| Author |
Topic |
|
lincs
Moderator
United Kingdom
625 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 15:16:17
|
|
Sky are reporting now Shannon has been found alive. Her mother is on the way to the police station to confirm it. Shannons father has been told to keep his phone line open.
|
|
|
Garfield
Moderator
United Kingdom
475 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 15:18:03
|
| brilliant news...just listening to tv now |
garfield |
 |
|
|
Garfield
Moderator
United Kingdom
475 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 15:29:46
|
| Found under a bed in her grandparents home??? WTF??? |
garfield |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 16:00:59
|
OMG!!!!!! This is fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Missing Shannon Matthews found alive
Last Updated: 3:02pm GMT 14/03/2008
Missing nine-year-old schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found alive 24 days after she first went missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
# Why Shannon's plight never grabbed attention like Madeleine case
She was found in a property in Batley Carr, around a mile from her family home about 2pm today.
Initial reports suggested that Shannon was found hiding under a bed in her grandparents house, but these seem to have been contradicted by news that she was found in a flat in Lidgate Gardens.
Shannon Matthews
Shannon Matthews went missing on February 19
The Press Association, quoting neighbours, reported police had smashed their way into the flat and emerged carrying Shannon.
Shannon was said to have looked "quite calm" and officers confirmed that she was OK.
"One of my neighbours heard banging. When he went outside, police were breaking the door down - the man wouldn't come out so they broke in," a local resident said.
"Apparently they found her in bed."
The neighbour said rumours in the street suggested that the man who occupied the flat where Shannon was found lived alone and had children who had been taken into care.
She added: "We haven't seen him for two or three years. But apparently he's come back."
Police were said to have been tipped off by the woman who lives in the downstairs flat, who reported hearing footsteps.
Shannon was last seen at Westmoor Junior School, Dewsbury on 19 February.
A local resident told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I've just seen Shannon being taken out of a house in Batley Carr. She is safe and well."
Shannon's aunt, Amanda Hyett, described the news as "wonderful".
"I can't believe it - what an incredible relief," she told the newspaper.
It is understood Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, was with reporters from national newspapers when she heard the news.
She was then driven away from the family home by police and is believed to have been reunited with her daughter.
Earlier this week, Mrs Matthews, 32, said she thought someone she knew had snatched her daughter to hurt her.
But Mrs Matthews said she did not know who could have taken the shy youngster.
Mrs Matthews said: "She got abducted. That's all I can say." Asked if she thought it was someone she knew who took her, she said: "It seems that way because there's no trace of her at all. There's no trace of her swimming costume, her towel or anything like that that she's taken with her." And asked why someone close to her would do it, Mrs Matthews replied: "Just to hurt me, really."
The operation to find Shannon was the biggest missing person's case the West Yorkshire force had undertaken since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. |
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
mog
Seasoned Reporter
United Kingdom
232 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 16:01:33
|
Breaking News - sky news
Shannon Matthews Is Found
Updated:15:00, Friday March 14, 2008
Missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found alive in the Dewsbury area of West Yorkshire 24 days after she disappeared.
Police smashed their way into a flat in Lidgate Gardens in Batley Carr and emerged carrying Shannon, neighbours said.
The young girl looked "quite calm" and officers confirmed she was OK.
A local resident, who did not want to give her name, said: "One of my neighbours heard banging.
"When he went outside, police were breaking the door down - the man wouldn't come out so they broke in. Apparently they found her in bed."
The neighbour believed the man who occupied the flat where Shannon was found lived alone and had children who had been taken into care.
She added: "We haven't seen him for two or three years. But apparently he's come back."
The woman who lives downstairs from him tipped off police after hearing footsteps, she said.
Earlier reports claimed the little girl was found hiding under a bed in a her grandparents' home.
Police had been searching for the nine-year-old for over three weeks.
The youngster has now been taken to a police station where she will be reunited with her mother.
Sky's north of England correspondent Gerard Tubb said: "I only know that she is alive but I wasn't given any impression that she was harmed.
"They've got her, they're very excited."
Shannon failed to return home from school after a swimming trip on February 19.
The schoolgirl's aunt Amanda Hyett said Shannon's mother Karen Matthews had been driven away by police from the family home shortly before 2pm.
