SPEEDBOAT killer Jack Shepherd has walked free from jail after serving half of his sentence for killing a woman from Clacton, according to media reports.
Shepherd, 36, was released from HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire yesterday after serving half of his six-year sentence, the Mirror reports.
His release is despite pleas from dad Graham Brown, whose daughter Charlotte was killed while on a date with Shepherd in 2015, for his daughter’s killer to “tell us the truth”.
Charlotte drowned after a second-hand speedboat struck a log and capsized in the River Thames, with an investigation later finding the vessel had an array of defects.
Shepherd, originally from Exeter, went on the run ahead of his Old Bailey trial and was convicted in his absence in July 2018.
He was charged with manslaughter, but before he could stand trial, he fled to Georgia where he lived as a fugitive before he turned himself in in early 2019.
A judge gave Shepherd a six-year prison sentence after he was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and was ordered to serve a further four years for assaulting a barman with a vodka bottle.
Shepherd has always claimed Miss Brown, whom he reportedly met on the dating app Tinder, was partly to blame for the accident.
Graham said last year the family will “never get over” the death of his daughter, who would now be 31.
The prospect of Shepherd leaving prison after serving half his sentence also led him to hit out at the criminal justice system.
“It goes to show how outrageous our criminal justice system is,” he said.
“The family is devastated. We will never get over it.”
Jurors at Shepherd's trial heard that he and Ms Brown had been drinking champagne and went on a late-night jaunt in his boat past the Houses of Parliament.
Shepherd handed the controls to Ms Brown just before it struck a submerged tree and overturned, tipping both of them into the cold water.
He was plucked from the Thames alive, but Ms Brown was found unconscious and unresponsive.
Shepherd lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his conviction in June 2019.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel