THE mother of a young girl whose disappearance sparked a nationwide search and numerous appeals has today been found guilty of kidnapping her.
THE mother of a young girl whose disappearance sparked a nationwide search and numerous appeals has today been found guilty of kidnapping her.
Karen Matthews, 33, was also convicted of false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice at Leeds Crown Court.
Co-defendant Michael Donovan, 40, was convicted of the same offences.
Both were warned that they face substantial jail sentences.
Shannon Matthews, then nine, was found in Donovan's flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, 24 days after she went missing in February.
During the trial the court heard that Karen Matthews, of Dewsbury Moor, hatched a plot with Donovan to drug and imprison her daughter in his flat in a bid to claim £50,000 in reward money.
Both denied the offences.
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