Former Scotland Yard detective, Mike Hames, told Sky police "always thought she was being kept away from home by someone that knows her".
"It is quite rare that you would find a child alive after all this time," he added.
Earlier this week, Ms Matthews, 32, a mother-of-seven from Dewsbury, West Yorks, said: "She got abducted. That's all I can say."
Asked if someone she knew was responsible, she said: "It seems that way because there's no trace of her at all.
"There's no trace of her swimming costume, her towel or anything like that that she's taken with her."
Shannon had been dressed in a black jumper with a school logo, a white cotton T-shirt, black trousers and a waist-length black coat with fur round the hood.
One national newspaper offered a £50,000 reward for information about her disappearance.
Police searched more than 200 homes and received over 300 calls from the public in their extensive investigation.
Friends and neighbours also distributed leaflets appealing for information about Shannon's whereabouts across West Yorkshire.
|
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 16:20:08
|
The Guardian
Shannon Matthews found alive one mile from home
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Friday March 14 2008. It was last updated at 15:12 on March 14 2008.
Shannon Matthews
Shannon Matthews. Photograph: West Yorkshire police/Reuters
Shannon Matthews, the nine-year-old girl missing for more than three weeks, has been found alive in a flat close to her family home in West Yorkshire.
Shannon, who had not been seen since she disappeared on her way home from a school swimming trip in Dewsbury on February 19, was found in the base of a bed after police broke into a flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, part of Dewsbury.
The address is about a mile from Shannon's family home in Dewsbury Moor.
Officers emerged carrying Shannon, who looked "quite calm", a neighbour, who did not want to give her name, told the Press Association.
"One of my neighbours heard banging," she said. "When he went outside, police were breaking the door down. The man wouldn't come out so they broke in. Apparently they found her in bed. He said she was quite calm. Police carried her out.
"My neighbour asked 'Is it Shannon?', and the policeman just said 'yes', and said she was OK."
The Yorkshire Evening Post quoted police and family members saying Shannon had been found safe and well. The girl's aunt, Amanda Hyett, told the paper: "I can't believe it - what an incredible relief."
Hyett said Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, who lives next door, had been driven away by a police liaison officer with her partner, Craig Meehan. It was believed the pair were being taken to see Shannon.
Fears had been growing for Shannon's safety given the length of time she had been missing. It is extremely rare for abducted children to be recovered alive if they are not found very soon after they are snatched.
Earlier this week, Shannon's mother said she believed her daughter was snatched by someone close to the family. Asked if she thought someone she knew was responsible, she told the BBC: "It seems that way because there's no trace of her at all. There's no trace of her swimming costume, her towel or anything."
The search for Shannon has been the biggest inquiry the West Yorkshire force has undertaken since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper serial killer in the 1970s.
As well as 300 local officers, the hunt included more than half of the UK's specialist body search dogs. Among addresses searched by the dogs were those of registered sex offenders living in the local area.
|
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 16:28:00
|
BTW ...she was not found in her grandparents
Here's the Yorkshire Post...minute by minute.
SHANNON FOUND: Live updates 3.16pm
With Shannon Matthews found alive keep up to speed on developments as it happens. 3.16pm.
SHANNON FOUND: Click here for latest story.
3.16pm - Everyone at Shannon's school, Westmoor Junior School, was celebrating news of her discovery.
Head teacher, Krystyna Piatkowski, told the YEP: "Myself, the staff, the pupils and everyone at the school are delighted and relieved that Shannon has been found."
3.14pm - Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann, said they were "delighted" that Shannon had been found alive and said the news gave them hope.
Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "Kate and Gerry are aware that she has been found alive. They feel that is excellent news, they are delighted that she is alive.
"They will not comment more until they know the full circumstances. Suffice to say that they will keep on looking until they have a happy resolution in Madeleine's case.
"It proves that children can go missing for whatever reason and still be found alive.
"Until Kate and Gerry know what has happened to Madeleine, there will always be hope for them that she too will be found alive.
"They will keep on looking as long as there is hope."
3.12pm - One local resident says: "She looked OK, there didn't seem to be any physical marks on her.
"You could tell she was scared, though, there was something in her face.
"The police put her in a car and drove her away.
"About five minutes later the cops dragged a man out and put him in a van."
