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Man guilty of killing date in speedboat crash on Thames is in hiding Man guilty of killing date in speedboat crash on Thames is in hiding
(about 2 hours later)
A man is in hiding after being found guilty of killing his date in a speedboat accident on the Thames. A man is in hiding from the police after being found guilty of killing his date in a speedboat accident on the Thames.
Jack Shepherd, a web designer, had been trying to impress Charlotte Brown, 24, after meeting her on the dating website OkCupid. But their first date ended in tragedy when Shepherd’s boat capsized and she was thrown into the river in December 2015. In December 2015, Jack Shepherd, 30, met Charlotte Brown, 24, on the website OkCupid and took her on a date in his Fletcher Arrowflyte speedboat. The boat later capsized, and Brown was killed.
Shepherd, 30, originally from Exeter, had denied manslaughter by gross negligence but was found guilty in his absence at the Old Bailey. Shepherd was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, which he denied on the basis that he had no “duty of care” towards Brown, but was found guilty in his absence at the Old Bailey.
It can now be reported that he skipped bail and failed to attend his trial, to the anger of Brown’s parents in court. Following his conviction it can be reported that he skipped bail and failed to attend his trial, to the anger of Brown’s grieving parents in court.
Despite issuing instructions to his legal team by phone, police were unable to track him down and his whereabouts remain unknown.Despite issuing instructions to his legal team by phone, police were unable to track him down and his whereabouts remain unknown.
The court had heard how Shepherd had bought the 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO from Gumtree to “pull women”. In the months before Brown’s death, he had entertained up to 10 women on the 1980s model, inviting them back to his houseboat in Hammersmith. Her family pleaded with Shepherd to attend court for his sentencing on Friday. In a statement on behalf of relatives, the victim’s sister, Katie Brown, said: “Charlie died because she thought she would be safe taking a journey on Jack Shepherd’s speedboat – a speedboat that we know was unsafe and that he bought with the sole purpose of seducing young women and one he had used recklessly many times before.
During that time he had been caught speeding by marine police more than once and advised on the importance of wearing lifejackets. “During the trial, in his absence, with his whereabouts unknown to both the court and police, Jack Shepherd was afforded more rights than Charlie.”
Amy Warner, a previous date of Shepherd’s, told jurors she felt so uncomfortable aboard the speedboat that she asked him to slow down and got a taxi home. Brown added: “We now appeal to Jack Shepherd wherever he is in the world to return and assume the responsibility of his guilt and the devastation he caused by his actions that fateful night – we appeal to Jack Shepherd’s family and friends to appeal to him and urge him to face the consequences of his actions.”
On 8 December 2015 Shepherd bought Brown, a business development consultant, a £150 meal at Oblix in the Shard where they drank two bottles of wine. The couple took a taxi back to Shepherd’s place where they took champagne aboard the speedboat for a trip past the Houses of Parliament. According to witnesses, Shepherd had entertained a number of women on his speedboat before Brown, having bought it with the intention to “pull”. He had reportedly been caught speeding on the boat a number of times before his date with Brown, and a previous date recounted asking Shepherd to slow down and getting a taxi home because she was so uncomfortable with the speed.
In mobile phone footage, Brown could be heard shouting that they were going “so fast” as Shepherd drove at more than double the 12-knot speed limit. On the return journey, Shepherd handed over the controls to Brown who, Shepherd told the police, went “full throttle”. Jurors at the trial were also told that there were a number of defects with the boat, including faulty steering, hard-to-reach life jackets, and a disconnected kill cord.
Moments before the accident, Brown’s sister texted her: “Is he driving this bad boy?” but received no answer. On their first date on 8 December, Shepherd and Brown ate an expensive meal and two bottles of wine before boarding the speedboat with champagne.
The speeding boat hit a submerged log and tipped over near Wandsworth Bridge, sending both occupants into the water. A local resident, Steven Morrissey, told the court that he heard a young man screaming for help. Mobile phone footage shows Brown shouting about the speed as Shepherd drove at more than 24 knots down the river – more than double the speed limit.
Morrissey said in a statement: “He kept saying, ‘Help me, help me, somebody help me.’ It was just ‘help me’, not ‘us’, or ‘her’.” The boat capsized near Wandsworth Bridge when it hit a submerged log. Both Shepherd and Brown were tipped into the water and local resident Steven Morrissey said he heard Shepherd screaming for help.
Shepherd was found clinging to the hull and Brown was pulled from the water unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics tried to save Brown as she was already in cardiac arrest and suffering from hypothermia. Brown was unresponsive when she was pulled from the river, already both hypothermic and in cardiac arrest. Paramedics attended to her, but she was later pronounced dead.
The next day Shepherd tearfully told police: “I was just trying to show off about having a speedboat, like I thought it would impress her. Shepherd was found conscious, holding on to the tipped boat. He later told police that he had a “hazy memory” about the night’s events. “I had no idea what happened,” he said.
“My memory is quite hazy about the whole thing because we drank heavily. I had no idea what happened. I was hanging on and tried to go underneath the boat to see if she was there and got trapped. It can now be reported that Shepherd told his lawyers in mid-May he would not attend his trial in July but the Crown Prosecution Service and court only found out a week before.
“I was feeling with my legs to see if she was there. I don’t think she was there but I didn’t know. I just started shouting for help, ‘Please help, please help’.”
Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC told jurors: “It was cold, it was dark. We submit it was sheer madness.”
The lifejackets had been tucked away, the kill cord was not connected, and the boat had a number of defects, including faulty steering, the court heard. Jurors were told the defendant denied manslaughter on the basis he had no “duty of care” towards Brown.
It can now be reported that Shepherd told his lawyers in mid-May he would not attend his Old Bailey trial in July but the Crown Prosecution Service and court only found out a week before.
In legal argument, the prosecution said police had spoken to his mother on 27 June and was told he had not been in contact since March and his phone number was no longer connected. His defence team insisted they did not know where he was even though his solicitor had maintained telephone contact.In legal argument, the prosecution said police had spoken to his mother on 27 June and was told he had not been in contact since March and his phone number was no longer connected. His defence team insisted they did not know where he was even though his solicitor had maintained telephone contact.
It later emerged Shepherd had been receiving daily updates from the trial from his legal team. But they successfully argued that the reason for his absence should be kept from the jurors deciding his case and they should only be told he was not in the dock and had “chosen” not to given evidence.It later emerged Shepherd had been receiving daily updates from the trial from his legal team. But they successfully argued that the reason for his absence should be kept from the jurors deciding his case and they should only be told he was not in the dock and had “chosen” not to given evidence.
Jafferjee said the lawyers had been “dancing on pins” as they debated exactly what to tell the jury as the defence objected to the words “failed to attend”.Jafferjee said the lawyers had been “dancing on pins” as they debated exactly what to tell the jury as the defence objected to the words “failed to attend”.
Shepherd is also wanted by police for failing to attend court over another unrelated matter. Police are also seeking Shepherd about another unrelated matter.
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