Grieving father of woman, 24, killed by fugitive speedboat killer Jack Shepherd says he has ‘no confidence’ police are still looking for him
- Jack Shepherd was convicted of manslaughter at a trial he did not attend
- Charlotte Brown, 24, died while on a date with Shepherd in his speedboat
- Shepherd is still on the run and has not served any of his six-year sentence
- Charlotte’s father Graham, 55, said he thinks police have no clue where he is
Charlotte Brown, 24, died while on a date with Jack Shepherd
The grieving father of the victim of fugitive speedboat killer Jack Shepherd says he has ‘no confidence’ police are still looking for him.
Graham Brown, 55, lost his daughter Charlotte, 24, more than three years ago when she was killed on a date with Shepherd.
He said he could not believe the convicted killer is still on the run almost ten months after fleeing while on bail.
Mr Brown said: ‘I suspect police haven’t got a clue where he is. I would question what kind of priority and resources they’re putting into finding him.
‘I believe that if they threw enough resources at it, they would find him… I have got no confidence, actually, that the authorities are actively looking.’
Since Shepherd’s trial at the Old Bailey in July, which he did not turn up to, Mr Brown has received only one phone call and a handful of emails from officers.
Yesterday Mr Brown, a prison manager from south-east London, also hit out at Shepherd’s family for keeping silent since the trial. He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘Somebody must know where he is. Somebody is supporting him.’
He and Charlotte’s mother, his ex-wife Roz Wickens, 53, are set for a meeting with police this week to discuss the case.
It came as MPs yesterday demanded urgent action to end the ‘abuse’ of taxpayers’ money being spent on Shepherd.
MPs yesterday demanded urgent action to end the ‘abuse’ of taxpayers’ money being spent on Jack Shepherd (pictured)
He is getting tens of thousands of pounds in legal aid – despite being on the run – to appeal his six-year prison sentence. Last week ministers pledged to ‘review’ the scandalous loophole.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen demanded the rules be changed ‘so people on the run cannot claim legal aid’.
Fellow Tory Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, added: ‘I hope the Government will look again at the rules as a matter of urgency.’
The Daily Mail is offering a £25,000 reward to bring arrogant Shepherd, 31, to justice.
He absconded before his trial, when a jury found him guilty of manslaughter for drunkenly showing off to Miss Brown in his boat as they sped along the Thames in December 2015. After it flipped over, web designer Shepherd, from Exeter, called for help for only himself. Miss Brown was later declared dead after being pulled unconscious from the water.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman appealed for the public’s help as it continues to try to trace Shepherd ‘wherever he is in the world’.