3.11pm - A statement from West Yorkshire Police reads: "As part of ongoing investigations, Detectives and Specialist Search officers attended a house at Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, Dewsbury at 12.30pm this afternoon.
"During a search of the house, officers located Shannon Matthews who was found concealed in the base of a divan bed.
"A 39 year old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction at the address and is currently in custody at a West Yorkshire Police Station.
"Shannon is currently in the care of West Yorkshire Police.
"Investigations are ongoing."
3.09pm - A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abduction at the address in Lidgate Gardens, the force said.
3.08pm - Missing nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was found in the base of a divan bed in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire police said today.
2.55pm - A neighbour said rumours in the street suggested that the man who occupied the flat where Shannon was found lived alone and had children who had been taken into care.
She said: "We haven't seen him for two or three years. But apparently he's come back."
The woman who lives downstairs from him tipped off police after hearing footsteps, she said.
The neighbour did not know whether police arrested the man.
2.52pm - Police smashed their way into a flat in Lidgate Gardens in Batley Carr and emerged carrying Shannon, neighbours said.
The young girl looked "quite calm" and officers confirmed that she was OK.
A local resident, who did not want to give her name, said: "One of my neighbours heard banging.
"When he went outside, police were breaking the door down - the man wouldn't come out so they broke in.
"Apparently they found her in bed. He said she was quite calm. Police carried her out.
"My neighbour asked, 'is it Shannon?" and the policeman just said, 'yes' and said she was OK."
2.50pm - Relative Victoria Saunders confirmed the good news to reporters.
2.48
pm - Shannon's aunt Amanda Hyett said: "We've all heard the news. It is great news. I've just heard the news like everyone else. I'm just trying to check if it's right."
2.45pm - Police officially confirmed that a man had been arrested in connection with the discovery of Shannon.
2.43pm - Reports Shannon found hiding under the bed at her grandparents' home.
2.03pm - Police confirm missing Shannon Matthews has been found safe and well. Unofficial reports suggested the nine-year-old had been found at a house believed to be in the neighbouring town of Batley Carr.
A local residents tells the YEP: "I have just seen Shannon being taken out of a house in Batley Carr. She is safe and well."
|
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 16:35:11
|
Text of police statement on Shannon Matthews
Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:14pm GMT
LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Friday that schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found alive in a house in West Yorkshire, nearly a month after she went missing.
Here is the full text of a statement released by West Yorkshire Police:
"As part of ongoing investigations, detectives and specialist search officers attended a house at Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, Dewsbury, at 12.30 p.m. this afternoon.
"During a search of the house, officers located Shannon Matthews, who was found concealed in the base of a divan bed.
"A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction at the address and is currently in custody at a West Yorkshire police station.
"Shannon is currently in the care of West Yorkshire Police. Investigations are ongoing." |
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 17:15:13
|
Sky
Finding Out What Happened To Shannon
By Julia Reid
Updated:15:47, Friday March 14, 2008
Former detectives have told Sky News there will be hundreds of questions to answer now that Shannon Matthews has been found safe and well.
Police will talk gently to Shannon
Mike Hames, who used to be a detective at Scotland Yard, says the investigation will unfold quickly.
"This inquiry has been handled immaculately but now the questions will be come thick and fast," he said.
"We need to know what has happened to her over the last few weeks and why she hasn't been found before.
"The police always thought the answer lay somewhere in the immediate area and they were right.
Advertisement
"It seems that somebody has taken her and hidden her in the base of a bed.
"The 39-year old man that has been arrested will have lots of questions to answer and I expect to see forensics going in there very quickly.
"It seems a single man, maybe with learning difficulties, has held her against her will.
"It sounds as though there has been some force.
"We are delighted that she has been found alive, but what has happened to her in the last three weeks is a big worry.
Shannon's mother and father
"Police and social services will deal very gently with her.
"The system will go into overdrive now to get at the truth."
Mr Hames said it was unlikely that Shannon's mother would be able to take her home on Friday night.
"Mother and daughter won't be going home together just yet," he said.
"The police will want to talk to both of them separately to get as much information as they can."
The police search for Shannon
Child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas said Shannon will be able to provide a great deal of information.
"The police will have to ask a lot of Shannon. They will question her in a very gentle and professional way," he said.
"She will be examined by doctors and will be carefully taken through what happened to her."
