The kidnapper of Shannon Matthews has died from cancer after collapsing in a hospital courtyard, 16 years after the crime which shocked the country.

Michael Donovan collapsed to death yesterday – he was diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer in February before he was pronounced dead yesterday at Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley, per Sun.

Why Was Shannon Matthews Kidnapped?

Schoolgirl Shannon was aged 9 when she went missing on February 19, 2008 before police eventually found her in the drawer of a divan bed a few miles from her home.

Donovan, 54, had tied up and drugged Shannon in his bedroom for 24 days – with a list of rules on how to behave.

Police had launched a reward for missing Shannon, as Donovan and Matthews planned to ‘discover’ Shannon after a while to claim a £50,000 reward for her safe return.  

It was later revealed that Karen was going out with Donovan’s nephew Craig Meehan.

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How Shannon Was Found?

She was exposed as one of the plotters behind Shannon’s disappearance when co-conspirator Donovan told officers at Halifax police station: ‘Go and arrest Karen.’

Mother-of-seven Karen and accomplice Donavan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice in December 2008.

She was released in April 2012 after serving half her sentence and given a new taxpayer-funded identity and home.

Donovan was also freed in 2012, from HMP Leeds, after serving half of his sentence.