Speedboat killer jailed for attack on girlfriend

Jack Shepherd, a 38-year-old man, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison with an additional four years on extended licence for assaulting his girlfriend. The attacks, which occurred in February and June of the previous year, involved Shepherd hitting her chest with hot barbecue tongs, causing a permanent scar. Shepherd had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property at Isleworth Crown Court in July.

The incidents reignited his recall to prison. In 2018, Shepherd was initially sentenced to six years for manslaughter after his speedboat crashed during a date, resulting in the death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown. In August 2024, Shepherd began dating his former partner, but she accused him of being abusive and threatening by the end of the year.

In February 2025, he admitted to pinning the woman down and punching her several times during an argument, leading to bruising on her arm and leg. In June 2025, Shepherd became enraged over a burning pizza and hit her with barbecue tongs on her left breast, causing a lasting scar. Judge Martin Edmunds stated that the law did not permit an extended sentence beyond the term he was already serving.

Shepherd was released on licence in January 2024 but was recalled to prison in September of the previous year due to violence against the woman. After Brown's death, Shepherd went into hiding in Georgia and was convicted in his absence of manslaughter by gross negligence at the Old Bailey trial. He was subsequently extradited back to the UK to serve his sentence.