Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd: Georgia link confirmed

Police in Georgia have confirmed they are working with the Met Police to track a fugitive who was convicted of killing his date in a speedboat crash on the Thames.

Jack Shepherd, 31, was sentenced to six years in July for the manslaughter of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown.

However, he was absent from his trial after fleeing the UK in March, when records showed he was in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The Met Police declined to comment.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) is the law enforcement agency in the former Soviet state.

According to the Georgian Embassy in London, the MIA is "already in contact with British law enforcement authorities".

Counsellor Giorgi Kobakhidze said: "The Georgian authorities are actively co-operating to identify Jack Shepherd in Georgia and after that to implement relevant legal measures."

Shepherd made his first appearance at the Old Bailey on 26 January, when he entered a not guilty plea to a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.

He was released on unconditional bail by Judge Richard Marks QC, but failed to show up for his trial.

After his conviction, an arrest warrant was issued.

Should Shepherd be found, he would be eligible for extradition under current diplomatic agreements between Georgia and the UK.

Under the terms of extradition from Georgia, a person "shall be extradited to a foreign state for such crimes that both under the legislation of Georgia and that of the foreign state concerned are punishable by at least imprisonment for one year or by a stricter punishment".

"In the case of a convicted person, it is necessary that the person be sentenced to at least four months of imprisonment."

The updates on Shepherd's whereabouts come after Ms Brown's family met with Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday, when he renewed his appeal for Shepherd to hand himself in.

He said: "We will strain every sinew and explore every option to bring them [the Brown family] the justice they deserve as soon as possible."

After meeting on the dating website OkCupid, Shepherd took Miss Brown on a date on 8 December 2015.

He spent £150 on wine and food at a restaurant in The Shard before taking Ms Brown on a speedboat he claimed he owned.

Miss Brown and Shepherd were thrown from the boat when it hit branches in the water near Wandsworth Bridge close to midnight.

Shepherd was found clinging to the hull and Miss Brown, from Clacton, Essex, was pulled from the water unconscious and unresponsive.

A post-mortem examination found she died from cold water immersion.

Despite being in hiding, Shepherd has won the right to appeal against his conviction.