Ex-police officer describes the moment she knew Karen Matthews was behind plot to ‘kidnap’ daughter Shannon
A FORMER detective charged with looking into the disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews has spoken of the moment she knew the missing girl's mother was behind a sick plot to "kidnap" her.
Christine Freeman, appointed the family liaison officer at the time of Shannon's disappearance in 2008, claims she suspected early on that "something was not right" about the way mum Karen was acting.
The nation was gripped when schoolgirl Shannon allegedly went missing after a swimming trip with Westmoor Junior School.
Her mum Karen was seen pleaded on TV for the safe girl’s return as West Yorkshire Police spent £3.2million to find her safe in the biggest police inquiry in the area since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
Hundreds of neighbours also joined in the 24-day search for the nine-year-old.
Speaking to the , Christine, 59, said: "When I got to the house Karen and her boyfriend, Craig Meehan, were playing on an X-Box. Karen hardly looked up. After a few minutes my phone rang. I had a pop song as my ringtone and Karen got up and started dancing to it. I remember thinking 'this is really odd’.
"Statistics tell you that if a child isn’t found within 48 hours you must fear the worst, so I tried to keep it real, to prepare her: I’d say ‘If Shannon’s been missing this long it’s not likely she’s coming home’, but Karen never seemed to take it in. She’d say ‘It’ll be all right, she’ll come home’."
Christine, a mum herself who has now retired from the police force, said that Karen would lap up the attention of the world's press on her doorstep and "enjoyed the fact the press knew her name".
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At one point when the Matthews family were staying with a neighbour while police searched their home, the former copper claims a news programme featuring Shannon came on and Karen said to one of the other children "Look! There’s Shannon. She’s a star!" - as if making light of the situation.
Christine claims Karen's pal Natalie, whose home they were staying at, also found the mum's comment strange and told her "something's not right".
A few weeks later Shannon was eventually discovered - drugged inside the base of a divan bed in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and it emerged that mum Karen had orchestrated the whole plot so she could bag the £50,000 reward money and split it with her accomplice Mick Donovan.
The house where Shannon was found less than a mile away at was that of Donovan, the uncle of Craig Meehan – who was Karen’s boyfriend at the time.
They had planned to release the schoolgirl, "discover her" then take her to a police station and claim the reward before splitting.
Christine added: "I’ll never forget hearing she was safe. I sat with her in the station and officers were coming by, just wanting to see her. Some were crying. They’d put their lives on hold to search for this child, not seeing their own families. You can’t help but get emotionally involved.
"Shannon was totally oblivious, bless her. She didn’t realise what was going on, which was probably a good thing."
After the young girl was found Christine claims she visited Karen with her pals Julie and Natalie.
Natalie put a theory to the mum that "she had wanted to leave Craig and asked Mick to pick up Shannon. She was to join him with the other kids, but at the last minute, when she was going to tell Craig, she bottled it".
The ex-detective constable said: "Karen drew the biggest intake of breath I’ve ever heard and said 'Yes, that’s right”. I couldn’t believe it. Julie kept her talking and as she confessed I started making notes. Then I arrested her."
Christine believes Karen Matthews was "too stupid" to come up with a sophisticated plan and didn't appear to realised the enormity of what she'd done.
The revelations come as the grandparents of Shannon Matthews blasted a new BBC drama about her horrific faked kidnapping ordeal calling it a "disgrace" and making the programme "isn't right".
June and Gordon Matthews, who looked after Shannon for much of her young life, claim they won't be watching The Moorside as they say their granddaughter "deserves to live her life in peace".
The harrowing tale however has now been made into a two-part drama and will air on the BBC on Tuesday night.
Speaking to the , grandmother June said: "Shannon deserves to live her life in peace. She deserves to be left alone.
"What happened to her was a trauma, a tragedy. It is sick and disgusting that it is being turned into a TV show.
"It isn’t entertainment. It’s real life and it hasn’t even been ten years since it happened.
"If she sees it, Shannon is old enough now to understand that it is about her. She will know it is about the terrible things that happened to her. How is that fair?"
The 73-year-old also blasted actress Sheridan Smith, who plays mum Karen's friend and neighbour Julie Bushby who led the search for Shannon, and the other cast members for agreeing to take part in the show.
Grandfather Gordon added: "I won’t have that programme on in this house. What they’re doing isn’t right. The poor love. She should be left alone to forget."
The pair claim further insult was added when they received a letter from the production company behind the drama asking them to pass a letter on to daughter Karen, who served an eight year sentence for the despicable crime along with accomplice Michael Donovan, explaining she is to be one of the characters in the show.
The parents haven't seen or heard from her since she was arrested for the terrible crime, they say.
Since Shannon's faked kidnapping in 2008 Gordon’s health has deteriorated badly. He has lost almost three stones in weight and has been in and out of hospital, with anxiety leaving him without an appetite.
Karen Matthews was dubbed ‘the most hated mum in Britain’ for the crime.
The first part of The Moorside will be aired on BBC1 on February 7 at 9pm.
It will conclude a week later with the second half.
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