Shannon Matthews: Crazy Pigs, 1988 And Bum’s The Word
SHANNON Matthews: Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews and Karen Matthews
To Leeds Crown Court…
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “POLICE TO SHANNON’S MUM – SHE’S SAFE AND WELL. SHANNON MUM TO POLICE: I LIKE YOUR RINGTONE”
Indeed, the police have ringtones. One has a whistle that makes the sound of a duck, another has a truncheon shaped like drumstick by which he can pound the beat, literally!
Says one officer:
“I thought, ‘We’ve just found your daughter and you’re more concerned about the ringtone’”
Says another officer:
Ring ding ding ding ding
A Ring Ding Ding Dingdemgdemg
A ring ding ding ding ding
a Bram ba am baba weeeeeee
Page 4 and 5: “SHE SAID SHE’D LIKE SEX WITH COP CUTE BUM”
Natalie Brown is in the witness box. Says she:
“One woman said about him having a cute bum. Karen said she wouldn’t mind taking him upstairs. She was having a giggle thinking it was funny. Acting like a little child.”
Maybe the wrong child went missing?
“One minute she would be laughing and be happy and joking but when the news came on TV she would be very quiet.”
We’re on the telly!
Natalie claimed she told Matthews off on one occasion when she said to her youngest daughter “Look Shannon’s on TV she’s famous.”
Is Karen Matthews a celebrity? Is Shannon? How much is her story worth?
THE SUN (front page): “Shannon mother’s ‘silence’ at rescue”
Says neighbour Natalie Brown:
“I never saw any real tears. Her eyes would well up and that was it.”
Pages 8 and 9: “THE RING OF TRUTH – Phone quip as Shannon found”
DC Alex Gummit has a phone that when called plays Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Says Karen Matthews, allegedly: “You must Bluetooth it to me or text me.” Or call and we’ll do cans…
The Sun goes on to talk about the £50,000 reward for finding Shannon. The piece is erroneously called “SUN’S £50,000.” The reward was indeed for that sum but the Sun did not put it all up. The money was raised by well wishers. For such reasons, readers who find Madeleine McCann should beware of claiming Anorak’s £3.2million, as advertised here.
Matthews, 33 — who is jointly accused of staging the nine-year-old’s disappearance to claim a £50,000 reward from The Sun — left officers deeply suspicious because of her reaction.
Or not…
Posted: 14th, November 2008 | In: Key Posts, Media, Shannon Matthews | Comments (4) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: No Noose Is Good Noose
SHANNON MATTHEWS: The trial of Karen Matthews and Paul Donovan…
THE SUN (front page): “SHANNON DRUGGED AND KEPT ON LEASH”
There is a stench of sexual perversion in the Sun’s headline. But sex was not the alleged motive in the “kidnap” of Shannon Matthews, money was.
It is alleged that mum Karen and “loner” Donovan wanted the £50,000 reward, in part out up by the Sun.
QC Julian Goose, prosecuting, says “that while Shannon was physically unharmed, Donovan had kept ‘ruled control’ over her when he left the flat to go shopping.”
The rules were:
You must not make any noise or bang your feet
You must not go near the windows
You must not get anything or do anything without me
Keep the TV volume low, only up to eight or less
You can play Super Mario and you can play some DVDS and some CDs
Those who read the Sun may wonder if Shannon was cared for while she was away from her dear old mum and Craig Meehan?
Reader may wonder if the Sun is not a little disappointed that the case does not feature sexual depravity. And what with Shannon in her kinky school uniform, and all…
DAILY MAIL (front page): “’WICKED’”
“STOP IT YOU’RE FRIGHTENING ME”
No, not the words of a million Mail readers, rather those said to have been uttered by Shannon Matthews
Donovan says he was threatened by Karen Matthews. Karen Matthews says she was threatened by Craig Meehan, Donovan’s nephew. Daily Mail readers say they feel threatened by just about everything and wonder if either party was wearing a hood…
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “SHANNON DRUGGED AND KEPT IN NOOSE”
Donovan tells police:
“She asked me to take care of Shannon. She told me there would be money in it for me.”
