Socialite admits manslaughter after police officer shot dead in Belize UK News
A Canadian socialite has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after shooting dead a police commissioner.
Jasmine Hartin, former partner of Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew, appeared before the Supreme Court in Belize City yesterday.
She filed a plea bargain after the death of 42-year-old Henry Jemmott.
At the time, police said the couple had been drinking alone on a pier in the city of San Pedro, where the 42-year-old officer was found dead on May 28, 2021.
Channel 5 Belize reported from outside the Supreme Court yesterday and quoted Hartin as saying: “I just want Henry’s family to have peace now and I want this whole thing to be behind us all so we can heal.”
According to the broadcaster, the celebrity was told by a judge that a non-custodial sentence such as a fine could be imposed on her.
The court will next sit for a sentencing hearing, which is expected to take place on May 31.
Hartin was arrested in 2021 after Mr Jemmott, a father of five, was killed with his handgun.
She was charged with involuntary manslaughter and committed to the Belize Central Prison, once featured in the documentary series World’s Toughest Prisons, and said to be plagued by scorpions and gang tensions.
MailOnline reports the couple had been enjoying a late night drink near one of Mr Ashcroft’s hotels on the island of Ambergris Caye.
Days earlier, Mr Jemmott reportedly suggested that Hartin get a gun after a man became aggressive towards her at a party.
He reportedly first gave her his pistol to practice unloading and reloading the bullets as he drove her home after the incident.
Mr Jemmott was found in the water on May 28 with a single gunshot wound to the head
Hartin was found nearby with what appeared to be blood on her arms and clothing, Belize Police Commissioner Chester Williams had said at a news conference.
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