Shannon Matthews accused 'attacked in prison'
Man jointly accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews attacked in prison hours before last court appearance
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Saturday, 15, Nov 2008 08:16
The man jointly accused of kidnapping schoolgirl Shannon Matthews was attacked in prison hours before his last court appearance, it can be revealed.
Michael Donovan suffered cuts in the attack in Leeds prison on Thursday evening, his barrister revealed in court the following day.
The attack, disclosed in a memo by Alan Conrad QC to Mr Justice McCombe before the jury came in, was part of "a number of things [that] have happened to him" in custody, his barrister said.
"We can confirm an incident took place at HMP Leeds at 19:00 GMT on Thursday, November 13th, in which one prisoner was assaulted by another," a prison service spokesperson said.
"The prisoner sustained minor cuts and was treated by prison staff."
Mr Donovan, 40, is currently in prison on remand while he faces trial for the kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon, ten, as well as perverting the course of justice.
His co-defendant Karen Matthews, Shannon's mother, faces the same charge sheet as well as a charge of child cruelty.
Shannon, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was missing for 24 days earlier this year.
The trial, at Leeds crown court, began last week and is expected to last three weeks.
Mr Donovan is the uncle of Ms Matthews' former partner Craig Meehan, 22, who earlier this year was convicted of possessing indecent images of children.