Well 24 days at £3.50 an hour babysitting adds up…
“She said I was to keep Shannon and look after her and she would report her missing. I was to keep her at my place. I wasn’t happy about that and she threatened to get three lads on to me. I knew one of the lads had stabbed someone and killed him. I was frightened so I said I would do it. She said if I told anyone I would be dead.”
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “SHANNON’S TORMENT”
“Excited Shannon Matthews jumped into her step-uncle’s car looking forward to a visit to a fair but it was the start of a 24-day ordeal…”
The Mirror paints the scene of a case that though genuinely shocking it considers to be lacking in emotion. Donovan’s state of mind at the time is not given, but we imagine that he was pretty excited, too…
In the flat:
“A white elastic noose found hanging from a roof beam was long enough so she cold get to the toilet but not the front door.”
Shannon was kept restrained while Donovan went to buy lottery tickets, just in case the alleged plot did not work out and he needed some money to facilitate an escape…
DAILY STAR (front page): “’SHANNON DRUGGED & HELD IN NOOSE BY MUM’”
The noose suggests torture. Was it worn about the neck? Duuno. We’re not told. But the noose soon becomes a “leash”, by which, it is alleged, Donovan kept Shannon from wandering away while he popped out.
Shannon was also said to have been fed Temazepam.
The case continues, although given the reporting, it seems all decisions have been reached…
Posted: 13th, November 2008 | In: Key Posts, Media, Shannon Matthews | Comments (3) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews’ Call To Police
LISTEN as Karen Matthews calls the police about missing daughter Shannon:
OPERATOR: Police, emergency.
MRS MATTHEWS: Hiya, I want to report my daughter as missing, please.
OPERATOR: Right. How old is she?
Posted: 12th, November 2008 | In: Media, Shannon Matthews | Comments (12) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Waking Up With Craig Meehan And Peado Spotting With The People
THE story so far: former upermarket fishmonger, Ken Morley look-alike, one time live-in male role model to Shannon Matthews and look alike Craig Meehan is found to be in possession of illegal images. He serves time in jail. He is then released. Now read on…
THE PEOPLE: “Shannon stepdad tries to lure girl to his house.”
EXCLUSIVE Inside the twisted world of kidnap Shannon’s pervert stepdad Craig Meehan He sends dirty txts & lures girl to house WITHOUT telling police.. Brags he’ll be ONLINE within days - Boasts he should be on Big Brother - Spends days on his Xbox, swigging lager and cuddling kitten at taxpayers’ expense…
A kitten… For shame! Joshua Layton And Jessica Boulton investigate…
The shameless stepdad of kidnap case girl Shannon Matthews has secretly tried to lure a pretty girl into his safe house for a sex tryst.
Shameless. Yeah, like the TV show. This is news reporting for anyone who thinks Shameless is a documentary and Craig Meehan an extra on it. Do you have trouble seperating fact from fiction?
Posted: 5th, October 2008 | In: Media, Politicians, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (18) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Craig Meehan And Paedo Spotting Coronation Street
YESTERDAY, Anorak, with tips from Telford local council, instructed you in ways to spot a paedophile.
Today, we learn in the Star that Craig Meehan, one-time lover to Karen Matthews, mother to Shannon Matthews, denies downloading child porn on his computer. The trial continues.
We also lean that Mr Meehan resembles a certain Ken Morley, who was once employed as a supermarket worker called “Reg” in Coronation Street.
Posted: 11th, September 2008 | In: Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (5) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Craig Meehan, Adding Up Images And Gateway Porn
REMEMBER Shannon Matthews? Poor Shannon. Our Shannon.
Craig Meehan, her former live-in adult male role model, foerm lover of mother Karen Matthews, has been in court to answer charges of having indecent images of children on his PC. Meehan denies any wrongdoing.
The papers have the details…
Posted: 8th, September 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (7) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews’ New Job
WHAT news of Shannon Matthews and the greater Matthews clan?
