Episode 16 | Jack Shepherd

On 8 December 2015, 24-year-old Charlotte Brown died in the Thames after a first date with web consultant Jack Shepherd ended in his speedboat capsizing near Westminster. In this episode, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes examines how Shepherd, driving drunk at nearly three times the speed limit with no life jackets and a disconnected safety kill-cord, tried to blame Charlotte for the crash, then vanished before his trial, living under a changed identity in Tbilisi for months while the case unfolded in his absence. Drawing on police, journalists and Shepherd's own defiant TV interviews, Kerry unpicks the verbal slips and self-serving language of a man who, even when confronted a second time over a violent offence, could only ever really think about himself.

Key psychological themes

This episode explores: narcissism and self-serving deception • victim-blaming and diffusion of responsibility • recklessness and disregard for safety • flight from justice and identity change • verbal slips and language analysis • alcohol-fuelled violence and impulse control

Contributors featured in this episode

• Kerry Daynes — Forensic psychologist, presenter, and author of Dark Side of the Mind and What Lies Buried.

• Chris Davis — Metropolitan Police detective sergeant who investigated the case.

• Dan Rivers — ITV News reporter who covered the trial and manhunt.

• John Simpson — Former crime correspondent for The Times.

What you'll learn in this episode

• How Jack Shepherd drove his speedboat at nearly three times the legal night-time limit, with no life jackets on board and a safety kill-cord left unattached

• Why he told police Charlotte had taken the controls moments before the crash, and why detectives believe responsibility still lay with him as the boat's reckless owner

• How Shepherd vanished before his own trial, was convicted in his absence, and was later tracked down living under a changed appearance in Tbilisi, Georgia

• Why Kerry identifies a telling 'verbal slip' in Shepherd's TV interview that reveals how self-focused his thinking really was

• How Shepherd tried to shift blame onto Charlotte's grieving father, and why police say the claim was baseless

• Why CCTV of an unrelated, unprovoked bottle attack in a Devon pub reveals a pattern of impulsive, alcohol-fuelled violence

• What happened when Shepherd was finally extradited, and why he remains behind bars today after breaching the terms of his licence

Relevant links and further reading

• Kerry Daynes — Dark Side of the Mind (Endeavour, 2019)

• Kerry Daynes — What Lies Buried (Endeavour, 2021)

• Faking It: Tears of a Crime — streaming on Discovery+

• BBC News — coverage of the trial and extradition of Jack Shepherd

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Credits

• Presented by Kerry Daynes

• Produced by Shearwater Media

• Executive producers: Jeff Anderson and Steve Anderson

• Music & Editing: Rob Warner

• Edit Assistant: Kay Homan

Content note

This episode contains descriptions of a fatal accident, alcohol-fuelled violence, and victim-blaming. Listener discretion is advised.

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