Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is back behind bars – after allegedly ‘controlling’ and assaulting a new girlfriend, sources have told the Daily Mail.
Shepherd, 38, was arrested after a complaint on August 4 about his ‘coercive and controlling behaviour and assault’, it was said.
The man, who once dubbed himself a Casanova, was released from prison a year and a half ago. This followed serving half of his sentence for causing the death of his 24-year-old date, Charlotte Brown. He had crashed his malfunctioning speedboat on the River Thames while intoxicated and later violently assaulted a barman.
At that time, Shepherd avoided standing trial for Miss Brown’s death by skipping bail. He fled and was on the run in Georgia for 10 months. In 2019, however, the Daily Mail discovered his location and brought it to light.
Once returned to London, Shepherd received a 10-year sentence. This included six years for the manslaughter committed on the Thames and an additional four years for attacking a barman with a glass at a hotel in Devon after being refused a drink.
He was released on parole in January of the previous year from HMP Dovegate, a medium-security prison in Staffordshire, after serving half his sentence. Now, however, he finds himself back in custody due to alleged violations of his release terms.
Just a year and a half after gaining his freedom, Jack Shepherd has returned to prison following the tragic accident on the Thames that resulted in his date’s death, fueled by alcohol.
Charlotte Brown, 24, was thrown from Shepherd’s boat when it capsized on the River Thames in December 2015
According to sources, Shepherd was taken into custody in Southall, west London, after a complaint was lodged by an alleged victim at Hounslow Police Station with the Metropolitan Police on August 4.
He was arrested ‘on suspicion of coercive and controlling behaviour and assault related to suspected offences in Southall’, it is understood.
It is unknown whether he faces any charges in relation to this allegation. The exact circumstances of his return to prison are also unclear.
Under the terms of him being granted freedom half way through his sentences, he was under obligation to abide by strict conditions until those sentences are fully complete in 2029. No further details are known about the alleged breach of his conditions, but it is understood that he breached the conditions and this was the reason he was recalled to prison.
Miss Brown’s father Graham, 61, said: ‘He’s back where he belongs. Prison is the best place for this man. I’ve always believed that Shepherd is a narcissist. Nothing surprises me about him, after what happened to my poor Charlotte.
‘He’s never shown remorse for his part in her death. I think about her every day. The pain is never far away. I’ll never forgive him and still believe he poses a risk to females.’
The prison service does not comment on details of licence conditions breaches, but a spokesman said: ‘As this case shows, we do not hesitate to send offenders back to prison if they break the rules.’
When he went on the run in Georgia, Shepherd had tried to make a new life for himself in the former Soviet republic, but caused public outrage by launching an appeal against his manslaughter conviction from his sunshine hideaway. To add insult to injury, British taxpayers were funding his appeal via legal aid, despite him having dodged his trial.
With the backing of Miss Brown’s devastated family, the Daily Mail ran a campaign to hunt him down, and in January 2019 we succeeded in flushing out Shepherd who gave himself up in the capital Tbilisi as the net closed in, as was chronicled in an ITV2 documentary The Killing of Charlotte Brown.
Extradited back to Britain in April 2019 and hauled before an Old Bailey judge, Shepherd was asked by a court clerk to admit he had breached bail and absconded from justice, and he replied: ‘Er, yes.’
He begged to be given credit for handing himself in to police in Georgia, but Judge Richard Marks said he had only gave himself up because of the Daily Mail, telling him: ‘It was only a matter of time before the net closed in on you.’
The brazen former fugitive later successfully managed to scrub the absconding charge from his record at an appeal. It was argued that the Georgian authorities had only extradited him on the basis of the two more serious charges, not the absconding charge.
After his release, Shepherd’s former lawyer in Georgia sent him a gushing message saying ‘people here love you’.
Glamorous Mariam Kublashvili, 38, who once starred in her country’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, offered nauseating congratulations to her former client, saying: ‘You were vilified in Britain and I am afraid you will always be known as “the speedboat killer”, but you are very welcome to return to Georgia, where you have friends who would welcome you.’
Shepherd’s licence conditions mean he would have to seek permission to travel abroad.
Last year, Miss Brown’s anguished family were devastated at his early release. Her mother Roz Wickens has said ‘he will never know or fully understand the true devastation he has caused me and my family’, while her father said last week: ‘In my mind, he murdered my daughter and should be doing a proper life sentence.’
The Ministry of Justice and the Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.
Jack Shepherd’s Georgian lawyer Mariam Kublashvili, who once starred in her country’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, told him: ‘You have friends who would welcome you’
Charlotte was killed when Shepherd took her on a high speed ride past the Houses of Parliament in his defective speedboat
Jack Shepherd has now been jailed yet again – only 18 months after his release – after he breached his license conditions
Shepherd consults with his lawyer during a court hearing in Georgia
Shepherd’s fatal date with 24-year-old Miss Brown took place in December 2015.
The web developer had taken her on a high-speed ride on a defective speedboat past the Houses of Parliament after a £150 date at a restaurant at The Shard.
After falling in the water, she was swept away while Shepherd was rescued from the water. He was heard shouting ‘help me’, rather than ‘us’.
Shepherd, who lived on a houseboat in Hammersmith, had previously practiced the seduction routine on a string of women before Miss Brown’s death.
His trial heard how he had bought vodka, before sharing two bottles of wine with Miss Brown at the Shard and downing champagne on his boat which he had bought on Gumtree.
His return to prison comes after Mr Brown warned last year that Shepherd should not be freed.
