Karen Matthews ‘plied with gifts’ by man aged 72
Karen Matthews has been showered with gifts by a Christian pensioner she met in a charity shop, it was claimed yesterday.
Matthews, 43, jailed for orchestrating the kidnap of her daughter Shannon, reportedly became friends with him at the shop where they both volunteer.
Her benefactor, eric Anderson, 72, is said to have helped her buy items including a top- of-the range television for her flat, and a Samsung Galaxy 8 smartphone.
He has also provided her with cash, giving her the ability to throw a party with champagne and canapes, it was claimed.
Matthews, a mother of seven, has lived in a taxpayer-funded two-bedroom flat in the south of england since her release from jail in 2012, and has changed her appearance.
Mr Anderson is believed to be a devout Christian, while Matthews found God in prison.
Yesterday, the Sunday People reported how her friendship with Mr Anderson began after she posted profiles on websites for women seeking financial arrangements with men.
One source told the newspaper: ‘She puts on a good show about having changed but the truth is different. She has an impressive lifestyle for someone who has been in prison for arranging the kidnap of her own child.
‘She’s not getting that money from volunteering. She makes no secret of the fact that she has older benefactors who keep her in the lifestyle she wants.’
Mr Anderson, who lives alone in a modest £200,000 end-of-terrace home in a Home Counties town, was unavailable for comment yesterday. When spoken to by the People, he declined to comment on whether his relationship with Matthews was sexual or if he pays her for companionship.
He said he was giving her ‘care and support’, adding: ‘It’s my Christian duty to explain what love is about. She is a person of need, and whatever that need is, if people cross my path I will care and support.’ It comes a week after Matthews was accused of charging homeless people for unsold food that she took from Pret A Manger on the understanding that she gave it to them for free. She refused to say if she sold the donated food for profit.
Matthews was jailed for eight years in 2008 for organising the kidnap of her daughter in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward. She served half her term.