Speedboat killer launches appeal . . . despite still being on the run
A MAN convicted of killing his date in a speedboat accident has lodged an appeal while still on the run.
Jack Shepherd, 30, failed to show up for his Old Bailey trial and was sentenced to six years in his absence.
Believed to be in Spain, he has ordered his lawyers to appeal against his conviction and punishment – a right given to fugitives under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Police have launched an international manhunt to find Shepherd, who was labelled a coward by his own barrister. The family of his victim, 24-year- old Charlotte Brown, have called for him to hand himself in.
His solicitors, who insist they do not know his whereabouts, are not obliged to help police find him because of client confidentiality.
The Daily Mail has learnt that the freelance web designer is also wanted for an alleged serious assault on a man in Devon in March. He failed to attend the first hearing of that case in June and a warrant was issued for his arrest, even before his manslaughter trial began last month.
Shepherd is thought to be behind Twitter accounts that have posted claims that he was unfairly treated by the judicial system.
The messages claim Miss Brown should share the blame for the accident on the Thames and he was ‘treating her as a princess’ when he took her on his boat.
A spokesman for the Court of Appeal yesterday confirmed Shepherd’s lawyers had lodged an appeal against his conviction for manslaughter by gross negligence and against his jail sentence.
Scotland Yard confirmed the search for the missing defendant was ‘outstanding’.
A spokesman for Shepherd’s lawyers, Tuckers Solicitors, said the firm had ‘intermittent’ contact with him but did not know his hideout. The spokesman said the appeal was lodged after Shepherd asked his barrister whether he had grounds to apply and was told that he did.
Shepherd, who lived on a houseboat in Hammersmith, west London, was going on dates despite being engaged to a childhood friend he has now married and has a two-year-old son with.
He admitted he had bought his speedboat to ‘pull women’ and met Miss Brown, an English literature graduate and business consultant from Clacton in Essex, on a dating website. The pair dined and drank two bottles of wine in a £150 meal at a luxury restaurant in the Shard before he suggested they go for a spin on the Thames.
He brought along champagne but did not give Miss Brown a lifejacket. Shepherd sped her past the Houses of Parliament and then let her take the wheel.
While she was at the controls, just before midnight, the boat hit a log and capsized near Wandsworth Bridge.
Both ended up in the cold winter water and Miss Brown, who was found unconscious, later died.
The Old Bailey was told that Shepherd, who grew up in Exeter, called out for someone to ‘help me’ – not ‘help us’.
The prosecution said his boat trip invitation had been ‘sheer madness’, with the craft’s kill cord disconnected, life jackets tucked away out of reach, and defects including faulty steering.
River police had twice warned Shepherd for speeding.
A previous date had begged him to slow down and was so worried she fled in a taxi. Miss Brown’s sister Katie stood outside the Old Bailey and appealed for Shepherd ‘to return and assume the responsibility of his guilt and devastation he has caused by his careless actions’.
It emerged he had told his lawyers in May that he would not be attending the trial – although Miss Brown’s family did not know until the day it started. They said they later learned his solicitor had exchanged emails with the fugitive about the case while they were in court, and Shepherd was on the run.
A spokesman for Tuckers said such contact ‘was entirely legitimate and appropriate’.
A 2001 Court of Appeal judgment established the right of fugitives to appeal against convic- tions and sentences when a sex offender challenged his conviction and eight- year sentence while on the run. Judges found that fugitives were still entitled to a fair public hearing under Article 6 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Twitter accounts have been established with the sole aim of claiming Shepherd is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. They are believed to be written by him.
One account said shortly after his conviction: ‘If Miss Brown survived and Jack Shepherd died, would she have been summoned to the Old Bailey?
‘He is only guilty because he survived. She wasn’t kidnapped, she got on the boat because she wanted to. She was loving her night out with Jack. Enjoyed being treated as a princess.’
But Shepherd was criticised at his four-week trial by his own barrister. Stephen Vullo QC said: ‘He could not have faced the Brown family from the dock and it’s cowardice he could not do so.’
‘Treated as a princess’