The Star says that Karen Matthews is in line to secure her “first-ever” job. Karen wants a job in New Hall Prison’s handbag and umbrella workshop.
But the Star says she may not get the post because there are fears she may be attacked, possibly by a handbag or – ouch! – an umbrella.
The Star also says: “SHANNON’S MUM GETS FIRST-EVER JOB”, adding yet more intrigue to an already intriguing case…
Posted: 30th, July 2008 | In: Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (8) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Fags, Lags And Craig Meehan
THE Sun says that a “tobacco bounty” has been placed on Craig Meehan’s head, “stepdad” No. 349831b to Shannon Matthews.
The reward for beating up Meehan is, reportedly, ten ounces of “prison baccy – worth about £8.”
Meehan is worth much more than Karen Matthews, whose head commands the princely sum of ten Lambert & Butler fags.
Says a source at Armley jail, Leeds: “Tobacco is a precious commodity inside. There are people who will do anything to get it, including attacking other inmates.”
The tabloids are fond of publishing insights into life behind bars, a polarised place where prisoners are either sipping cocktails in cushy cells or sat 32 to a cell, injecting pureed rats and listening to Tannoy broadcasts of “Conversations With Sir Cliff – Musing On Life, Jesus and Tennis”.
Posted: 23rd, May 2008 | In: Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (10) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews Writes And Little Miss Trouble
DAILY MIRROR: “Exclusive: Shannon Matthews’ mum sends desperate letter to parents begging ‘Help me’”
It’s Karen Matthews. It’s her “desperate letter”, “her “emotional letter” from jail to her mum June and dad Gordon.
It’s front-page news, along with the paper’s offer for a free copy of Little Miss Trouble, a book.
“Dear Mum and Dad, I am writing this letter to let you know I am OK, I hope you and dad are fine. I miss you both so much. I just wish I would have listened to you about him, but I didn’t. I am really sorry. You both warned me.”
She can spell, can Karen Matthews. But who is him? Who he?
“I did not hurt any of the kids. You know I was a good mother to my kids until I got with him.”
Him?
Him is Craig Meehan, Little Mr Trouble.
Posted: 18th, May 2008 | In: Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (15) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Tabloid Bingo: McCann, Matthews, McGuckin And More…
ANORAK’S’ Tabloid Bingo: With Lorraine Kelly…
The Aim of The Game: To combine the names McCann, Fritzl, Matthews, McGuckin and McKeown in one column. Can the Sun’s Lorraine do it? Eyes down…
WHY do many parents leave their common sense behind as soon as they step on the plane and go off on holiday?
A promising start from Kelly, who has set a scene which should enable her to use all five names, possibly in a single paragraph.
Parents who would not leave their children in the front garden to play on their own happily dump them in the hotel room or villa while they go for a meal. The poor McCanns will never forgive themselves for their tragic error of judgment which led to the disappearance of Maddie.
Tick!
What about the Irish bank chief and his wife who had their children taken into protective custody when on holiday in the Algarve?
You mean the mortgage advisor, Lorraine?
Eamon McGuckin was said to be so drunk that he collapsed and fell through a sofa, while his wife Antoinette threw up in their hotel reception area.
Tick!
Damn those flimsy Portuguese sofas.
Posted: 10th, May 2008 | In: Josef Fritzl, Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (28) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Michael Donovan Looks A Picture
SHANNON Watch: Anorak’s look at the case of Shannon Matthews in the mediaWANT to see a picture of Michael Donovan, the “bug-eyed man” who “snatched Shannon Matthews”?
The Sun has the image of the man who, on closer examination, is only “accused” of kidnapping the girl.
Says a “family friend”: “No one bothered taking pictures of him. He’s a bit of a loner and he is not one of the most photogenic of people.”
