A man who is convicted of killing his date on a speed boat that crashed has handed himself in after months on the run.
IMEDI TV/REUTERS
Jack Shepherd was sentenced to six years in July for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown. However, the trial was held in his absence as he left the country before the trial.
Shepherd and Ms Brown met through a dating website called OkCupid. On their first date in December 2015 they had went for dinner at London’s Shard skyscraper before Shepherd took Ms Brown on his speed boat. On mobile phone footage that was filmed during the date Ms Brown could be heard shouting that they were going “so fast” as Shepherd drove at more than double the speed limit for boats. The speedboat which Shepherd told police was to pull women hit a submerged log and tipped over, it sprung them both into the water. Shepherd was found clinging to the hull but Ms Brown was pulled from the water unconscious and she died in hospital.
Charlotte Brown
The 31-year-old had been in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi since March. He was arrested when he handed himself into police just a day after Ms Brown’s family met the Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday. In an interview with the police, Shepherd described the incident as ” a tragic accident”. The Met Police said they were informed by the National Crime Agency that Shepherd was in the custody of police in Georgia.
Before handing himself into police he told a Georgian TV channel he hoped “justice will be done… and that everyone can move forward with their lives”.
Ms Brown’s father Graham Brown said: “I feel very emotional at the fact that my daughter will get some justice.”
Ms Brown’s sister commented on the TV appearance, saying: “To just stroll in with a very smug look on his face and to claim innocence is unbelievable. This is a small amount of justice for my sister.”
Mr Shepherd will be moved to a temporary detention centre and he may be held there for up to nine months. It will be up to a judge to decide how long Shepherd will be in custody of the Georgian police. He still maintains his innocence.
