On-the-run speedboat owner Jack Shepherd jailed for six years for manslaughter of date Charlotte Brown

A "cowardly" speedboat owner who killed his date in a crash on the River Thames failed to show up in court and has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

Web designer Jack Shepherd, 30, had been trying to impress 24-year-old Charlotte Brown on his boat on the River Thames after meeting her on a dating website OkCupid in December 2015.

But their first date ended in a tragedy when his boat capsized near Wandsworth Bridge in central London when it hit a submerged log after Shepherd encouraged his date to take the wheel.

Jack and Charlotte were thrown into the River Thames and Ms Brown died after she was pulled from the cold water unconscious and unresponsive.

Shepherd, originally from Exeter, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence in his absence over the incident on December 8, 2015 after failing to attend his Old Bailey trial.

Police have been unable to track him down after he skipped bail, and he was not in court to face sentence on Friday despite pleas from his victim’s family.

Shepherd’s barrister Stephen Vullo QC said: "He could not have faced the Brown family from the dock and it’s cowardice he could not do so."

Reading an emotional victim impact statement in court, Ms Brown’s mother, Roz Wickens, said: "I want Jack Shepherd to know that when he’s enjoying himself with his family, I in fact am not enjoying myself and never will. The truth is I will be visiting Charlotte’s grave. Also, if it was a dreadful accident, as he has claimed, why hasn’t he explained what happened that night.

"The fact is, if Charlotte had not met him she would still be alive today. The empty hole that has been left in my heart is huge and is agony."

Judge Richard Marks QC sentenced Shepherd to six years’ imprisonment in his absence and said he had a "totally cavalier attitude to safety."

“What is clear beyond doubt in my judgement is the defendant should never have allowed Charlotte to drive the boat at any time.

“She had been drinking, it was dark, and he must have known the river potentially contained hazards… she had no previous boating experience at all.”

The court heard Shepherd got married to a childhood friend very shortly after the speedboat crash and now has a two-year-old child.

But the relationship broke down and Shepherd has struggled to gain work because of his drinking and links to the case, his barrister said.

Ms Wickens said: “Watching my two daughters grieve and deal with the loss of their sister and best friend has been heartbreaking.

“No one can underestimate or understand the panic that shivers through you when your thoughts go to how Charlotte lost her life that night.”

She added: “Charlotte was the light of my life in every way. She was beautiful, healthy, intelligent, compassionate, bright, funny, supportive and just the very best company.

“Charlotte’s life had only just begun and now she has been robbed of her life, being a wife and mother and all that her future life entailed.”