Speedboat killer faces re-arrest after jail term for jumping bail
JACK SHEPHERD, the “speedboat killer,” faces being rearrested for skipping bail when he has served his manslaughter sentence, the Attorney General has confirmed.
The 32-year-old is currently serving a six-year sentence for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, who died when she was flung from his boat on the River Thames during their first date.
He was jailed for a further four years, to run consecutively, in June for hitting a barman across the head with a glass bottle after being refused alcohol.
The married web designer, who has a three-year-old son, fled to Georgia after the incident in March 2018 and remained on the run for 10 months before finally handing himself in.
Miss Brown’s family expressed astonishment when Shepherd successfully appealed his conviction for skipping bail and was let off the sixmonth sentence handed down for going on the run. They warned that the ruling suggested criminals could flee justice “without consequence”.
However, after enlisting the help of James Brokenshire, their MP, they have been assured by the Attorney General’s office that Shepherd may still be pursued over the offence.
In a letter sent to Mr Brokenshire, the Tory candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup, Michael Ellis, the Solicitor General, said: “The CPS have indicated that once Mr Shepherd has served his sentence and any period on licence … he may then be dealt with for the Bail Act offence.”
The letter revealed that, following Shepherd’s appeal, the Georgian authorities had been asked if they would consider a consent request from the UK that would allow him to be pursued for failing to appear in court, but they were unable to do so as it is not a criminal offence in Georgia.
Miss Brown’s family welcomed the news and are understood to be relieved that the option for prosecution has not been abandoned. Mr Brokenshire said: “I wrote to the Attorney General to press the case as I knew the family was keen to get to the bottom of the breach of bail prosecution, which was lost on a technical issue.
“The response I received certainly confirms that it is still open, that the prosecution remains on file.”