Posted: 30th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: The Missing Thousands And Karen Matthews’ TV Vigil
SHANNON WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
DAILY STAR (front page): “SHANNON’S £10K AID VANISHES”Police “want to know what happened to up to £10,000 said to have been donated by the public to help find the nine-year-old. Neighbours desperate to help stuffed cash through the letterbox of the council house Shannon shared with mum Karen Matthews, 32, and stepdad Craig Meehan, 22.
“A family pal said “through the door” donations totalled £6,000. Up to £3,000 also flooded into the Shannon Matthews Fund.
£6,000 plus £3,000 equals…
Roger O’Doherty, neighbourhood manager of local community group Dewsbury West Pathfinder, says the family had not received “as much as a ha’penny’’ from the official fund he had set up. Says he: “I can’t say precisely how much is in the fund but I think it is around £2,000. We were in the process of applying for charitable status which would have meant it would have been administered by trustees. I wasn’t one of them.
£6,000 plus £2,000 equals…
“As far as I am concerned now all the money will go towards helping the children and families living nearby, which was one of the original aims.”
THE SUN: “Inmates terrify Shannon mum”
Posted: 23rd, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (20) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Michael Donovan’s Tracksuit And John Guant Passes Judgement
SHANNON WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “Cops quiz Shannon suspects for 7 hours”
Mike Donovan, the man accused of abducting and imprisoning Shannon Matthews was questioned by police for seven hours.
Any other facts?
Donovan, Meehan’s uncle, was taken to Huddersfield police station, West Yorks, from Doncaster jail. He was smuggled in and out under a blue coat, but could be seen wearing purple tracksuit bottoms and blue and white trainers.
What of Karen Matthews? Any more facts?
Matthews — a mother of seven by five fathers — is charged with perverting justice by concealing her whereabouts, and child neglect.
JON GAUNT: “KAREN’S IN A CLASS OF HER OWN”
“Karen Matthews isn’t and doesn’t represent the white working class.”
Phew! She’s no Lily Allen.
“The clue is the title ‘working’ she and her ilk have no intention of ever working – they just want to leech off the sweat of the rest of us.”
Can’t think of anyone who wants to drink Gaunty’s sweat as he burns calories over a keyboard? That question to humans and leeches. And didn’t Craig Meehan work as a fishmonger in a supermarket?
Undaunted by fact, Gaunt goes on:
“She may be shameless but the rest of us aren’t blameless, as we have allowed the Guardianistas to create new Britain where we are no longer allowed to be judgemental.”
But Gaunt is all about being judgmental. He is allowed to be judgemental, and in the national press of all places. But undaunted by contradicting himself, Gaunt goes on:
Posted: 18th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (17) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews’ Hair, Donovan’s Lair And Indira Swann
SHANNON WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “SHANNON’S HIDEAWAY”
A look at the room at Michael Donovan’s flat where Shannon Matthews lived in secret for 24 days.
Pages 4 and 5: “The dirty flat that was Shannon’s home for 24 days”
Look at the “THREADBARE CARPETS, DIRTY WALLS, TARRY FURNITURE…” It’s a “scruffy bedroom containing cheap wooden furniture.”
Amazing! This must the be the only flat not to boast a feature wall and a wet room.
Anything else?
An electronic keyboard and, bizarrely, a glue gun lie on top of a metal framed double bunk. Underneath there is a CD by Busted, one of Shannon’s favourite bands, and a leaflet giving details of a range of Sold Out action PC games.
Near a smoke alarm case there is a copy of Arrive Alive, a colourful highway code book for youngsters. The booklet gives children tips about planning their journeys. Ironically, it also tells how to make sure they know where they are going and recommends that they always choose the safest route.
“’LIES’ MUM IN COURT” – “Judge Peter Collier told her she will stand trial on November 11 alongside Michael Donovan, 39, who is charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.”
DAILY STAR (front page): “SHANNON SECRET KIDNAP CELLS REVEALED”
Pages 4 and 5: “SHANNON’S SECRET LAIR”. It’s an “EXCLUSIVE” (see Mirror).
