Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is back behind bars after breaching the terms of his release.
The 37-year-old was jailed for six years at the Old Bailey for killing 24-year-old Charlotte Brown in December 2015.
They had met on a dating website before Shepherd took her on a champagne-fuelled date at the Shard culminating in a high-speed ride up the River Thames.
But the vessel was riddled with defects and capsized shortly before midnight after clipping a partially submerged tree trunk, throwing the pair into the icy water, causing Charlotte’s death.
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Shepherd was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in his absence after going on the run to Georgia on the eve of his trial and sentenced on his return to the UK 10 months later.
He eventually handed himself in to police in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2019, and was brought back to the UK, where he was also handed a four-year-jail term for attacking a barman, to run at the same time as his six-year sentence.
Shepherd was convicted of wounding with intent for hitting former soldier David Beech with a vodka bottle after being asked to leave The White Hart Hotel in Newton Abbot, Devon, in March 2018.
Now the Ministry of Justice has confirmed he has been hauled back to prison for flouting the license requirements attached to his release.
A spokesperson for HM Prison and Probation Service said: ‘As this case shows, we do not hesitate to send offenders back to prison if they break the rules.’
Charlotte’s dad Graham Brown, 61, said Shepherd is ‘back where he belongs’.
Speaking to The Sun, he said ‘prison is the best place for this man’, adding: ‘He’s never shown remorse for his part in the death of my daughter.’
Describing how the pain of losing her is forever present, he said: ‘I’ll never forgive him and still believe he poses a risk to females.’
Jurors at the Old Bailey heard during Shepherd’s trial that he used the speedboat as part of his ‘seduction routine’.
After meeting Charlotte online, they shared two bottles of wine over dinner at The Oblix restaurant at The Shard.
He then invited her back to his houseboat in Hammersmith where they had more drinks before heading out on his red speedboat.
In addition to the poor visibility, the 1980s model was riddled with defects including faulty steering, damage to the windscreen, and there was no kill switch attached to cut the engine should the driver go overboard.
Charlotte died from cold water immersion shortly after being pulled unresponsive from the water.
Mr Brown warned Shepherd, originally from Exeter, should not be freed before he was released.
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