Shannon Matthews’ kidnapper Michael Donovan dies from cancer in hospital 16 years after plot that gripped nation
THE loner who snatched Shannon Matthews as part of a fake kidnap plot hatched by her shameless mum has died, The Sun can reveal.
Twisted Mick Donovan, 54, held the terrified schoolgirl captive in his grotty council flat for 24 days as hundreds of cops and thousands of locals searched for her round-the-clock.
He and Shannon’s evil mum, Karen Matthews, came up with the hoax abduction in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward and even tried to extort money from the Find Madeleine McCann Fund.
Cops eventually found Shannon, then nine, in the drawer of a divan bed in Donovan’s flat just a few miles from the estate where she vanished from.
Donovan, the uncle of Karen’s then boyfriend Craig Meehan, was hiding in the other drawer.
The schoolgirl was on her way home in Dewsbury when she “disappeared” on February 19, 2008.
The Sun can now reveal Donovan, who changed his name to Aiden Johnson, was pronounced dead at Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire, yesterday.
The sicko, 54, collapsed in the courtyard of the secure mental health hospital around mid-afternoon.
He had been there for the past six years following his 2012 release from prison over his role in Shannon’s kidnapping.
Back in February he was diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer and given just months to live.
He had gone to hospital for a routine check-up when medics discovered the massive tumour.
Donovan – whose family disowned him in 2022 – did not have a single visitor in the final months of his life.
Within weeks he was using a Zimmer frame and began looking “extremely frail”, sources told The Sun.
And during Christmas last year he was investigated by cops on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children on his phone.
West Yorkshire cops came into the secure hospital to interview Donovan before confiscating the device.
During his stint there he also changed his name to Aiden Johnson to cover up his horrific past.
It is the second time he changed his name by deed poll having been born as Paul Drake.
But he was happy to take “credit” for Shannon’s kidnapping after it was dramatised in the 2017 ITV series Moorside.
A source said: “He wouldn’t interact with the other patients much other than to talk about that series.
“He seemed to think it made him some sort of celebrity.”
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.
The source added 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.”
Back in 2008 Donovan held terrified Shannon captive at his dingy flat for 24 days while he and her mum Karen plotted her “disappearance”.
The pair hatched the plan in an effort to claim a £50,000 reward for her safe return.
They were found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice and both sentenced to eight years behind bars.
A spokesperson for Elysium Healthcare said: “We will not be issuing any comment or statement.”