Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd’s lawyer Richard Egan has received a death threat.
The letter which tells him to remember Jo Cox, the labour MP murdered by far right extremist Thomas Mair, has been handed to police. It talks about stabbings, bombings and features the words “Heil Hitler”.
Former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, says the letter represents an attack on the rule of the law.
Richard Egan is a defence solicitor representing Shepherd, Mr Egan has received a lot of abuse and threatening letters, emails and texts accusing him of having blood on his hands. He did not take them serious until he received this one letter which was sent to his office. It warned him that he had 48 hours to state he was “no longer supporting or providing legal aid” to Shepherd and saying “remember Jo Cox?”
“You have been followed – nice house! Now, accidents happen, people get stabbed in London, pets get poisoned, children run over.
“Be warned we (EDF) will petrol bomb your nice office.”
BBC
Mr Egan said: “It threatens my family. It suggests that I have been followed and that the writer knows where I live and where I work.
“There is a specific threat to firebomb my firm, endangering the lives of my colleagues.”
“Defence lawyers have a role to play. Our system is based on the principle that all those accused by the state are entitled to legal representation. That is all I provide.
“The jury, directed by the judge, decides whether someone is guilty or not. In this case there seems to have been an attack on the role of the defence lawyer itself,”
IMEDI TV/REUTERS
Jack Shepherd
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. 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.
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.
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.
