'I was Karen Matthews' liaison officer and won't forget her eyes on first meeting'

A woman tasked with being the family liaison officer to Karen Matthews after her nine-year-old daughter Shannon went missing has revealed what the notorious mum was like behind closed doors.

Shannon disappeared from the Moorside Estate in Dewsbury on February 19, 2008, before the community rallied to try and locate the young girl. Christine Freeman, a former family liaison officer for West Yorkshire Police, was by Karen’s side when the investigation took place. Giving an insight into her initial impressions, she said: “The first thing as a family liaison officer when you go out to a house to meet a member of the family is really to try and put them at ease.

“When I walked into Karen and Craig’s house (her former boyfriend), Karen came across as a grieving mum. Her eyes were blackened underneath as if she had not slept.

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“She did have my sympathy. Her support network consisted of Shannon’s stepdad Craig and a few friends locally. We didn’t see anything of Karen’s close family members but the community themselves came together magnificently.”

Christine’s unique insight will be broadcast in the new two-part Prime Video documentary The Hunt for Shannon Matthews which airs in the UK and Ireland on Sunday (August 17).

The programme focuses on Shannon’s 24-day disappearance which was actually a kidnapping plot orchestrated by Karen and her boyfriend’s uncle, Michael Donovan. They hatched the vile plan in the hopes of pocketing £50,000 reward money.

And in the documentary, Christine spoke about the strange things Karen told the police in the days after her daughter went missing.

In one interview, she told investigators: “She is out there somewhere in a nice warm environment but the person who’s got her is not coming forward, which is what we’d like really.”

And speaking about the advice she gave Karen afterwards, Christine said: “I constantly said to her, ‘Karen, we need to prepare for the worst.’ I don’t think Karen had any grasp at all of the possible dangers for her child. She just doesn’t seem aware of it. She didn’t seem willing to accept the possibility.

“It was hard to control your own emotions that you were feeling. But there will come a time where I will have to bring Karen really down to earth by telling her something terrible has happened to her daughter.”

However, during a press conference on Mother’s Day on March 2, 2008, Karen told the media that she felt she could no longer trust people around her.

And remembering the bombshell moment, Christine said: “It was during that press conference that she came out with some things that were quite disturbing really.”

One such comment was that she thought someone known to her and Shanon had kidnapped her.

However, Christine revealed: “That is the first time anything like that had been suggested. After that press conference, I have said, ‘What do you mean somebody who knows you?’

“She said, ‘Oh, just anybody.’ She kind of poo pooed it, brushed it off – ‘I don’t mean anybody in particular, I just mean somebody who might know us.’”

On March 14, 2008, Shannon, who had been drugged with sedatives, was found in the base of a bed at Donovan’s house, before he was arrested at the scene.

Donovan, who died of cancer last year, was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment before Karen eventually admitted to lying about the whole saga.

The pair were jailed for eight years after being found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Shannon was given a new identity after being put in emergency social services care.

The Hunt for Shannon Matthews will be available on Prime Video in The UK & Ireland on Sunday August 17