Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd admits punching woman and assaulting her with barbecue tongs

A man jailed for manslaughter over the death of a woman in a 2015 speedboat crash has admitted violently assaulting another woman last year.

Appearing at court on Tuesday via a prison video link, Jack Shepherd pleaded guilty to three offences, including two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property.

The 38-year-old admitted pinning her down and punching her in February 2025, striking her in the chest with barbecue tongs in June 2025, and damaging her keys during that same month.

After he was accused of the violent incidents, Shepherd was recalled to prison in September last year.

He entered his guilty pleas at Isleworth Crown Court, west London, while in HMP Swaleside in Kent.

It came as prosecutors agreed to drop two other allegations, of controlling or coercive behaviour and intentional suffocation.

Shepherd, known as the speedboat killer, 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.

He met Ms Brown, 24, on a dating website and was trying to impress her by taking her out on the River Thames in December 2015.

But the boat capsized and she was thrown into the cold water.

During their date, Shepherd took her for a £150 meal at a central London restaurant, where they drank two bottles of wine.

The couple then took champagne on to the speedboat for a trip past the Houses of Parliament.

In mobile phone footage, Ms Brown could be heard shouting that they were going "so fast" as Shepherd drove at more than double the 12-knot speed limit.

On the return journey, Shepherd handed over the controls to Ms Brown - who followed suit and went "full throttle".

The speeding boat hit a submerged log and tipped over near Wandsworth Bridge, throwing them both into the water.

Shepherd was found clinging to the hull and Ms Brown was pulled from the water unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics tried to save her but she was already in cardiac arrest and suffering from hypothermia.

Read more from Sky News:
Mum and boyfriend guilty of murdering her daughter
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo 'fastest on record'

Shepherd, originally from Exeter, had denied manslaughter by gross negligence but was found guilty in his absence at the Old Bailey.

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

Shepherd had been set free on licence in January 2024 before he was recalled to jail last September.

(c) Sky News 2026: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd admits punching woman and assaulting her with barbecue tongs