The mother of Shannon Matthews, the British schoolgirl who vanished for 24 days from her home, was found guilty of the "evil" plot to kidnap her daughter to claim a large newspaper reward for her recovery.
Karen Matthews (33) and her co-accused Michael Donovan (40) were both convicted at Leeds Crown Court of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.
Prosecutors said the schoolgirl was drugged and probably kept captive on a leash during her incarceration as Matthews and Donovan, the uncle of her then boyfriend Craig Meehan, plotted to collect the 50,000 pound reward money.
"It's difficult to understand what type of mother would subject her own daughter to such a wicked and evil crime," said Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan describing Matthews personally as "pure evil".
The judge, Justice McCombe warned the pair that they faced a "substantial custodial sentence".
Shannon was nine when she missing on February 19th as she walked home from school.
Matthews, who reported her daughter missing, made a series of tearful TV appeals for help in finding her daughter as
West Yorkshire Police launched one of the force's largest ever searches, at a cost of £3.2 million.
Many local residents also joined the hunt, fearing that the girl had been abducted. She was eventually found by detectives in Donovan's flat, around a mile from her home in Dewsbury, 24 days after she disappeared.
The court had heard that when Matthews was told her missing daughter had been found safe, she was more interested in a phone ringtone than where she was found or how she was.
During the trial, Matthews and Donovan both blamed each other for the plot. Donovan said the schoolgirl's mother had offered him money and had threatened him into looking after the youngster.
Matthews told the jury she did not know her daughter was at Donovan's flat and said she was shocked when Shannon was found there.
"Karen Matthews is a manipulative individual who has demonstrated a remarkable ability to lie," Brennan said, also calling Donovan an accomplished liar.
AP