The former partner of a Tory grandee's son has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by negligence after a police superintendent was shot dead in Belize.
Canadian socialite Jasmine Hartin, who is the ex of Lord Ashcroft's son Andrew, entered the plea at Belize City's Supreme Court.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to the shooting of her friend and police superintendent Henry Jemmott, 42, in May 2021, the Mirror reports.
Speaking outside of the court, she said: "I just want Henry's family to have peace now and I want this whole thing behind all of us so we can heal."
Since Jemmott’s killing, Hartin has accused the Ashcrofts of abandoning her.
She is now set to receive a fine following her guilty plea and may also be ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family.
After Hartin entered her plea, the judge said: “Jasmine Hartin, you have pleaded guilty to an indictment charging you with manslaughter by negligence.
“All that remains for me to do is to sentence you, which I will do on May 31 this year.”
The body of Superintendent Jemmott was found in the town of San Pedro in May 2021 following reports of a gun shot. Hartin was found on a dock nearby.
Police Commissioner Chester C Williams told local media that a single gunshot was heard "and upon investigating, police found the female on a pier, and she had what appeared to be blood on her arms and on her clothing".
Hartin's lawyer told reporters his client's main concern "was to not put the family of the victim through the anguish of having to go through a trial proceeding, so she consistently expressed her concern about that".
In Belizean law, a defendant who enters a guilty plea at this stage of a case will not face jail time but a fine.
The Daily Mail reported that Hartin regretted lying when she initially claimed the police chief had been shot by a man in a passing boat, in the documentary One Bullet in Belize.
Hartin claimed Supt Jemmott invited her and her partner Andrew, 44, for a drink.
But the son of the former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party decided against having a drink and allegedly had an early night.
Hartin joined the police chief alone for a late-night drink.
She claimed they were just friends, even though her relationship with Andrew had fallen apart.
Hartin said that Supt Jemmot suggested for the second time in a few days that she get acquainted with a gun, following an attack a few weeks prior.
When the police chief was shot dead, Hartin says she believed she was handling an empty gun.
Despite her claims of innocence, Supt Jemmott’s sister believes that the Canadian socialite shot her brother “execution style."
Hartin described in the documentary how, when down at the pier alone together, she handled the officer’s gun and loaded and reloaded what she said was an empty ammunition magazine
Whilst she was doing so, she claims that Supt Jemmott had the bullets on the other side of him and she repeatedly stressed that she thought the magazine was empty.
Eventually, officers found the body of the police chief floating in the sea.
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