Mr Williams-Thomas said it may be that Shannon was found at a crucial stage.
"It could be that they stopped something happening to her before it got more serious," he said.
"The fact that they never found any items of clothing, she just simply vanished, tended to suggest that she was still alive." |
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 18:12:30
|
Latest update: Shannon Matthews found hidden in a bed
MISSING Dewsbury schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found by police hidden in the base of a bed, in a house just a mile from her home.
Officers today smashed their way into the house in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr and found the missing nine-year-old concealed in the divan base.
A 39-year-old man is in police custody having been arrested on suspicion of abducting the schoolgirl, who disappeared three weeks ago after a school swimming lesson.
Reports in Dewsbury suggest the man could be a member of Shannon's extended family, but this is unconfirmed.
Officers smashed their way into the premises at 12.30pm and emerged carrying Shannon.
Neighbours said the officers confirmed who she was and said she was okay.
Mother-of-four Mandy Dixon was doing the washing up when she saw a police car screech into Lidgate Gardens followed by another two vehicles.
At first she thought it was a drugs raid and so were amazed to see officers emerge with the frightened nine-year-old.
The 37-year-old said: "They ran in, they weren't wasting any time. Then they took a German Shepherd sniffer dog in.
"Minutes later, a plain-clothed police officer came out of the house with Shannon clinging round his neck for dear life.
"A neighbour shouted out the window 'is it her, have they found her?' to which the officer replied 'Yes it's Shannon, she is safe'."
She said the house Shannon was taken from was lived in by a 39-year-old man called Michael and he was marched out of the house by three police officers.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the man arrested by police had two daughters who were taken into care.
"It was around two or three years ago it happened because his wife was unwell at the time and he couldn't look after them.
"I thought he had left the area but maybe he came back recently.
"A neighbour came to tell me there were police in the street and said the woman in the flat downstairs had called the police. Apparently she heard a child's footsteps and knew he did not have any children so she was suspicious."
Charity Missing People said it recently contacted police after being told Shannon might be in Lidgate Gardens.
A spokesman could not confirm exactly when it received the report, but said in a statement: "The charity recently received a sighting suggesting that Shannon might be at Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr.
"Missing People passed this information to police via an information protocol."
Shannon's mother, Karen, is understood to be at Dewsbury Police Station with her partner, Craig Meehan, to be reunited with her daughter.
Shannon's father said he was "over the moon" she had been found alive.
Leon Rose said being reunited with the missing nine-year-old would be like "winning the lottery".
He also thanked everyone who helped in the 24-day search for Shannon, as he insisted he had never given up hope.
"I did say on the news I wasn't going to give up until she was found," he said. "I've kept going, and every day I went out there as much as I could."
Shannon's aunt Amanda Hyett, who lives next door to the family, said the schoolgirl's mum had been driven away by police from the family home shortly before 2pm.
"We've all heard the news," she said. "It is great news. I've just heard the news like everyone else. I'm just trying to check if it's right."
Peter Brown, who lives near Shannon in Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, said he was the first one to tell Ms Matthews her daughter was alive.
"She just froze," he said. "She was in shock. Then her reaction was crying.
"After that, she had a phone call from the police liaison officer. They came to pick her up, Karen and Craig both left the house together."
Hundreds of police and residents have been involved in the search for the schoolgirl in what became West Yorkshire Police's largest investigation since the Ripper Inquiry of the 1970s.
Officers and specialist teams from across the north of England have been involved.
Leading detectives had said they were gravely concerned for the youngster's safety because there had been no sightings of her since the afternoon she went missing.
Among the h
omes searched by officers with specialist dogs trained to identify blood and human remains were those of sex offenders living in the Dewsbury area.
As part of the investigation, a complete fingerprint and DNA profile of the nine-year-old had been compiled, using samples taken from her home. This was to have helped pinpoint detectives as to where she had been, whether voluntarily or against her will.
Residents in Shannon's road have put up a banner across a window, saying "Welcome back, Shannon", signed by all her friends.
Family, friends and neighbours who are celebrating the news in the street said they hoped to see the youngster back home tonight.
Callie Brown, eight, who is in the same class as Shannon, said: "We all had to go into the hall for an assembly. I was crying my eyes out.
