Oh what a tangled web we weave…the real tragedy is that the tangled web that Karen Matthews, mother of Shannon, was weaving was one around her poor nine year old daughter – with the compliance of her boyfriend’s family. Karen Matthews has finally been arrested for her part in her daughter’s 23 day disappearance.

I mean, come on, anyone with a sense of logic and is able to put two and two together cannot be surprised at any of this.

And hot on the heels of this news comes the revelation from Craig Meehan’s sister, Amanda Hyett (currently on bail for her involvement), that Karen Matthews had recently been having an affair with her daughter’s abductor – Craig Meehan’s uncle!   are you getting somewhat confused with all of this ?…well then just try and imagine how confusing it must have been/would have been for this woman’s children! one has to wonder at Shannon’s handwriting on her bedroom wall “I want to go and live with Daddy”.  Speaks volumes to me.

Shannon was recently allowed a supervised visit from her mother Karen during which is was noted that the child stated that she did not wish to return to her home. And you cannot blame the poor kid. She and her six other siblings share five different father’s between them and that’s not allowing for the transient boyfriends in between – add into this her mother’s alleged relationship with her current boyfriend’s uncle…little wonder that so many kids in the United Kingdom today have become the angry and anti-social generation they are.

Because the domestic circumstances that the seven children of Karen Matthews have been living under are not isolated or rare instances - homes like this are all over the UK. An unfortunate type of sub-culture has somehow evolved over the past thirty years that sees many women like Karen Matthews go from unsuitable male to unsuitable male, from pregnancy to pregnancy and all at the taxpayer’s expense. Their children are growing up confused, emotionally neglected, with multiple half-siblings - many not even knowing who their father’s are or when Mum is going to bring home yet another stepfather/uncle. Their children enter their teens with no morals, ethics or values – ill-equipped to maintain stable and loving relationships of their own.

Just what Karen Matthews intended to come out of all of this – it is being claimed they planned to profit from the publicity surrounding Shannon’s disappearance – or even the lifestyle she was giving her children. Those children will be placed in care for the time being, possibly separated from each other, while this entire mess is sorted out. The answer is no-one will profit in the end…and those children will lose out the most.