Shepherd fled last March to avoid standing trial over the death of Charlotte Brown, 24, who was killed when his defective speedboat crashed during a late-night drunken voyage on the River Thames. He was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence
The family of speedboat victim Charlotte Brown today urge Sajid Javid to order police to step up the hunt for her killer.
They will meet the Home Secretary to call for ‘full resources and unflinching efforts’ to find Jack Shepherd, 31.
He has made a mockery of justice by going on the run from a six-year prison term and then taking public money to fund an appeal from his hideout. The Mail has offered a £25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Shepherd tried to impress Miss Brown, 24, on their first date by drunkenly tearing up the Thames in his badly-maintained boat. It flipped over in the darkness, plunging the pair overboard. Miss Brown was pronounced dead in hospital.
Her parents – Roz Wickens and Graham Brown – and her sister Katie will today deliver their plea to the Home Secretary at his House of Commons office.
They will be joined by Cabinet minister James Brokenshire, who is fighting for justice for the family.
Mr Brown, a 55-year-old civil servant from Sidcup in Kent, said: ‘Jack Shepherd has stolen a beautiful life and needs to atone for his crass and reckless actions. If it wasn’t for this, our lovely Charlotte would still be here.
‘We want to hear from the Home Secretary on what action is being taken to bring Shepherd to justice. We also want to know that this operation will be fully resourced until he is found and put behind bars.
Charlotte Brown was 24 when she died. Her parents are demanding the Home Secretary do more to track down the man responsible for her death
‘I am very grateful to the police for the work to secure Shepherd’s conviction at trial and the current steps to track him down. However there are important issues that do need to be dealt with so that other families aren’t let down by the criminal justice system as I feel we have been – especially how Jack Shepherd was able to breach his bail and abscond so easily, even though he is also wanted in connection with a very serious assault which took place while he was on bail.
‘I feel that the authorities, the police and all other agencies must leave no stone unturned in locating Shepherd. The credibility of the justice system and the wider concerns I have raised must impact also with the wider concerns and confidence the public have in the police and criminal justice system.’
Shepherd fled the UK last March and was tried and convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in his absence. His boat had tipped over after passing the Houses of Parliament at high speed. The website designer shouted to rescuers ‘help me’ – not ‘us’.
Shepherd, who has sparked outrage by getting almost £100,000 in legal aid despite being on the run, is communicating with his lawyers from his hideaway as they prepare his appeal.
His lawyer Richard Egan, of Tuckers Solicitors, has said it is ‘not my duty to dob him in’.
Ms Brown's parents have demanded Mr Javid, pictured, gives 'full resources' to detectives trying to find Shepherd
Scotland Yard has been criticised for not taking the manhunt seriously until the Mail launched the reward earlier this month. Mr Brokenshire, who is Mr Brown’s MP, said: ‘I want to ensure that the full efforts of our law enforcement agencies are being used to arrest Shepherd.
‘It is unacceptable that Charlotte’s family still have not seen the justice they rightly deserve. There can be no hiding place for this man and we must be utterly resolute in seeing that Shepherd pays for his crime.’
A Mail investigation has revealed the web designer fled the UK just hours after a second offence, allegedly glassing a barman at a Devon hotel on March 16 last year. He was already on unconditional bail awaiting the speedboat trial, but police who arrested him for the hotel GBH let him go, pending further inquiries. He immediately absconded. He flew to Turkey and from there to Georgia, using his British passport that the authorities had failed to confiscate.
Despite being told six months ago by Shepherd’s wife, whom he married two months after the speedboat tragedy, that he had gone to Georgia, blundering detectives started making inquiries about his bolthole in the former Soviet republic only last week.
From there, he could have obtained a fake passport and travelled anywhere under a new identity. By July, he was reported by a friend to be in Thailand. Police have insisted they are following every lead possible to trace Shepherd but admit he could be anywhere.
When the family meet the Home Secretary this afternoon, they will seek assurances that ‘all necessary resources and priority is being given’ to bring the fugitive to justice, said a spokesman for Mr Brokenshire last night. The spokesman added: ‘The family will seek confirmation of the action taken to date, current lines of enquiry, the resources available to the police and what additional steps can be taken to locate Shepherd – including through the National Crime Agency.’
A Survation poll for the Daily Mail found 72 per cent of the public would change the law to stop fugitives being eligible for legal aid.
Tuckers Solicitors have insisted they do not know where their client is. In a statement, the firm said: ‘Professionalism and duty does not go away because of the perceived morally dubious actions of any particular client.
‘We would be negligent and in breach of our professional duties were we not to proceed because the client had absconded.’
Miss Brown from Essex was a business consultant.
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/category/the-sun-world/https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/parents-of-speedboat-killers-victim-demand-to-know-what-sajid-javid-is-doing/
News Photo Parents of speedboat killer's victim demand to know what Sajid Javid is doing
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