Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd freed from jail early after killing date in crash on Thames

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Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has been free of jail early having solely served a part of his six-and-a-half-year sentence for crashing and killing a girl on their first date.

Shepherd, 36, left his cell in Class B HMP Dovegate, Staffordshire, on Tuesday, The Unbiased understands.

The 36-year-old, initially from Exeter, was discovered responsible of manslaughter in his absence in the summertime of 2018 after happening the run to keep away from justice over the demise of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, in December 2015.

After assembly Ms Brown on the web site OkCupid, London’s Outdated Bailey heard that Shepherd, a former IT advisor who earned £150,000 a 12 months, had been attempting to impress his date with champagne and a late-night high-speed jaunt in his boat previous the Homes of Parliament.

His trial was instructed that he was liable for the speedboat, which had a collection of great defects, together with to its steering.

Shepherd had handed the controls to Ms Brown simply earlier than the craft capsized close to Wandsworth Bridge in central London after hitting a log, throwing each of them into the chilly water, the court docket was instructed.

The defendant was plucked from the Thames alive, however Ms Brown died after she was pulled from the river unconscious and unresponsive, the jury was instructed.

Shepherd appeared on the Outdated Bailey in November 2017 when he pleaded not responsible to manslaughter by gross negligence and was granted bail.

He was discovered responsible in his absence in July 2018 after he skipped bail and travelled to Georgia in March of that 12 months, jurors heard.

The defendant lastly surrendered to Georgian law enforcement officials in January 2019 and was extradited again to the UK from the nation.

Shepherd had initially been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment however was given an additional six months for breaching bail and absconding.

Passing sentence on the Outdated Bailey in April 2019, Decide Marks branded Shepherd “cowardly” and “egocentric” as he lastly jailed the felony.

Now, Shepherd has been launched from jail, having solely served simply over 4 years and 9 months of his sentence.

Shepherd additionally served a consecutive four-year sentence, which he was given at Exeter Crown Courtroom in 2019 after admitting to wounding a barman throughout an assault in March 2018. The court docket heard that he struck David Beech with a vodka bottle after being requested to depart The White Hart Lodge in Newton Abbot, Devon.

Enchantment judges determined in July 2020 that the two-and-a-half months he spent in custody awaiting extradition ought to depend as a part of the four-year sentence.

Nevertheless, Shepherd misplaced an enchantment towards his conviction for Ms Brown’s manslaughter in June 2019.

Talking outdoors the Royal Courts of Justice in London after the ruling, Charlotte’s twin sister Katie Brown mentioned: “My sister Charlie shouldn’t be right here with us immediately due to Shepherd’s negligence and reckless actions.

“He hasn’t as soon as proven any regret or respect to our household, or to the authorized system, or to even Charlie.”