iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Karen Matthews, Kidnap Mother Of Shannon Photographed For First Time Since Release From Prison

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 13/04/2012 11:36 Updated: 13/04/2012 11:45

Karen Matthews, the mother who kidnapped her own daughter to claim reward money, has been photographed for the first time since being released from prison.

In exclusive pictures published by The Sun, the overweight redhead appears to have undergone something of a transformation during her four years inside.

She is thought to have lost up to two stone and has cut her distinctive, shoulder length hair into a fashionable spiky style, with a floppy fringe. Her locks have also been dyed a rich shade of plum.

Scroll down for a gallery of images from the hunt for Shannon

The mother-of-seven wore heavy make-up to cover facial scars and moles and appeared healthy and happy as she was snapped enjoying a shopping trip with her probation worker.

A source said: “She had to serve only half her sentence and now she has been rewarded with a makeover and a shopping trip. It’s insane.”

The newspaper did not reveal exactly where in the country Matthews was photographed, but it believes she may be moved from her current probation hostel now her identity has been compromised.

Matthews apparently spent Easter Sunday making cards for her children and has been pitching in, helping to keep the premises clean.

She was jailed for eight years after staging nine-year-old Shannon's disappearance in order to pocket £50,000.

Along with Michael Donovan, 40, Matthews was found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice after her daughter was discovered under a bed in Donovan's home. She had been tied up and drugged. It had taken police 24 days to find her in a hunt which cost £3.2million.

Matthews was released from Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire eight day ago after serving half of her sentence.

1  of  15
PLAY
FULLSCREEN
ZOOM
SHARE THIS SLIDE 
File photo dated 3/3/2008 of Karen Matthews, the mother of missing 9-year-old Shannon Matthews, holding her daughter's favourite teddy bear as she makes an emotional appeal for her safe return.
Issue date: Wednesday November 12 2008
FOLLOW UK

Karen Matthews, the mother who kidnapped her own daughter to claim reward money, has been photographed for the first time since being released from prison. In exclusive pictures published by The S...
Karen Matthews, the mother who kidnapped her own daughter to claim reward money, has been photographed for the first time since being released from prison. In exclusive pictures published by The S...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 16
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Post Comment Preview Comment
To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
photo
WEForbes
2 Fans
 
10:51 AM on 04/16/2012
ugly pair
Permalink  |
rosasturtles1
73 Fans
02:14 AM on 04/15/2012
worhtless human being.
Permalink  |
photo
Wiggysan
14 Fans
 
11:28 PM on 04/14/2012
I live in Leeds & was working for the Yorkshire Post Newspapers when this was going on.

I really can not put in to words the anger I ( and every parent I know ) have for the creature.

I would use the woman, but you need to be human first & she does not qualify.
Permalink  |
susane07
366 Fans
09:56 PM on 04/14/2012
Could someone re-write this article so people can understand it? This is a terrible piece of writing.
Permalink  |
ring 1
3 Fans
02:05 PM on 04/14/2012
My comments don't appear maybe it's because the truth hurts she is SCUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Permalink  |
leftclik
6 Fans
01:22 AM on 04/14/2012
Looking at the comments of some on here they would like some gang somewhere around where she is staying to kick her to death, Ive always been a strong supporter of the death penalty and wondered why it wasnt taken up some years back but now im just wondering, these people reminded me of the other folk on that estate, it didnt look as if any of them had a brain cell between them, it looked a right problem area, a place not safe after dark, This woman wasted police time,blah blah blah, she didnt murder anyone, her child was safe, the only dope was herself, she got time which she well deserved, i cant understand why the press is hounding her, if she was kicked to death they would be 80% responsible, let her get on with her life, shes paid for what she did, leave it at that, unless of course she has to have 24/7/365 days a year protection as Maxine Carr had costing hundreds of thousands every year, and the way its going it looks like thats the way its going, but if the taxpayers are prepared to pay huge sums,ok, leave it at that. I thought witch hunts were over centuries ago but now i know its not, same people, different century.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
deluk
disgusted.
690 Fans
02:45 PM on 04/13/2012
Well done "Sun", she's served her sentence, effectively imposed for not being too bright, now leave her alone, no doubt those who are cut from the same cloth will be quick to exploit the chance you've given them to impose some self-righteous scorn.
Permalink  |
Margaret T
43 Fans
04:31 PM on 04/13/2012
...effectively imposed for not being too bright...

Tell that to Shannon who must have been terrified! Karen Matthews was rightly jailed for kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice, not because she "wasn't too bright". She deserves scorn.

She has though, as you say, served her sentence and that, as far as the public is concerned, should be the end of it.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
deluk
disgusted.
690 Fans
06:10 PM on 04/13/2012
how do you know Shannon was "terrified"?, she wasn't abducted and subjected to sexual abuse by a stranger, she was "staying" with a member of the family, and as she's served her sentence, it is not your place or anybody else's to "scorn" her.  Mind your own business.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ben Wilson
290 Fans
 
12:42 PM on 04/13/2012
Oh so what, they took Myra Hindley for walks and that had nothing to do with getting her ready for life on the outside. Sorry but I think such trips are a good thing, and 4 years in prison for what she did is enough. You can do less for murder and even less for scamming the government, if you're an MP. Justice isn't a witch hunt and we are supposed to not do touture or inhumane imprisonment. We are supposed to be on the road of effective rehabilitation and these trips are a part of that. No one gets better without a bit of kindness, and consideration for the challenege of adjusting back to life on the outside.

Forgiveness isn't something you do only when the fit takes you. She's been punished and no one will forget. These things are done for a reason, and I credit the system for them being good reasons. Anything to try and stop the revolving door, that only costs the tax payer more.
Permalink  |
This comment has been removed.
Permalink  |Show replies(1)