Note reveals FIVE chilling rules Shannon Matthews, 9, had to follow during mum Karen’s 24-day kidnap plot to win £50k
NINE-year-old Shannon Matthews had to follow five chilling rules during her shameless mum’s 24-day kidnap plot.
The schoolgirl “disappeared” while on her way home in Dewsbury on February 19, 2008 after her mother Karen Matthews came up with a hoax abduction plot in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward.
Police launched a massive search operation involving more than 200 officers to find the child, who was last spotted outside Westmoor Junior School.
On March 14, Shannon was found alive and hidden in the base of a divan bed at the home of Michael Donovan in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.
During those days of desperate searching, Shannon was given a set a five rules as she was kept tethered to a bed.
A note, later found by police, reads: “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 being here.
“Keep the TV volume (low) only up to 8, or lower.
“You can play the Super Mario games, and you can play some DVDs and you can play the CD music.”
The note was signed “I.P.U.”, short for “I promise you” – a phrase Karen and Shannon used.
Hundreds of neighbours and friends joined the mission to find young Shannon, and her mother Matthews was seen sobbing on TV as she pleaded for her daughter to come home.
It was part of a callous bid for mum Matthews to keep her daughter hidden and claim a £50,000 reward.
Matthews and Donovan – who snatched Shannon as part of the plot hatched by her mother – were on December 4, 2008 convicted of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.
They were both sentenced to eight years in prison.
The note has reemerged as the Sun revealed that Donovan, 54, has died.
Yesterday Donovan, who had changed his name to Aiden Johnson, was pronounced dead at Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire.
He collapsed in the courtyard of the secure mental health hospital some time in the mid-afternoon.
He had been there for the last six years, having been released in 2012 from prison over his role in Shannon’s kidnapping.
He was diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer in February after he went to hospital for a routine check-up.
Medics discovered the large tumour and Donovan was given just months to live.
He did not have a single visitor in the last months of his life.
His family disowned him in 2022.
A source said that Donovan “would not be missed” at the secure unit.
They said: “Nobody really liked him – he was a very unpleasant bloke.
“He kept to himself but he had a horrible temper if he wasn’t happy with something – usually the food.
“He liked his cheese sandwiches and that was about it.”
Timeline of the Shannon Matthews kidnap plot
A look at the events that unfolded following the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews:
February 19, 2008 – Shannon Matthews disappears and was last spotted outside Westmoor Junior School, Dewsbury.
February 19, 2008 – Police announce that they have started a massive search involving more than 200 officers as concern grows for the missing girl.
March 1, 2008 – Karen Matthews issues an emotional appeal for Shannon’s return on the eve of Mother’s Day.
March 5, 2008 – Police release a recording of part of the 999 call Matthews made reporting Shannon missing.
March 14, 2008 – Shannon is found alive and hidden in the base of a divan bed at a house at Michael Donovan’s house in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.
April 9, 2008 – Karen Matthews is charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice over her daughter’s disappearance – new charges of Kidnap and false imprisonment were later added.
December 4, 2008 – Matthews and Donovan are found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice and both sentenced to eight years behind bars.