Cowardly speedboat killer Jack Shepherd tries to avoid justice by claiming he wouldn’t be safe in British jail
COWARDLY speedboat killer Jack Shepherd will try to avoid British justice yet again, it emerged last night.
The smirking fugitive, 31, who gave himself up in Georgia this week, plans to argue he should not be extradited to the UK.
He claims he would not be safe if he had to serve his jail sentence.
Shepherd was convicted of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, in July last year.
Charlotte died when the boat he bought to “pull women” flipped on the River Thames on a champagne-fuelled first date in December 2015.
He handed himself in to police in the former Soviet republic following ten months on the run after fleeing before his trial.
He was found guilty in his absence and given six years but still refused to take the blame in a TV interview on Wednesday.
He claimed Charlotte, of Clacton, Essex, had been driving the boat.
And he accused her civil servant father of using his influence to ensure the prosecution went ahead.
Tariel Kakabadze, one of his two lawyers, indicated he would contest his extradition at a court hearing today.
He said: “If I see that his extradition will be dangerous for his life and he might face some difficulties, we will fight it.”
His other lawyer, Mariam Kublashvili, is a celebrity in Georgia who appeared on the country’s version of Strictly Come Dancing.
SPEEDBOAT KILLER'S NEW SHAME
She has insisted she is not being paid with British legal aid cash and Shepherd is paying her privately.
It also emerged the liar, held in the capital Tbilisi, gave officers a false address when he was arrested.
A source at the force said: “The address he gave doesn’t exist. We are still trying to establish where he was staying.”
It is believed he rented a small apartment in the prestigious Bageby residential district of Tbilisi.
He was known to hang out at Restaurant Bageby, where he would sit in silence and plan his next move.
On a couple of occasions he was seen drinking there with a fair-haired English woman.
'ARROGANT, IMMATURE MAN'
Barman Mikhael Gabrichidze said he would often stay for hours, always at a window table, drinking glasses of local beer costing 90p.
Mikhael added: “He would usually come alone but twice came with a woman.”
Shepherd also visited beaches and ski resorts while in Georgia.
Charlotte’s dad Graham Brown, 55, yesterday told the BBC: “I think he’s shown himself to be a very arrogant, immature man who needs to face up to what he’s done.”
Prosecution chiefs last night rebutted Shepherd’s claim Mr Brown had forced charges to be brought.
Meanwhile, leading extradition barrister George Hepburne Scott warned Georgia could refuse to send him back to the UK.
Georgia’s Central Criminal Police Department chief Vlademir Bortsvadze said: “We will continue active cooperation with UK on this case.
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