Man charged over speedboat death of Charlotte Brown, 24, on River Thames

A 30-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of a young woman who drowned on a speedboat date on the Thames.

Charlotte Brown, 24, plunged into the water near Wandsworth Bridge after going for a late-night cruise on a boat with Jack Shepherd in December 2015.

She was pulled unconscious from the river by lifeboat crews and later pronounced dead in hospital.

Shepherd, who was allegedly driving the boat, also landed in the water and was taken to hospital. He survived.

Scotland Yard said Shepherd, from Abergavenny, Wales, was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence on Tuesday.

It follows an investigation by detectives in the Wandsworth borough, which was later taken over by the Homicide and Major Crime Command “due to the complex nature of the investigation”, a spokesman for the force said.

Shepherd is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on October 18.

Police, the Marine Support Unit, the National Police Air Service, the Coastguard, fire and ambulance crews had been called to reports of someone in distress in the water at about 11.45pm on Tuesday, December 8.

Miss Brown, who lived in East Finchley, later died at St George’s Hospital, Tooting.

At the time, her mother Roz Wickens, a former London paramedic, paid tribute to her as “the light of my life”.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, caring human being,” her mother said.

Miss Brown graduated from the University of Essex with a degree in English Literature and was a business development manager in the beauty industry.

Claire Mays, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has considered a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police relating to allegations made against Jack Shepherd over the death of Charlotte Brown, 24, after she was found in the River Thames near Wandsworth Bridge on 8 December 2015.

“Following a review of the evidence, the CPS has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Jack Shepherd, 30, with manslaughter by gross negligence.”