"I'm going to give these 22 letters to her from her friends. I have missed her loads." |
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
justagrannynow
Senior Correspondent
France
304 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 20:38:16
|
Isn't it great to get some good news.
One sour note. The McCanns via Clarence are claiming that this proves abducted children can be found alive. |
|
|
|
lincs
Moderator
United Kingdom
625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 20:54:57
|
| It is brilliant news they have found Shannon. I cant see why they cant keep their big mouths shut this is about Shannon at the moment. |
|
|
|
mog
Seasoned Reporter
United Kingdom
232 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2008 : 22:45:38
|
It has been reported on SKY, that the arrested man is related to shannons step dad, and is also known to police.
Makes you wonder if it was a scam between a few individuals to claim the reward money. |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
|
|
mog
Seasoned Reporter
United Kingdom
232 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 10:16:27
|
quote:
Originally posted by oxymoran
The thought did cross my mind Mog! Nice to see I'm not the only skeptik
```````````
No, you are not the only one Oxy!
I never take things at face value. It always pays to have a dig around with things like this. We could be wrong, but i will stand to be corrected at least.
Thats why also, the Mccann episode stinks to high heaven of something so simple that it has probably been overlooked by those investigating it. |
|
|
|
lincs
Moderator
United Kingdom
625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 12:02:22
|
| Hope it was not a scam. They will be dishing out all the dirt on the family soon and some of the family selling their side of the story. Could get very messy. |
|
|
|
justagrannynow
Senior Correspondent
France
304 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 15:29:34
|
I think the lady in the downstairs flat who phoned the police to say she had heard a child in the flat upstairs, where a man lived alone, should get the reward money.
There was a brief reference on the news to the occupant of the flat having been away for a few weeks and I did wonder if he and Shannon had been staying with other relatives, and not in the flat for the whole 3 weeks. There have been several comments about Karen Matthews parents disowning her because of her lifestyle, although they would be unlikely to collude with the relatives of her latest partner. It is so complicated but at least the police and Social Services do seem to be doing the right thing and keeping Shannon in care until they get to the bottom of what happened the day she disappeared. Hopefully, this is the start of somebody actually listening to the child and doing what is best for her. |
|
|
|
Garfield
Moderator
United Kingdom
475 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 17:14:11
|
I find it vey strange that karen Matthews was only "briefly reunited" with her daughter, and that shannon is being kept in the care of the police. Not sure if that's the way they do things these days or if there is something more sinister afoot.
Oxy only reported about the grandparents home as i was watching the breaking news on BBC. Just goes to show how even the BBC jump to conclusions...a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! |
garfield |
|
|
|
lincs
Moderator
United Kingdom
625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 18:11:36
|
| I think they put her under care, so they can find out what exactly happended while it is still fresh. Spokesman did say yesterday on sky the police need to get it right first time and they are bringing all these child experts in to speak with Shannon. Must be very hard for her mother. |
|
|
|
justagrannynow
Senior Correspondent
France
304 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2008 : 20:39:50
|
I think it is right that Shannon has not been returned home straight away. Assuming the reports are true, then before she disappeared,
a)Shannon wrote on her bedroom wall that she wanted to live with her dad.
b)was crying at school and told her friend she didn't want to go home.
c)had spent the previous night at her aunts house because she didn't want to be at home.
d)there have been allegations from other members of the family that her stepfather hit her.
Whatever the truth is, Shannon is best kept in a neutral place until the experts can assess what Shannon really wants. If there are issues at home which caused her to run away it would be cruel and counter productive to just take her back.
I don't doubt for one minute that Karen Matthews loves her daughter and wants her home but it's what is best for Shannon that matters. |
|
|
|
oxymoran
Managing Editor
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2008 : 02:12:51
|
Sounds like our perp is a real nasty piece of work...which begs the question why it took 24 days!
Guess which paper? NOTW
Shannon man's vile sex secrets
Ex-wife reveals how he tried to strangle and smother her
ANGRY SUE: When I heard Shannon had vanished I knew it could have been Mick
By Neville Thurlbeck
The ex-wife of Shannon Matthews' kidnap suspect has revealed he secretly fantasised about sex with children.
In an exclusive interview Sue Bird told how Mick Donovan's sick lust was sensationally exposed when horrified teachers found graphic sex notes he'd put in his own DAUGHTER'S lunch box.
