Jack Shepherd, infamously known as the “Speedboat Killer,” has been released from prison after serving only half of his six-year sentence for the tragic death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown. The web designer, now 35, was sentenced for manslaughter by gross negligence in connection with the fatal incident that occurred on their first date in December 2015.
The ill-fated boat trip on the River Thames turned fatal when Shepherd’s speedboat capsized after hitting a submerged tree trunk. Ms. Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, was thrown from the boat and found unconscious, ultimately succumbing to her injuries in the hospital.
Shepherd, originally from Exeter, went on the run and was convicted in absentia during an Old Bailey trial in 2018. He later handed himself into police in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2019, where he spent 78 days in custody. Upon his return to the UK, Shepherd received an additional four-year jail term for attacking a barman in Devon in 2018.
In a controversial decision, appeal judges ruled in July 2020 that the time spent in custody in Georgia should count as time served, leading to an earlier release date. The Ministry of Justice clarified that Shepherd received a standard determinate sentence, entailing serving only half the time in prison and the remaining half on licence.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson underlined that offenders released on licence are closely supervised and subject to strict conditions for the remainder of their sentence. Any breach could result in a recall to prison.
