Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has 78 days cut from his ten-year jail term due to time spent awaiting extradition to the UK after fleeing to Georgia
- In 2018 Jack Shepherd was convicted of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown
- The 24-year-old died after a boat Shepherd capsized on the Thames on a date
- He was given a six year sentence for manslaughter by gross negligence in 2018
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has had 78 days cut from his 10-year jail term because of time he served waiting for extradition after fleeing the UK to Georgia.
Three appeal judges said the 78 days Shepherd spent in custody awaiting extradition in Georgia should count as part of the jail term he is serving.
Shepherd, 32, was given a six-year sentence after being convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of Charlotte Brown when his speedboat capsized during a champagne-fuelled date on the River Thames in 2015.
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd should leave prison sooner than expected as a result of a ruling by Court of Appeal judges. Shephered, 32, was extradited from Georgia after a trial in his absence found him guilty of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown
Charlotte Brown, 24, was killed after Shepherd’s boat capsized on the Thames near Wandsworth Bridge in 2015
Ms Brown, from Clacton, Essex was on her first date with Shepherd after meeting on dating website OkCupid.
Shepherd’s trial in July 2018 heard how he had bought the 1980s boat on Gumtree and had tried to impress other women with it.
But his first date with Ms Brown ended in tragedy when the 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO, which was riddled with defects, hit a log and capsized, throwing them into the river near Wandsworth Bridge.
Jack Shepherd was jailed for six years for manslaughter by negligence, he was sentenced to a further four years after admitting wounding a barman
He is also serving a consecutive four-year sentence after admitting wounding a barman.
Three appeal judges said on Thursday that the time Shepherd spent awaiting extradition should count towards his time served.
Married father-of-one Shepherd, who is originally from Exeter, ran away in March 2018 ahead of his July trial which took place in his absence.
While British taxpayers funded his defence via legal aid, the fugitive was living it up Georgia, earning cash as a web designer, wooing a new girlfriend and learning to ski.
When he was hauled back from Georgia he appeared at the Old Bailey and admitted skipping bail.
He had two months taken off his sentence for pleading guilty – meaning he was handed just six months, on top of his six year manslaughter sentence.
The speedboat owned by web designer Jack Shepherd, which crashed in the Thames in 2015
However, this decision was overturned after his lawyers argued the Old Bailey did not have the proper ‘jurisdiction’ to convict him on the bail offence.
Last year Charlotte’s family started to campaign for a law that brings in tighter controls on buying and driving boats.
Shepherd’s trial revealed that anyone can hire a boat for personal use without training or a licence, while it was also not mandatory to wear or carry a life jacket.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine last October, her mother Roz Wicken: ‘If I could take her place in the blink of an eye, I would have done… We miss Charlotte so dreadfully.
Her sister, Katie Brown, added: ‘(Charlotte) was so funny and loving, she was passionate, do anything for her friends and family. Life isn’t the same without her.
‘But we need to let her legacy live on and make a change, so that hopefully this would be much less likely to happen if those laws were in place.’