Madeleine McCann: Shannon Matthews, Karen Matthews And Britain’s ‘Sickest’ Man
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews
DAILY MIRROR front page: “I KNOW WHO’S GOT SHANNON”
This “I” can reach the police on a special hotline, number 999. A team of trained operatives are there to take your call…
“Clairvoyant dramatic claim to missing schoolgirl’s mum”
Missing Shannon Matthews’ mum Karen has dramatically been told by a psychic: “I know who snatched your daughter.”
He said the schoolgirl, nine, was abducted by a man both she and Karen knew vaguely – but was alive. A relative of distraught Karen, 32, revealed last night: “What he said got to her as he knew a lot of personal information.”
Three clairvoyants looked for Madeleine. And a psychic barber
MY GIRL IS ALIVE: “THE HUNT FOR SHANNON Father clings to belief she will be found”
Hunt. Like the “Hunt for Madeleine”.
“The distraught dad of missing Shannon Matthews yesterday spoke about his “beautiful angel” – and said he is convinced she is still alive.
Says Leon Rose: “I’m living a nightmare and keep pinching myself to try and wake up. I still keep hoping she’ll come walking through the door.
“I have never felt such pain before but I’m determined to find her. I need to stay strong for her sake and to keep my head straight.”
We are watching the parents. It is as if the grim case of Madeleine McCann has set new standards in tabloid reporting.
In “DADDY’S SNAPS”, readers see pictures of Shannon Matthews. In one she is holding her hands over her face. Do you recognise her? The pictures reflect normality but there is nothing normal about a missing child.
Last pictures are not always the full picture
The voice of Shannon Matthews’ father trembles with emotion as he talks about these last pictures he has of his missing daughter. Leon Rose told the Mirror yesterday: “It’s the only thing that makes me happy, seeing these pictures again.” There are snaps from their “last big family day out” – a Thomas the Tank Engine day at a park with a light railway last summer. Leon said: “They make me smile because it was the best day I can remember.”
Leon says he was “horrified” when he called into a corner shop to put a poster of Shannon in the window – and was asked to pay £1. The paper says he calls the shop worker the “sickest man in Britain“.
Isn’t the sickest man the one who might have taken his daughter? If that is, she has been taken by anyone?
But the Mirror is on it. The Mirror will see that right is done.
Yesterday a worker at the Lifestyle Express, Mohammed Hussain, 58, insisted he was not the owner and had not been working that day. He said: “I am sorry. It is a misunderstanding. I did not know about this missing girl. We charge everyone £1 a week but I would not charge the dad of a missing girl.” When the Mirror pointed out the local paper directly in front of him with Shannon’s picture on the front he added: “I don’t read English. He came to the door and asked to put a poster up but we didn’t realise who he was. “If he wants to bring one I would put one up free. Of course I would.”
The Daily Mirror: champion of missing children posters
DAILY MAIL: “1,400 – The number of sex offenders living within 20 miles of Shannon’s home”
Or within 25 miles of her home, as the Star had it yesterday. Is there a 5-mile zone where no pervert lives?
THE SUN: “Mum’s 999 tears are revealed”
A HEART-RENDING extract of the 999 call Shannon Matthews’ mum made to report her daughter missing was released last night.”
Wanna hear it? Wanna hear a “desperate mother” worried sick about her child? You can.
“Listen to the tragic call by clicking HERE”
Record it on an MP3 player and listen to it in the car, at work at YOUR leisure. Free!
DAILY EXPRESS: “Mum’s frantic call to police over Shannon”
TELEGRAPH & ARGUS (Bradford): “City officers control hunt for Shannon”
Officers based there are hoping the release of an emotional recording of her mother’s 999 call will help prompt witnesses to come forward. West Yorkshire Police have released an extract from the call Karen Matthews made to the police on the evening of February 19 reporting her daughter’s failure to return to their home in Dewsbury Moor.
In the 71-second clip, Mrs Matthews, 32, tells the operator how she had been checking with family and friends and how she had been expecting her daughter home at 3.30pm at the latest.She appears to be in tears as the woman at the police control centre asks her if Shannon has gone missing before. The mother-of-seven replies that she has not. She says: “I have been everywhere I can think of friends-wise, family and everything.”
DAILY STAR: “I TIDY SHANNON’S ROOM FOR WHEN SHE COMES HOME”
The desperate mum of missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews last night told how she is keeping her bedroom ready for her return. Although she cannot bear being in the room, brave Karen is keeping her daughter’s top bunk fresh with new bedding “for when she gets home”.
Is this a message to whoever might have Shannon; something the child might see? Or just another chance for use to stare at the parents?
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Shannon Matthews disappearance ‘breaking family apart'”
A picture of Karen Matthews crying. A close up of her face. Are we intruding? Is it good to cry? Is it what we want? Or crying in public a mistake?
Posted: 6th, March 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (979) | TrackBack | Permalink
