



Shepherd, 30, originally from Devon, had denied manslaughter by gross negligence but was found guilty in his absence at the Old Bailey.

It can now be reported that he skipped bail and failed to attend his trial, to the anger of Ms Brown's grieving parents in court.

Despite issuing instructions to his legal team by phone, police were unable to track him down and his whereabouts remains unknown.

The court had heard how Shepherd had bought the 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO from Gumtree to 'pull women'.

Jack Shepherd



A previous date Amy Warner told jurors she felt so uncomfortable aboard the vessel that she asked Shepherd to slow down and then got a taxi home.

On December 8 2015, Shepherd treated Ms Brown to a £150 meal at Oblix in the Shard, where they drank two bottles of wine.



Charlotte Brown


Moments before the accident, Miss Brown's sister texted her: "Is he driving this bad boy?" but received no answer.


Riverside resident Steven Morrissey told the court that he heard a young man screaming for help.

He said in a statement: "He kept saying 'Help me, help me, somebody help me'. It was just 'Help me" - not 'us', or 'her'."



The next day, Shepherd tearfully told police that he had taken Ms Brown out on the river as part of his seduction routine.

The speedboat, which was shown to the jury


Shepherd told police Ms Brown was going "full throttle" when they crashed.

He said: "My memory is quite hazy about the whole thing because we drank heavily.



Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC told jurors: "It was cold, it was dark, we submit, it was sheer madness."

The jackets had been tucked away, the kill cord was not connected and the boat had a number of defects, including faulty steering, the court heard.

Jurors were told the defendant denied manslaughter on the basis he had no "duty of care" towards Ms Brown.

Close up of the kill cord on board the speedboat, which was shown to the jury

It can now be reported that Shepherd told his lawyers in mid-May he would not attend his Old Bailey trial in July but the Crown Prosecution Service and court only found out a week before.

In legal argument, the prosecution said police had spoken to his mother on June 27 and was told he had not been in contact since March and his phone number was no longer connected.

His defence team insisted they did not know where he was even though his solicitor had maintained telephone contact.

It later emerged he had been receiving daily updates from the trial from his legal team.

But they successfully argued that the reason for his absence should be kept from jurors deciding his case and they should only told he was not in the dock and had "chosen" not to given evidence.

Mr Jafferjee said the lawyers had been "dancing on pins" as they debated exactly what to tell the jury, as the defence objected to the words "failed to attend".

The family of Charlotte Brown (left to right) father Graham Brown, sister Katie and mother Roz Wicken arrive at the Old Bailey

Shepherd is also wanted by police for failing to attend court over another unrelated matter.

Following the verdict, Judge Richard Marks QC, the Common Serjeant of London, read out a note passed to him by the jury reading: "We are concerned that the current lack of licensing regarding private boat ownership on the Thames and lack of clarity regarding safety matters greatly increases the risk of further incidents."

It continued: "[We] would hope that the result of this case will lead to a high level review of matters going forward."

Shepherd will be sentenced at 11.30 on Friday morning.