Jasmine Hartin.Photo: cbs mornings
Jasmine Hartin, who was previously married to the son of British-Belizean billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft, reportedly broke down in tears when she entered the guilty plea at the Supreme Court in Belize City on Tuesday, right before the trial was set to begin, according toTheTimesandTheTelegraph.
The 34-year-old mother-of-two was arrested in May 2021 after the death of 42-year-old police superintendent Henry Jemmott, who was shot in the head with his own gun as the pair socialized near Lord Ashcroft’s hotel on the island of Ambergris Caye,The Timesreports.
According toChannel 5 Belize, the socialite’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 31.
“I just want Henry’s family to have peace now and I want this whole thing to be behind all of us so we can heal,” Hartin reportedly said outside court, perTheIndependent.
According to Hartin, the two friends were having a late-night drink together on the police official’s balcony in the town of San Pedro on May 27, 2021,The Independentreports.
Some time after that, Hartin claims Jemmott wanted her to get comfortable knowing how to handle a gun for personal protection and gave her his service 9mm Glock-17 pistol,CBS Newsreports. Jemmott had apparently rescued her from an attack the week prior, she told the outlet.
She says when she tried to hand him the magazine, it went off, saying the shooting was “an accident or the gun misfired,” according to CBS News.
“I don’t remember touching the trigger at all. Next thing I know, the gun goes off,” she said, per Channel 5 Belize.
According to Channel 5 Belize, authorities believe that assertion contradicted Hartin’s earlier statements to police, in which she allegedly claimed a shooter in a boat opened fire on them.
According to CBS News, Jemmott’s family believes Hartin, who has always maintained her innocence, should’ve faced a more serious charge.
Henry Jemmott.facebook
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“My brother was shot behind the ear … execution style,” his sister Cherry Jemmott, told CBS News. “Jasmine Hartin should be charged with murder, not manslaughter.”
Hartin’s attorney, Orson “OJ” Elrington, toldThe Independenthe expects Judge Ricard Sandcroft to hand down a sentence that does not include time behind bars.
source: people.com
