Case into Shannon Matthews' disappearance

Karen Matthews did not ask about the welfare of her daughter when police told her she had been found but made a "glib comment" about an officer's mobile ringtone, a court heard. Matthews made no inquiries about Shannon as she was driven to a police station after the youngster was found following a 24-day search. Detective Constable Mark Cruddace told a jury at Leeds Crown Court that he attended Moorside Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, with a colleague to break the news of Shannon's discovery. The officer said there was a "buzz of excitement in the house" and he got the impression "people knew before we got there". Julian Goose QC, prosecuting, asked him if there was "any time when she asked about the welfare of her daughter or where she had been found". The officer replied: "No, she didn't." Mr Goose asked him if anything else happened as they travelled in the police car. Mr Cruddace said: "A bit of a strange incident where my colleague's phone rang. When the phone rang, Karen just commented on the fact she liked the ring tone." The officer agreed it was a "glib comment". The jury has already heard how Shannon may have been drugged and restrained with a strap tied to a roof beam after her mother hatched a plan to make £50,000 from her faked kidnap. Matthews, 33, and Donovan, 40, deny kidnapping Shannon, who is now ten, and falsely imprisoning her. They also deny perverting the course of justice. The court heard the pair hatched the plan to kidnap Shannon in Dewsbury in February to get hold of reward money which was offered by a newspaper. The court was told Shannon went missing on February 19 after a swimming trip at school. It is alleged Donovan kept Shannon prisoner at his first-floor flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr - a mile from her home in Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor.

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ITN | November 13, 2008

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