Police admit they don’t know if speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has left country

Detectives have admitted they are unable to find out whether speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has fled abroad.

Police have no way of checking if the 31-year-old has absconded overseas because there is no single database recording details of when a British citizen enters and leaves the country, they told The Telegraph.

Shepherd, originally from Exeter, in Devon, is on the run after being convicted, in his absence, of killing Charlotte Brown, 24, on their first date in a speedboat crash on the River Thames.

He was sentenced to six years in jail after skipping bail during his trial in July.

Despite Shepherd still being on the run, his lawyers lodged appeals against his manslaughter conviction and sentence with the Court of Appeal.

Justice secretary David Gauke last week called for a review into a loophole which lets Shepherd claim legal aid, paid for by the public purse, to challenge his prison sentence despite being a fugitive.

Shepherd and Ms Brown met on a website and were on their first date when he tried to impress her with a ride on his speedboat in December 2015.

The pair had been for dinner in The Shard in London, where they drank two bottles of wine before getting a taxi back to Shepherd’s houseboat near Hammersmith Bridge and boarding his speedboat.

During the trial, the Old Bailey heard that despite knowing they were both drunk, Shepherd waited for the highest tide to enable the fastest speeds possible, late at night in full darkness and winter weather conditions.

Shepherd admitted driving at “full throttle”, above the speed limit and in an erratic manner towards Westminster, after making no effort to give Ms Brown a life jacket or make her aware there were any on board.

Witnesses saw the speedboat driving erratically and at speed before it hit partially submerged debris and capsized near Wandsworth Bridge shortly before midnight.

Shepherd was heard shouting for help before being found clinging to the upturned speedboat and treated for hypothermia, while Ms Brown was pulled from the water around half an hour after the crash and never recovered consciousness.

A warrant remains out for Shepherd’s arrest.

Investigators said he was last seen in Devon in March and urged anyone with information of his whereabouts to get in touch.

A barman who said he was glassed by Shepherd in March 2018 – more than two years after he killed Ms Brown – also fears he will never get justice.

Shepherd allegedly launched an attack on David Beech at the White Hart Hotel in Dartmoor, near his mother’s home, on 16 March.

The attack on Mr Beech was captured on CCTV and immediately reported to Devon and Cornwall Police.

Officers arrested Shepherd and charged him with wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

However, Shepherd failed to appear at Newton Abbot Magistrates’ Court in June and a warrant for his arrest was issued.