He was then BARRED from seeing 12-year-old Jane and sister Mary, aged 10, but SNATCHED them from council care and hid away with them in Blackpool for three days.
READ: I TOLD COPS A WEEK AGO
Sue said: "On top of that he used to force me to dress up as a schoolgirl for sex. That's why none of this is a surprise to me.
"He's actually kidnapped before, just 18 months ago. This man is a real
MASKING THE FEAR: Smiling Sue and baby Mary
nasty piece of work."
In an exclusive interview, Sue relived her seven years of hell atthe hands of the man who was hauled from his Dewsbury flat on Friday after police smashed their way in. They found nine-year-old Shannon hidden in the drawer under a divan bed. As West Yorkshire police gently questioned the youngster about her 24-day nightmare, Sue broke down and revealed she always had doubts about loner Donovan as he:
SPANKED her in bed while fantasising about being a kinky father or headmaster.
TRIED to STRANGLE her during one bizarre romp.
THREATENED to cut her throat unless she walked ten miles to get him drugs.
ENJOYED beating her black and blue—especially in bed.
Sue, 37, said: "Mick was a walking, ticking time bomb.
"He's so horrible, something like this was bound to happen. If he could kidnap his own children, he could kidnap anyone.
"When I heard little Shannon had been taken I was sick to the pit of my stomach. And I knew in my heart that it could have been Mick."
Sue insists 39-year-old Donovan— uncle to Shannon's stepdad Craig Meehan—had an unhealthy interest in children right from the start of their relationship in 1990.
"When he made me dress like a schoolgirl he'd want me in knee-high white socks, flat shoes and a tight top," she said.
"I had to tie my hair up in plaits. And always no make-up, to complete the schoolgirl look.
FAMILY LINK: Donovan and nephew Craig, Shannon's stepdad
Knife
"If I was wearing make-up, he'd make me go and wash it off.
"His nickname for me was ‘Toots' and schoolgirl sex was always his fantasy. He'd often want it twice a day.
"He'd spank my bottom during sex, too. He loved being in control. He said he loved feeling like a ‘father or headmaster' in bed.
"I went along with it because he was very dominating and violent.
"Sometimes, his violence would spill over into our lovemaking. He was having sex with me once when for no reason, he started strangling me. I could feel his hands tightening around my neck, so I pushed him as hard as I could and he fell off the bed.
"I really thought I'd had it. But he just put on his dressing gown and walked out of the bedroom.
"After that I started sleeping with a knife under the mattress. I honestly thought he'd kill me one day.
"He was really horrible, an obsessive compulsive man who had to be in control all the time—especially in a sexually violent way."
Sue, who suffered years of brutal beatings at the hands of the 5ft 6in, nine-stone Donovan, then recalled the terrifying moment when her worst fears nearly came true.
"A sixth sense woke me up," she said. "We'd gone to bed after a row and I suddenly awoke to find him straddling me and about to smother me with a pillow.
"I fought him off and he backed away, claiming he'd done it in his sleep. I never slept with him again after that. I stayed downstairs with a chair against the door.
"He was addicted to opiates, and when he was high he wanted sex all the time. But when he was off them, he used to have black moods and that's when he'd attack me. Anything would set him off. He used to punch me, kick me and slap me.
"He's broken my cheekbone and bust my nose several times. I always had cut lips and bruised ribs."
Although scrawny, Donovan has immense strength, says Susan.
"Once when the police came round to sort out a fight, he went ballistic," she said. "There were five hefty policemen and it took them all to pin him down.
Berserk
"He had a ferocious temper and it gave him superhuman strength."
Sue then recounted the chilling moment when, starved of drugs, Donovan threatened her with an eight-inch carving knife.
She said: "He knew my grandad had some powerful painkillers he was taking for his cancer so he wanted me to walk the ten miles from Dewsbury to Bradford and back to get them.
"I refused and he went berserk. He grabbed me from behind, slammed me against the wall and thrust the tip of the knife into my throat. I thought I was going to die. He looked me in the eyes and yelled, ‘Just do it girl!'
"So I did and my grandad handed the drugs over because he knew I'd get a beating if he didn't."
Susan first met met Donovan during a hospital visit to her mother in 1990. He was a fantasist who had changed his name from Paul Drake in honour of his TV idol, former Neighbours star and singer Jason Donovan.
