NEIGHBOURS IN SEEDY FLAT
term girlfriend just two months after Charlotte’s death on the Thames.
A court found in his absence that he let her drown after the badly maintained speedboat he had used to woo up to 10 other women crashed into a submerged tree trunk at high speed.
Shepherd gave himself up to Georgian police on January 23 because he was “afraid he would be seized like an animal” according to his lawyer.
UNUSUAL
A judge ruled he should stay in jail for three months before another extradition hearing in April.
Shepherd is desperately trying to block any moves to send him back to serve his sentence.
Shepherd’s next door neighbour Lia Sulaberidze, 69, remains shocked by the news bulletins and still finds it hard to believe that the quiet Englishman was a killer.
“He was very unusual because we’ve never had a foreigner living in this building before. It’s mainly young Georgian families,” he said. “I didn’t ask him, but I always thought he was a student because of how he dressed and how young he looked.” The retired university lecturer added: “He used to be more skinny. Now he looks different with the big beard and has gained weight. “He was always very quiet and he was always out during the day. He never seemed stressed or depressed.” Husband and wife Gocha Knundeladze, 70, and Nana Uridia, 63, own the nearby bakery. Nana said: “He would buy khachapuri and sweet pastries. He was intelligent and very smiley and positive.” Shop assistant Nadia Kirkitadze, 58, at the fruit and veg shop next door, told us: “He was a regular. I saw him three weeks ago with two girls. He was kissing them on the cheeks. “The last time I saw him was two days before he was arrested. He was getting into a taxi. He blew me a kiss and said ‘bye’. “I cried when I saw him on the news. I was teaching him Georgian.” patrick.hill@reachplc.com
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