Mom convicted of faking daughter's kidnap

LEEDS, England, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A mother of seven in northern England was convicted Thursday of faking the kidnapping of her 9-year-old daughter in hopes of collecting a reward.

Karen Matthews, 33, and Michael Donovan, 40, an uncle of Matthews' live-in boyfriend, were found guilty in Leeds Crown Court of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice, The Telegraph reported. Both face long prison terms.

The search for Shannon Matthews in February was the most intense in Yorkshire since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, involving hundreds of volunteers and costing police millions of dollars. While Matthews of Dewsbury Moor made tearful pleas for Shannon's safe return, the girl was concealed in Donovan's apartment, tethered to a beam and fed drugs, police said.

"Karen Matthews is pure evil," said Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan. "She started deceiving those closest to her from the very moment that Shannon was kidnapped. Friends, neighbors and family were under the clear impression that Shannon was genuinely missing. They had no reason to believe that Shannon had been taken as part of an elaborate scam or hoax."

A newspaper offered a 50,000-pound ($73,000) reward, which Matthews hoped to collect, for information leading to the girl, officials said.