More arrests in Shannon case

2008-04-10 15:55

London ? Police have arrested three women on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in the case of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews who was missing for three weeks, police said on Thursday.

Amanda Hyett, 25, her sister Caroline Meehan, 29, and their mother Alice Meehan, 49, are being questioned over Matthews? disappearance in Dewsbury, northern England in February.

Shannon was found after 24 days in the base of a bed in a flat a mile from her home.

Thursday's arrests are the sisters and mother of Craig Meehan, partner of the girl's mother Karen Matthews, 32, who was charged with perverting the course of justice and child neglect earlier this week.

Prosecutors allege that the mother, who led a high-profile campaign to find her missing daughter, concealed information from police about where the girl was.

Hyett and Alice Meehan were previously arrested and bailed last week.

Craig Meehan's uncle, 39-year-old Michael Donovan, has been charged with Shannon's kidnap and imprisonment, and his trial has been provisionally scheduled for November 11 at Leeds Crown Court.

Craig Meehan, 22, has been charged with ten counts of possessing indecent images of children.

- AFP