Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd will not face a fast-tracked extradition to the UK, a judge in Georgia has ruled.
The 31-year-old handed himself in to police in Tbilisi last week after spending 10 months on the run, following his conviction in UK for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown by gross negligence.
The 24-year-old was killed after the speedboat Shepherd had bought to “pull women” flipped into the icy waters of the Thames during their first date in December 2015.
Shepherd skipped bail before his trial at London’s Old Bailey began and was sentenced in his absence to six years imprisonment.
Shepherd’s Georgian lawyer Tariel Kakabadze has been fighting his return to Britain, and a judge has now decided against accelerating the process.
He claimed his client should not be extradited because he was warned in a phonecall that his life might be in danger if he goes to a UK jail.
Shepherd could now remain in Tbilisi for several more months.
Ahead of the hearing Mr Kakabadze wrote on Facebook: “Prosecutor requested Jack Shepherd’s urgent extradition according to simplified rules. We, Jack Shepherd’s defence team, are going to fight the request.”
Ms Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, died after plunging into the icy waters of the Thames when the boat hit submerged debris.
Both were drunk when Shepherd took her on the boat without a life jacket.
He is reported to have married two months after Ms Brown’s death and had a child, but later split from his wife.
