Canadian national Jasmine Hartin was back at the Supreme Court in Belize City on Tuesday, September 27th, for a case management hearing on her Manslaughter by Negligence charge for the death of Police Superintendent Henry Jemmott.
Hartin was accompanied in court by attorneys Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley and Oscar Salgado. According to reports from the court, the agreed date to begin the trial is April 25, 2023. Bradley believes the date will hold, and the matter will not be delayed. If there are any changes, it will be due to unforeseen circumstances.
Hartin will return to court on November 3rd for a sentence indication. This means that the judge would indicate the sentence depending on the plea. A sentence indication is usually issued before a trial begins.
The former resident of San Pedro Town shares twins with her former partner Andrew, the son of Lord Michael Ashcroft. She is accused of fatally shooting Superintendent Jemmott on May 28, 2021, while they socialized at a pier south of San Pedro. Hartin’s defence maintains that it was an accident, and she did not intend to kill the senior cop. According to her, Jemmott had invited her and her partner Andrew Ashcroft for a drink at a nearby pier, but Andrew allegedly decided to have an early night. Hartin accompanied Jemmott and alleges that he wanted her to get acquainted with guns, as she had been attacked days earlier on the mainland. She claims that after handling Jemmott’s service weapon, she gave it back to him when it suddenly went off, shooting the senior officer behind the right ear.
Hartin was charged with Manslaughter by Negligence and remains out on bail. She now lives on the mainland, awaiting her trial to start. As for her children, Andrew won legal custody and subsequently left the country. An official announcement was made on June 13th stating that Andrew had moved to Turk’s and Caicos with the children.
