SPEEDBOAT killer Jack Shepherd was last night branded “crass and arrogant” by his victim’s father after the fugitive handed himself in to police in Georgia.
Shepherd, 31, smirked to cameras as he was cuffed – amid fears his extradition to Britain could take “an age”, according to lawyers.
Charlotte Brown, 24, was killed when Shepherd’s rickety boat crashed on the Thames in 2015 – while he made it to safety.
He said he fled to the former Soviet Republic fearing Charlotte’s father was plotting against him.
Last night, Charlotte’s tearful dad Graham Brown, 55, told Sky News: “He comes across as crass and arrogant with a disregard for the rules and doing the right thing.
“He still has not accepted that he is responsible for the death of my daughter.”
Charlotte, of Clacton, Essex, died as the boat Shepherd bought to “pull women” flipped on their champagne-fuelled first date in December 2015.
He fled the UK last March. In July he was convicted of manslaughter in his absence and sentenced to six years.
The Sun’s £10,000 reward helped nail Shepherd who was on the run for ten months.
The web designer accused Charlotte’s dad Graham of a conspiracy and claimed the media had written “upsetting lies”.
SMUG APPEARANCE
Sporting an unruly beard and cropped hair, he told news channel Rustavi 2: “This was a tragic accident.
“It’s an established fact that Charlotte was driving at the time.
“Although I’d had something to drink I was not tested or anything. Charlotte was tested and was above the drink-drive limit.
“I would say it was unwise to go out on the water, but not mad.
“I blamed myself at the time and said I was very drunk and driving too fast but an assessment of the facts shows we were below the speed limit.
“I hope justice will prevail and my appeal will be successful so everyone can move forward with their lives.”
I feel very surprised at how smug he looks to be honest
Katie Brown, victim Charlotte's sister
Katie Brown, Charlotte’s sister, also slammed Shepherd’s “smug” appearance.
She told BBC News: “I feel very surprised at how smug he looks to be honest.
“It just shows a very arrogant man.
“I don’t understand how someone can go on the run for two crimes and be found guilty and still then just walk straight in with a very smug look on his face and claim innocence. It’s unbelievable.”
RELIEF AT LAST
In his emotional TV interview, Mr Brown – who was told at 4pm yesterday that Shepherd was in custody – said: “It was such an overwhelming sense of relief.
“I cried. It’s been such a journey these last three years, we’ve been through every emotion possible.”
He added: “You don’t get closure when you’re a parent who has lost your loved one.
“I think what you do get though is a sense of being able to deal with it better.”
HOW HE FLED JUSTICE
DECEMBER 8, 2015: Shepherd’s first date with Charlotte ends in tragedy when she dies in speedboat crash.
2016: Shepherd marries his childhood sweetheart and they have a child, according to his lawyers.
MAY 2018: Shepherd tells his lawyers he will not attend his trial.
JULY 2018: Trial held in his absence. He is jailed for six years.
AUGUST 2018: The Sun offers a £10,000 reward to help catch him, right. Shepherd app-lies for permission to appeal against conviction.
DECEMBER 1, 2018: The Sun reveals Shepherd got £93,000 of taxpayer-funded legal aid
DECEMBER 30, 2018: The Sun reveals Shepherd has been granted the right to appeal
TUESDAY: Charlotte’s family meet Home Secretary.
YESTERDAY: Shepherd turns himself in after protesting innocence on TV.
Charlotte’s mum praised The Sun for helping to bring him to justice.
Roz Wickens, 53, said: “I’m just overwhelmed he’s been caught at last.
“It will never bring Charlotte back and the thought that he’s just been sat there all this time is just, well too much.
“There were times when I thought he would never be found.
“But I’m just so grateful to The Sun and everyone who’s contributed to finding him.
“I just hope he will be brought back to face justice as quickly as possible.”
Charlotte’s family met Home Secretary Sajid Javid this week to seek assurances that everything was being done to capture Shepherd.
FLED FROM VICTIM’S DAD
Shepherd, held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, told the TV station: “After significant pressure from her father, the police decided to prosecute for manslaughter.
“Charlotte Brown’s father works in the prison system of the UK, he’s a civil servant of some influence. It’s been apparent throughout this whole process.
“The CPS decided not to prosecute me but he appealed this.
“He was able to leverage his power in the system to get a QC appointed to oversee the case, which was very unusual.
“The father met with the Home Secretary and this is testament to the fact he has some kind of leverage.
“It’s also why there has been so much press coverage in the UK.
“I’ve only spoken to him once but he took the opportunity to tell me I would have a very bad time in prison.
“I said ‘I’m so sorry Graham’, but he didn’t want to hear it and hung up.
“I feel at risk from him and his power and that’s the reason I ran away.
“I’m very very frightened about what might happen, but it seemed like this is the right thing to do.”
Asked why he chose Georgia, he said: “It was a rushed decision but there was a lot going for Georgia.
“It was affordable, had a generous visa regime and mountains, sea, and I think the culture is very wonderful.”
POLICE UNDER FIRE
Earlier yesterday Mr Brown, a former military policeman who works part-time for the Ministry of Justice, wrote on Facebook: “Just been informed that Jack Shepherd has been arrested in Georgia.
“Justice for Charlotte is close!”
A friend said Shepherd was travelling under his own name and had been to clubs and “high profile events”.
He had made many friends in Tbilisi but didn’t work.
Last night the Met Police were under fire after it emerged Shepherd’s wife tipped them off six months ago that he was in Georgia – but only asked for help last week.
Local cops had to Google him as they had no idea who he was.
Shepherd’s UK case sparked outrage when The Sun revealed he won taxpayer-funded legal aid to appeal his conviction while on the run.
Top Georgian lawyer Mariam Kublashvili said Shepherd had hired her privately and was not receiving legal aid.
FLOWN BACK TO BRITAIN ‘IN DAYS’
The family’s MP James Brokenshire said: “I want to pass on their thanks for all the support The Sun and others have provided in your coverage.
“We are all delighted that it looks like Jack Shepherd will finally face the justice that he deserves, and hope he shows responsibility and remorse for his actions.”
The National Crime Agency was notified about Shepherd’s surrender by Georgian authorities.
Met Police detectives were then informed about his arrest.
Shepherd will appear in a Tbilisi court and be flown back to Britain to serve his sentence within “a matter of days” as long as he does not contest extradition.
EXTRADITION HOLD-UP FEARS
However, British lawyers warned that the UK’s extradition treaty with Georgia meant Shepherd could stay free for months.
Barrister Laura Herbert, of Charter Chambers, said: “It is very unlikely Georgia will give him back. I think it might be quite tricky.
“There is the possibility he’s acting very cynically here.”
A spokesman for the Extradition Lawyers Association said: ‘I would imagine it will take an age.
“Unless he consents to extradition, it will largely depend on political will.”
MOST READ IN NEWS
Shepherd had been renting a flat in the Bagebi district of Tbilisi and is a known womaniser and regularly visited the city’s nightclubs.
A Georgia’s Interior Ministry spokesman said: “We detained a fugitive in Tbilisi wanted by the UK.
“He appeared at Vake-Saburtalo police station accompanied by his lawyer and handed himself over to the police.
“At this stage, pre-extradition procedures prescribed by the law are carried out regarding the detained person.”
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https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/tearful-dad-of-woman-killed-in-thames-speedboat-crash-slams-arrogant-and-remorseless-killer-as-lawyers-warn-extradition-to-britain-could-take-an-age/
News Photo Tearful dad of woman killed in Thames speedboat crash slams ‘arrogant’ and ‘remorseless’ killer as lawyers warn extradition to Britain could ‘take an age’
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