The pair moved to Bradford where they married after Susan gave birth to their first daughter Jane in May, 1995.
(We have changed the names of both Donovan's children to protect their identities.)
Then just seven weeks after the birth of second daughter Mary in June, 1997, Susan was forced to flee Donovan for good.
Police had been called to the family home SEVEN times to deal with his violence but Sue always dropped charges.
But if she feared for herself, she was terrified for elder daughter Jane, with whom he had a worrying obsession. Susan felt unable to trust him alone with her. She said: "Something happened to Mick after Jane was born. He got very obsessive with her in an unnatural way.
"He was always interested in changing the girls' nappies. He delighted in it and took ages over it. It used to make my skin crawl.
"I couldn't relax around him or fully trust him with our children.
"There was something not quite right about him.
"As soon as we had the girls he became overpoweringly controlling and demanding.
Worried
"He'd take Jane out from 9am in the morning and not bring her back till 9pm at night. I was sick with worry.
"But he intimidated me so much I was afraid to go out in public with him. And I was shocked when we finally split and he said, ‘You're not taking Jane—but you can keep that thing!'—referring to our Mary."
For the next two years Sue lobbied social services to have Jane removed from Donovan. "I was really worried about her but they didn't seem to take me seriously," she said. Worse was to come. Susan became so depressed by her plight that in late 1998 she was admitted to hospital after a nervous breakdown.
"That's when social services let Mick have Mary, too," she said.
"Now both my daughters were under his control. I was bouncing off the walls with worry that he'd do something."
Finally social services acted in 2000, took both girls from Donovan and, with mum Sue still too depressed to care for them they were placed in a foster home. But their father still had access—until the scandal of the lunch box sex notes.
Sue, who now lives in Cornwall, last saw Jane in 1996 and Mary in 1998. They are being looked after by social services.
Sue told us: "My mental health deteriorated because of Mick. Much to my regret, I was in no fit state to look after the girls as I was in and out of hospital."
Sue's four other children by two other partners all live with their fathers.
She told us: "I can imagine how Shannon's parents are feeling right now because I've been through exactly the same fears.
"I just feel so sorry for Shannon. I wish something had been done about him earlier then maybe this wouldn't have happened.
"I'm so glad she's been found but I feel sick thinking about what he could have done to her.
"I don't believe that poor girl was there of her own free will.
"That man is sick. What would a 39-year-old man want with a nine-year-old girl?
"I just want to tell her family how sorry I am. I feel guilty that I didn't do enough to take this man off the streets earlier.
"I knew that something like this could happen but nobody would listen to me.
"I never want to see that creature Donovan again and I wish I'd never set eyes on him.
"He's the most destructive person I've ever met. The law and social services should have seen this coming long ago." |
http://OxyMoran.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
lincs
Moderator
United Kingdom
625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2008 : 11:36:37
|
| I see it has already started all the dirt coming out. |
|
|
|
petefergie
Senior Correspondent
United Kingdom
585 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2008 : 19:24:52
|
We can assume "ANGRY SUE" can now afford a good holiday abroad this year and still have some (£) spare...
Compliments of NOTW |
|
|
|
justagrannynow
Senior Correspondent
France
304 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2008 : 08:52:24
|
Anybody seen a photo of Angry Sue? I wondered if she was another wannabee model like Nanny Pennington.  |
|
|
|
petefergie
Senior Correspondent
United Kingdom
585 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2008 : 10:51:00
|
Here's the beautiful, mean, angry Sue! |
|
|
|
justagrannynow
Senior Correspondent
France
304 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2008 : 11:36:35
|
OMG she even looks like Charlotte Pennington without the berét !!!!!
Also, a very fit lady indeed if she walked 10 miles to Bradford and back again.
Don't you just love the News of the World. 
Edited to add that, according to Sky news, police are almost certain that Shannon "has not come to harm" during the missing 3 weeks. So, where does this leave Angry Sue ? Maybe it was something about her that caused her exs uncontrollable passion. Perhaps next weeks NOTW will have a story from one of the fathers of one of her children.  |
Edited by - justagrannynow on Mar 17 2008 11:45:56 |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Police: Shannon found in base of divan, 1 ml away