Speedboat killer jailed over attacking girlfriend with BBQ tongs for burning pizza

Jack Shepherd, who was previously jailed for manslaughter over the death of Charlotte Brown in a speedboat incident, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for assaulting his girlfriend

Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has been jailed for for 20 months after he admitted to violently assaulting his girlfriend, including causing permanent scarring in an attack with a set of barbecue tongs over a burnt pizza.

The 39-year-old previously pleaded guilty in July to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property and was sentenced at at Isleworth Crown Court today (September 14).

He admitted pinning down the woman and punching her in February 2025, striking her in the chest with barbecue tongs in June 2025, and damaging her keys in that same month.

The assaults sparked Shepherd’s recall to prison following his release on licence. He was originally jailed for 10 years for manslaughter in 2018 over the death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown when his speedboat crashed during a first date.

Shepherd skipped his Old Bailey trial while on the run in Georgia, before he was eventually extradited back to the UK to serve his sentence.

He was set free on licence in January 2024, but faced recall to prison in September last year after he was accused of violence towards a new partner.

According to a prosecution summary of the case, he started dating the woman – who is in her 50s – in August 2024, but towards the end of the year she accused him of being abusive and threatening.

In February 2025, Shepherd admitted pinning down the woman and “punching her several times, causing bruising to her arm and top of leg” during an argument.

In the second incident, in June 2025, Shepherd got angry with his partner for burning a pizza during a barbecue, and “proceeded to hit her with the barbecue tongs on her left breast which caused a permanent scar”.

Bearded Shepherd appeared at court via videolink from HMP Swaleside in Kent wearing a pale blue shirt, reports the Mirror.

His Honour Judge Martin Edmunds KC jailed him for 20 months with an extended licence period of 4 years, making a total of five years and eight months during which he will remain under supervision.

The judge said: “It is patent from the commission of these offences on licence, and from your prior history that you pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to members of the public by the commission of further serious offences. The threat you pose is particularly to any new girlfriend and will be aggravated if you cannot control your drinking – and your track record so far is that you cannot.”

Judge Edmunds told the court that the charges were “snapshots of inexcusable violence,” adding of the victim: “It is clear there has been a lasting and serious effect on her.”

In his manslaughter trial, the court heard that Shepherd, a web developer, met Ms Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, for a first date, and offered to take her on a ride along the River Thames on his speedboat.

They had both been drinking champagne, and Shepherd handed the controls of the boat to Ms Brown just before it struck a submerged tree and overturned, tipping both of them into the cold water. He was plucked from the Thames alive, but Ms Brown was found unconscious and unresponsive.

Shepherd denied manslaughter by gross negligence, but skipped the trial while on the run and did not give any evidence in his own defence.

After being brought back to the UK to serve his sentence, he was also jailed for four years at Exeter Crown Court in 2019 for a drink-fuelled attack on a barman on March 16 2018 at The White Hart Hotel in Newton Abbot, Devon.