A man jailed for what a judge described as a “truly despicable” plot to abduct nine-year-old Shannon Matthews has died.
Michael Donovan became notorious in 2008 after the schoolgirl was found alive in his flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, 24 days after she was reported missing from her home in nearby Dewsbury. Donovan died after collapsing at a mental health unit in West Yorkshire on Tuesday, the PA news agency understands. He was jailed alongside Shannon’s mother, Karen Matthews, after a jury heard how they planned her daughter’s disappearance in an attempt to claim a cash reward.
Prosecutors said Donovan kept Shannon imprisoned as part of a plan he and Matthews hatched to claim a £50,000 reward offered by a national newspaper. The court was told the ordeal left Shannon “disturbed and traumatised” and suffering nightmares. The search by West Yorkshire Police cost an estimated £3.2 million and was the largest inquiry in the force’s history since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
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