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/73 40667.stm

Maybe the friend that is standing by her is one of the women mentioned in the above linked article???

[bananie]

I read somewhere (daily mail possibly) that the mother was a bit fond of the dragon, if you get my drift. He's not the full quid either, the boyfriend I mean, is he? Looks like a daft monkey. AND 5 different fathers??? They should open a branch of specsavers in Dewsbury.