Lord Ashcroft's former daughter-in-law claims she is 'not a murderer'
‘I don’t ever remember touching the trigger of the weapon. But I was holding it when it went off ‘: Lord Ashcroft’s former daughter-in-law tells Piers Morgan she is ‘not a murderer’ after she shot Belize police chief in the head by accident
- Lord Ashcroft’s former daughter-in-law has told how she shot dead a Belize cop
- Jasmine Hartin, 33, admitted she shot Superintendent Henry Jemmott in 2021
- She believed the ‘gun was empty’ and only handled the weapon ‘at the very end’
- In interview with Piers Morgan, Hartin claimed she is ‘definitely not a murderer’
The former partner of billionaire Lord Ashcroft’s son has claimed she is ‘definitely not a murderer’ after she shot dead a police chief in the tropical paradise of Belize.
Jasmine Hartin, 33, admitted she shot Superintendent Henry Jemmott when his gun went off by accident while she handled it as they had a late-night drink together on a pier in May last year.
The Canadian-born socialite claimed she ‘doesn’t remember touching the trigger of the weapon’ and suggested the gun could have gone off because it was ‘rusty’.
Hartin, who is charged with manslaughter by negligence, said: ‘It don’t ever remember touching the trigger of the weapon, But I was holding it when it went off.
‘I’m not sure if it was a faulty weapon or not. I really can’t tell you how it went off.’
In a sensational interview with TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan, set to air later today, Hartin insisted she and Supt Jemmott were only friends rather than lovers, even though her relationship with Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew was disintegrating at the time and they were ‘sleeping separately’.
Jasmine Hartin, 33, (pictured) has claimed she is ‘definitely not a murderer’ after she shot dead a police chief in the tropical paradise of Belize
Hartin admitted she shot Superintendent Henry Jemmott (pictured) when his gun went off by accident while she handled it as they had a late-night drink together on a pier in May last year
Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew, 44, (left) and his former partner Jasmine Hartin (right) who has been charged with manslaughter in Belize
Ashcroft and Hartin jointly ran the luxurious Alaia Belize Hotel on the resort island of Ambergris Caye off Belize’s Caribbean coast
She said the Belizean police chief had earlier shown her his Glock 17 pistol while advising her to get a gun to defend herself because he ‘believed she needed protection’.
She claimed he wanted her to ‘practise unloading and reloading’ the weapon and told her to ‘get familiar with it’.
Hartin said: ‘I thought it was empty. The only time I handled the weapon was at the very end when Henry asked me to pass it to him.’
The mother-of-two claimed that Supt Jemmott had invited her and partner Andrew, 44, the son of the former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, for a drink.
But she went alone to meet up with him after Andrew opted for an early night in their apartment in San Pedro on the holiday island of Ambergris Caye off Belize.
The mother-of-two (pictured) claimed that Supt Jemmott had invited her and partner Andrew, 44, the son of the former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, for a drink
She said the Belizean police chief had earlier shown her his Glock 17 pistol while advising her to get a gun to defend herself because he ‘believed she needed protection’
She said: ‘Andrew was meant to come with us and join us for a cocktail that night. Last minute, he decided to stay in and not join us. So we weren’t meant to be by ourselves.’
Hartin said before the incident occurred, Supt Jemmott asked her to rub his shoulder as it was sore after his day’s fishing.
She emphatically denied rumours that she was having an affair with Supt Jemmott, and insisted their relationship was one of friendship.
Hartin alleges he was ‘sitting a foot, or two away, to her left’ before the gun went off and added: ‘It was a loud bang. Then my ears were ringing, I was in shock.
‘Henry fell on top of me. I could see blood and feel blood. Then I tried to wriggle out from under him. He started slipping into the water. I tried to catch him. He was a lot bigger than me, so I couldn’t hold him up.
Hartin (left) insisted that she and Supt Jemmott were only friends rather than lovers, even though her relationship with Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew (right) was disintegrating at the time.
Hartin pictured under a blanket leaving Hattieville Prison in Belize last June
‘It was a horrible night that changed everyone’s lives. I have to live with that for the rest of my life.’
She also attacked other wild rumours swirling around Belize, adding: ‘I’m perceived to be this wild cocaine addict party girl. It’s just not true.’
During the interview, Piers also addressed an old video that had been taken of Hartin shooting a watermelon on a beach.
She added: ‘I’ve never owned a gun in my life. I’ve never owned a firearm. I’ve fired them, you know, a few times — but I’m not an expert.
Hartin is seen in an old video carrying a pump-action shotgun, then pretending to blow smoke from the barrel
‘And what that video doesn’t show you is the ten times I tried to hit that watermelon and missed, and that video was shot by my ex.’
Former dental assistant Hartin was raised by a single mother in rural Canada before arriving in Belize in 2014 after a long-term relationship ended, and she landed up in the bustling holiday island of Ambergris Caye.
She became an estate agent in the island’s main town, San Pedro, where she met businessman Andrew Ashcroft – whose father owned the Belize Bank
Hartin previously said she has been ready to return to Canada, but fell for Andrew’s sense of humour and vowed to make Belize her home.
The couple became parents to twins in 2017, but never married although they referred to each other in public as being husband and wife.
She is now estranged from Andrew and is fighting a bitter custody battle with him over their twins. He has accused her of being an unfit mother.
Piers Morgan Uncensored: Death on the Dock, TalkTV at 8pm Monday (Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 and Sky Glass 508) and live and on demand on the TalkTV app and at Talk.TV
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