Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has arrived back in the UK after 10 months on the run from the law.
Shepherd, 31, was extradited from Georgia to begin a six-year prison sentence for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24.
He arrived at Heathrow airport late on Wednesday, escorted by Metropolitan Police officers, before he is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday morning.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid thanked Georgian authorities after Shepherd arrived back in the UK.
He said: “My thanks to the Georgian authorities for their assistance in extraditing Jack Shepherd to the UK. Charlotte Brown’s family have endured immeasurable pain & are now one step closer to getting the justice they deserve.”
Angela Deal, head of extradition at the CPS said: “Jack Shepherd has returned to the UK to face justice following close co-operation between the CPS Extradition Unit, UK colleagues and the Georgian authorities, to ensure a successful extradition.
“He will first appear at the Old Bailey to be sentenced for the gross negligence manslaughter conviction in connection with the death of Charlotte Brown, and then at a later date in the south west over the grievous bodily harm charge.”
The web designer last appeared at the court in November 2017 when he denied manslaughter.
At the start of his trial last June, it emerged he would not attend court in breach of his bail but would stay in regular contact with his defence team who carried on without him.
The court had heard how Shepherd and Brown had been on a champagne-fuelled first date when they went for a late-night speedboat ride down the Thames in December 2015.
The 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte, which had a series of defects, was speeding when it was thought to have struck a submerged log near Wandsworth Bridge and overturned, throwing Brown to her death in the water.
Shepherd, who had been rescued from the chilly water, was found guilty in his absence and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by Judge Richard Marks QC.
In December, he was granted permission to appeal against the conviction and handed himself in to authorities in Tbilisi the following month.
His surrender came after repeated public appeals by Brown’s family for him to face justice for her death.
After his extradition was granted by a court last month, her family said he had a weak case and “no choice” but to return.
Her father Graham Brown told ITV: “We are going to get justice for Charlotte.
“We’re hoping that he won’t follow through with his appeal, which causes the family more anguish, but I guess that could be a forlorn hope.”
Speaking from Tbilisi last week, Shepherd apologised to Brown’s family but insisted it was her actions that caused the fatal accident.
Shepherd also faces a grievous bodily harm charge over an alleged assault in Devon on March 16 last year.
A warrant for his arrest was issued by magistrates in Newton Abbot after he failed to attend the court.
No date has yet been set for the appeal hearing.