Posted: 17th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Talk Of The Town: A Tabloid Guide To Dewsbury
“IT HAS BECOME the town that dare not speak its name,” announces the Daily Mirror.
“People outside must shudder at the thought of living in or even visiting Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. It has become a byword for everything that is bad about Britain – the Dewsbury bomber, the veil row, the toddler who nearly died after being strung up from a tree, the story of a man crucified… and now the Shannon Matthews saga.”
Strong words. But what of those who live there. Do they shudder too?
Being a good, reliable newspaper, the Mirror has tracked down an (anonymous) Dewsbury resident….
“A barman said yesterday: ‘I’m ashamed to say I’m from Dewsbury. Now, I say I’m from Leeds instead. It’s horrible living here.’”
OK, so he’s not happy. But take another look at that first paragraph. In particular, take a look at the bit that says people “must shudder”. Is that an opinion or an order?
A bit of both, it seems. The Mirror seems to have reached an opinion, and now it’s ordering us to follow its lead.
But what of the incidents from which the paper has constructed its case against Dewsbury?
Yes, Mohammed Sidique Khan was one of the London bombers. But as far as we at Anorak are aware, every other bomber (of whatever persuasion) throughout British history has come from outside Dewsbury.
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (4) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Karen Matthews to Have Her Features Rearranged
AS the police turn a Dewsbury Estate into a gated community, the Star looks at Kate Matthews and her £100,000 makeover.
We are no longer looking at Shannon Matthews, nor are we looking for her; but we are looking at Karen Matthews, “Public Enemy No.1”.
The Star says Shannon Matthews is to “get plastic surgery just like Maxine”. That’s Maxine Carr, the former most hated woman in the UK who was jailed for lying to cover up her lover Ian Huntley’s murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.
If comparing Karen Matthews of Maxine Carr is not enough, the Star burnishes her status by hearing from John Bretton, father to Karen’s first child. Says he: “She must have spent a fortune on cigarettes over the years. It’s the one thing she does love.”
Who knows, Matthews may even take up the offer of ten Lambert & Butler fags her fellow lags are being offered for “her head”.
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (10) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews: Benefit Fraud And Karen Matthews’ Life For Ten Lag’s Fags
SHANNON WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “Shannon mum’s claims shame”
Karen Matthews, 32 – accused over the abduction of her nine-year-old daughter – told officials she was looking after four of her seven children on her own.
But at the time that Shannon vanished for 24 days in February, she had been living for four years with her supermarket fishmonger boyfriend Craig Meehan, 22. He has been earning around £16,000 a year.
Meehan had bragged at the time of Shannon’s disappearance: “I earn the money. I put the food on the table.”
DAILY STAR: “PRICE ON HEAD OF SHANNON’S MUM - HANDFUL OF FAGS IS PRISON BOUNTY”
£16,000?
SHANNON Matthews’ mum was banged up on a prison’s isolation wing last night after lags put a bounty on her head – of 10 cigarettes.
The promise of the Lambert & Butler fags was enough to have most of the 442 queueing to attack Karen Matthews.
Which mega-bucks lag offered the reward?
DAILY MIRROR: “People of Shannon Matthews’ Dewsbury defend its reputation”
“It has become the town that dare not speak its name.”
Dewsburg.
People outside must shudder at the thought of living in or even visiting Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.
Dewston.
Cancel the summer holidays to Dewsbury, mother. We’ll have t’make do with Disneyland this year.
A barman said yesterday: “I’m ashamed to say I’m from Dewsbury. Now, I say I’m from Leeds instead.
It really is that bad.
Shannon Matthews: Where is she?
Posted: 12th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Tabloids | Comments (50) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Shannon Matthews Is Underbelly Porn
SHANNON Matthews comes from a big underclass family:
Why do so many appear obsessed with the Shannon Matthews case? It has been turned into a public exhibition of prole porn, where respectable folk can get a thrilling glimpse of society’s “dark underbelly” - and without scouring the internet.
Better than EastEnders…
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Media, Shannon Matthews, Twitterings | Comments (15) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
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