June 17, 2022 – Belize
On Monday, my common-law husband Andrew Ashcroft has released a statement informing the media that he has fled with our children to Turks and Caicos.
Unfortunately, this statement contains a number of falsehoods which need to be corrected.
He describes a custody process in which I had no participation nor notification. This process has been rushed, wrought with error and is subject to appeal. The next hearing of this ongoing process is 23 June.
His description of our business is also factually incorrect. As partners in the Alaia hotel, I held 10% of shares as an independent partner and no gift was involved. This is subject to ongoing legal action. Andrew has subsequently denied me access to all of my business accounts and personal accounts, all for apparently punitive reasons.
He makes reference to a spurious drug charge which is, and will be proven to be baseless, and a common assault charge which states I was trespassing on a property that I owned. These charges have no grounding in reality and amount to attempts to defame me in advance of my trial. Civil suits are forthcoming on each of these matters.
Most damagingly, he presents as closed a matter which is indeed ongoing, and I have every intention to continue to fight to gain a fair trial and be reunited with my family.
Noticeably absent from Andrew’s statement is any mention of the wellbeing of our children. Unfortunately, the tone of this statement (‘I wish her well with her manslaughter charges‘) betrays the callous lack of sympathy that has characterized Andrew’s response to the tragic events of May 28, 2021.
I have concern for my children to be growing up without their mother in the context of a man who can make such an unfeeling remark. The children have not been allowed to speak to me or even send a message for over 4 weeks. No matter what, children should not be treated as pawns in a fight between parents, and I have every intention to be reunited with them in a joint custody solution.
