Charlotte Brown death: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd finally behind bars as he starts prison sentence

Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is finally behind bars in the UK today as he starts a six-and-a-half year prison sentence over the death of a young woman on reckless thrill-seeking ride along the River Thames.

The 31-year-old today confessed he is “ashamed” of going on the run shortly before he was due to stand trial for the manslaughter of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown who died when the speedboat crashed during a date, but insisted he was “overwhelmed” by a fear of prison.

Shepherd, who maintains he was wrongly convicted, spent ten months evading justice before he was captured in Georgia in January and was extradited back to the UK last night.

He remained stony-faced in the dock at the Old Bailey while flanked by two guards as he admitted breaching his bail, and will today start the six-year prison sentence he was handed for Ms Brown’s manslaughter. He was also sentenced to an extra six months for the breach of bail.

The victim’s family - mother Roz Wickens, father Graham Brown and sisters Vicky and Katie – sat in the well of the court and came face-to-face with Shepherd for the first time since his conviction.

Ms Brown's tearful sister Katie later said outside court that Shepherd’s “lack of respect and decency continues to astound us”.

"I feel throughout the whole process that he continues to be in denial of any kind of responsibility, as though he's almost convinced himself he's the victim," she said.

She added: “As a family we are relieved that Jack Shepherd is now back in the country and commencing his prison sentence. It's a step closer to justice for Charlie.”

"Shepherd has continued to prolong our agony, making wild accusations against our family."

Mr Brown thanked the police, the Georgian authorities and the press following the hearing.

He added: "Due to Shepherd's recklessness and negligence, Charlotte isn't here to defend herself.

"There is a sense of relief, finally, that we are going to get some justice for Charlotte.

"To us he has shown no remorse and he hasn't taken any responsibility for the dreadful actions he caused that night. Charlotte would still be here today if wasn't for Shepherd."

Shepherd’s lawyer, Andrew McGee, said earlier the killer, who launched an appeal while on the run, was “overwhelmed” by the fear of prison when he fled to Georgia in March last year.

“Jack Shepherd genuinely regrets and is ashamed of his decision not to attend his trial and sentencing”, he said. “That is particularly because of the additional distress his absconding brought to the Brown family.

“That was never his intention and he is deeply sorry for it.”

He said Shepherd had not run away to thwart the criminal process, but because he was “terrified by the prospect of a prison sentence and he remains terrified by that prospect.

“He was overwhelmed by his fears, he now recognises what he did was cowardly but it was not deliberately callous or cavalier.”

However, Judge Richard Marks QC, the Common Serjeant of London, noted that Shepherd’s whereabouts had been widely reported when he handed himself in, suggesting he knew the “net was closing in”.

Sentencing Shepherd to an extra six months in prison for the breach of bail, Judge Marks said: “Charlotte’s family were of course distressed about the circumstances in which she had met her death, and those feelings were greatly exacerbated by the fact you had chosen to go on the run, and as they entirely understandably saw it, to evade justice.”

He added that Shepherd had been left with little choice but to hand himself in to the Georgian authorities due to publicity of his whereabouts, which was “immediately before the net closed in on you”.

Judge Marks added that Shepherd had disrupted the court process by issuing instructions to his lawyers “from your hideaway” in Georgia.

“You were in effect having your cake and eating it, and that’s not how the system of justice is intended to operate.”

The judge added that the sentence was passed as a deterrent to others thinking of fleeing from justice.

It was today revealed Shepherd had travelled to Georgia under his own name and passport and has set up a bank account, which Mr McGee said showed he had made “no attempt to conceal his identity or put himself completely beyond the investigation or inquiry”.

He will now start to serve the prison sentence he was handed last July after being convicted in his absence at trial of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Shepherd has already spent 78 days in a Georgian prison after he handed himself in to the authorities, but lawyers today were unsure if that time counts as part of his UK prison sentence.

At his trial, it was revealed Shepherd used his second-hand speedboat as part of a seduction technique for women he met online, taking them for a spin along the Thames to see landmarks including the Houses of Parliament.

However, he had been warned by police for speeding on the water and was also caught out ignoring basic safety measures.

Shepherd met Ms Brown, a business consultant, from Clacton, Essex, through dating app OK Cupid and they agreed to go on a date on the night she died, on December 8, 2015.

They shared two bottles of wine during a £150 dinner at The Shard, before Shepherd suggested they take glasses of champagne out on to his speedboat.

Ms Brown was oblivious to the boat’s defects including poor steering, and Shepherd did not give her a life jacket or even ask if she could swim.

Despite her being a complete boat novice, Shepherd gave Ms Brown control at "full throttle" and moments later the speedboat hit a semi-submerged log and tossed them both into the icy waters.

While Shepherd was found clinging to the hull of the upturned boat and survived, Ms Brown was found unconscious in the water and could not be saved.

While he was being held in a Georgian prison, Shepherd claimed Ms Brown was partly to blame for her death as he insisted he has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

On his flight back to the UK, the killer said he handed himself in because “it was the right thing to do”, telling reporters: “I’m less scared now of going to prison. I’ve come to terms with the fact I’ll be going to prison in the UK.”

He added: “When I fled I was acting on pure emotion, out of fear. I now realise I must take some responsibility in part.”

In his sentencing remarks last July, Judge Marks said Shepherd had a "cavalier attitude" to safety and “should never have allowed Charlotte to drive the boat at any time”.

Shepherd denied but was convicted of manslaughter in his absence. He has admitted a breach of bail this morning.