Jack Shepherd latest: Shocking moment speedboat killer bottles war veteran in vicious hotel attack

WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

This is the shocking moment speedboat killer Jack Shepherd viciously bottles a former soldier in a drink-fuelled attack.

Shepherd was clutching an empty glass vodka bottle behind his back as he was being ejected from a hotel.

As the victim turned towards him, he launched a savage swing and struck him in the face. The victim, who was a barman at the hotel, immediately fell to the floor.

Shepherd, 31, was today given four years in jail for the attack, which was added to his prison sentence for the speedboat death of Charlotte Brown.

The moment Jack Shepherd attacks his victim
Devon and Cornwall Police

He admitted "unlawfully and maliciously" wounding the Afghanistan veteran after he and a friend were asked to leave The White Hart Hotel in Moretonhampstead, Devon, in March last year because they were drunk.

Jailing him for four years, Judge David Evans told Shepherd: "Mr Beech had reasonably asked your friend to leave as he would not be serving a customer who was visibly drunk.

"Your friend headed for the door and Mr Beech then asked you to do likewise, and when you became confrontational he explained why he was asking you to leave.

"You should have left. The CCTV footage which I have seen in full shows that you took from your pocket a full glass bottle of vodka which you had brought with you and you held it primed and ready behind your back as Mr Beech reiterated the need to leave.

The victim was floored by the attack
Devon and Cornwall Police

"Mr Beech then turned to accompany your friend out of the door and you took that opportunity to take the vodka bottle from behind your back and strike Mr Beech across the head with a very hard blow.

"The bottle connected with his forehead and you wounded him in such a way that afterwards he had to be taken to hospital and his wound stitched and glued.

"He described the stunning effect of the blow as being like a blow from a baseball bat."

During the sentencing hearing, Shepherd appeared to sob and wipe tears from his face.

Shepherd was arrested in Georgia over Ms Brown's manslaughter earlier this year 
Georgian Prison Service

The former IT consultant pleaded guilty to one charge of wounding with intent over the incident on March 16 last year. He appeared before Exeter Crown Court via video link.

He was given a four-year term which will run consecutively to the six-year sentence he is serving for the manslaughter of Ms Brown in 2015.

Helen Phillips, from CPS South West, said: "This was an entirely unprovoked act of violence. The victim was working at the hotel when two drunk men entered.

"When he asked Shepherd and his friend to leave, Shepherd struck the victim hard to the forehead with a glass bottle, leaving him unconscious with a large swelling and a cut to his head.

"Due to the strength of the case and the evidence secured, Shepherd was left with little choice but to own up to his actions and plead guilty to this charge."

Shepherd spent 10 months on the run after he was found guilty of the manslaughter of Ms Brown. He was arrested in Georgia earlier this year and flown back to the UK in April.

The pair had been on a champagne-fuelled first date in December 2015 when they went for a late-night speedboat ride down the Thames.

The 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte boat, which had a series of defects, was speeding when it was thought to have struck a submerged log near Wandsworth Bridge and overturned, throwing Ms Brown to her death in the water.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in