Facebook Jasmine Hartin and Henry Jemmott.
Jasmine Hartin, who is the partner of a prominent British billionaire’s son, is accused in the shooting death of a Belize police officer.
Some sites reported that Hartin is the daughter-in-law of British billionaire businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft of the United Kingdom; others said she is his son’s girlfriend.
7 News Belize reported on May 31, 2021, that Hartin was “charged for manslaughter by negligence in cop killing.”
Lord Ashcroft’s Daughter-In-Law Jasmine Hartin, Awaiting Arraignment In Belize – t.co/UCKlrRIieN
Police reported that “based on investigation conducted and directives received from the Director of Public Prosecution concerning investigation into the shooting death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, police formally arrested and charged Jasmine Suzanne Hartin, aged 32 yrs, Canadian Self-Employed of Sea Grape Drive, San Pedro Town for the Crime of Manslaughter by Negligence,” the television station reported.
According to the Daily Mail, Hartin “has been in custody since early Friday morning,” May 28, 2021, in the death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, 42.
The Daily Mail quoted the officer’s sister Marie Tzul as claiming that Hartin would be charged. “I got a call, but they did not say what she was going to be charged with,” Tzul told the Daily Mail.
According to the BBC, Ashcroft remains active in British politics but lives in Belize. He has been a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and “represented Belize at the United Nations,” the BBC reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
Jemmott Was Shot With His Own Service Weapon, Reports Say
The Daily Mail reported that Jemmott “was found floating dead in the water off San Pedro island.” However, BBC reported that his body was found on a pier.
Daily Mail reported that Hartin claims she was “handing Jemmott, 42, his service weapon when it accidentally blasted him in the head.”
The Daily Mail reported that Hartin and Jemmott were “drinking and socializing” when Jemmott was killed by a bullet fired from his own service weapon. It “hit him behind his right ear,” according to the British news site.
The Daily Mail reported that Hartin may be charged in connection with the death. According to the Daily Mail, Hartin told authorities the shooting was a “freak accident,” and that she had been giving Jemmott a massage before the shooting. The pair had been “playing around with the weapon before the shooting,” the Daily Mail reported. The news site said the two were accused of violating curfew and were drinking alcohol alone but were old friends.
GettyMichael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft.
Sister Cherry Jemmott, an assistant superintendent with Belize Police, told the Daily Mail: “My brother would never ever kill himself. He had his plans. In September he was to be promoted to Senior Superintendent and he was to be transferred to another unit. My brother is a very top cop with a big dream.”
A family member wrote on Cherry Jemmott’s Facebook page, “RIP my cousin. You were taken from us way too soon. You will be missed so much. May you rise in glory.”
Cherry Jemmott added: “He had a gunshot behind his ear like an assassination. He is so skillful after 24 years [as an officer], he would never have left his guard down. He was a top cop. I don’t know how he let down his guard to be shot with his own gun.”
Hartin Is Accused of Having Blood on Her Hands & Clothes
The Sun, another British publication, reported that Hartin, 38, had “blood on her arms and clothes.”
According to The Sun, she is married to Ashcroft’s son, Andrew Ashcroft.
The Sun reported that authorities don’t believe Hartin is being cooperative enough in the death probe. “When she was detained last night she was not co-operating,” Commissioner Chester Williams said to the publication.
“She stated that she needed to have her attorney present in order for her to say what she needs to say.”
“From what we have been made to understand, they were drinking. From investigation, they were alone on the pier and yes, they were both fully clothed,” Williams said in a news conference, according to the BBC.
BBC added that Jemmott, the father of five kids, had a single bullet wound to the head. His service weapon was recovered at the scene.
Jemmott Filled His Facebook Page With Family Photos & Pictures of Him in Uniform
On Facebook, Henry Jemmott wrote that he was single and added that he enjoyed “fishing and being with family.”
His page is filled with pictures of him on the job and with his young children.
The Telegraph reported that, according to the officer’s sister, Hartin and Jemmott were not romantically involved.
Hartin Is Accused of Smiling When an Inmate Made a Comment to Her About ‘Killing a Cop’
Jasmine Hartin reportedly confessed to shooting after drug charge threat t.co/mPF6TRmvT9
According to Daily Mail, an inmate claims he told Hartin congratulations for being the “first lady here to kill a cop.” He says she responded by smiling.
The site claims she also “threw a tantrum” in jail when she wasn’t allowed to smoke or have pills.
The inmate, whose name was given as Jose, told 7 News Belize,
I was sleeping and the noise, so when I got up I saw them bring her in and they were speaking to her about the ballistics and that they’re going to take her fingerprint and everything but her clothes were full of blood so I told her somebody beat you or something and she said no they brought me for murder. So I asked her did you do it? And she said no, someone shot her friend and he dropped on top of her and that’s why her blood, her clothes have blood. So I said ok then, and she wanted water and she wanted to smoke a cigarette but the cops didn’t want to give her any cigarette so she started to cuss them out and she said she wants her medication.
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