Runaway boat owner jailed for six years

♦a speedboat owner convicted of killing a woman on their first date when it capsized has been jailed for six years in his absence.

Jack Shepherd, 30, went on the run and failed to attend the four-week Old Bailey trial which found him guilty of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown.

He allowed the 24-year-old, whom he had met online, to take the wheel of his boat on the Thames despite its lack of basic safety features and the fact that they were both “intoxicated”.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest. When he failed to appear at the Old Bailey for sentencing, his lawyers blamed his absence on “cowardice”.

Jailing Shepherd, Judge Richard Marks QC said he had “a cavalier attitude towards safety.”