Shannon Matthews trial Day 10: Shannon accused charged with kidnap before

Nov 25 2008 By Andrew Jackson

THE man accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews was charged with the abduction of one of his daughters 15 months earlier, a jury was told today.

Michael Donovan was involved in a custody dispute over his two daughters and took one of them on a trip to Blackpool in November 2006, Leeds Crown Court heard.

However, the charges were later dropped when the matter got to court.

The court was told he was married to a woman called Susan Bird, and they had two daughters. The court was told that the relationship broke down and ended in divorce.

Donovan began giving evidence today at his trial where he and Shannon’s mother, Karen Matthews, 33, deny kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Donovan, 40, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, went into the witness box the day after the trial was halted after he received treatment for injuries he received in a prison attack.

Today, within minutes of going into the witness box, he had to be asked repeatedly to speak louder by the judge, Mr Justice McCombe.

The charges relate to the 24-day disappearance of Shannon in February and March, when the little girl was nine.