The former daughter-in-law of billionaire Lord Ashcroft has described trying to “squirm out from under him” after the police chief she shot in Belize’s tropical paradise collapsed on her.
Jasmine Hartin, 33, said there was a “loud bang” and then “Henry fell back on me… I could see blood and feel the blood”.
The Canadian-born socialite shot and killed Superintendent Henry Jemmott when his gun accidentally went off while she was handling it while they were having a late night drink on a pier in May last year.
Hartin, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter, said: “I was trying to wriggle out from under him.
“And that’s when he started sliding into the water and I tried to catch him and of course he was a lot bigger than me so I couldn’t hold him.”
In a sensational TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan, which airs today, Hartin said it’s “still very difficult to talk about Jemmott’s death” because it was a “terrible night that changed everyone’s lives and ended some.” “.
Jasmine Hartin, 33, (pictured) has described trying to “squirm out from under him” after the police chief she shot in Belize’s tropical paradise collapsed on her
Hartin has admitted she shot Superintendent Henry Jemmott (pictured) when his gun accidentally went off while she was handling it when they were having a late night drink 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 co-managed the luxurious Alaia Belize Hotel on the resort island of Ambergris Caye off Belize’s Caribbean coast
Hartin also told Morgan she was “definitely not a murderer,” claimed she “don’t remember touching the trigger of the gun,” and suggested the gun might have gone off because it was “rusty.”
She said: “It doesn’t remember touching the trigger of the gun but I held it as it went off.
“I’m not sure if it was a faulty weapon or not. I really can’t tell you how it went.’
She said the Belize Police Chief previously showed her his Glock 17 pistol and advised her to get a gun to defend herself because he “believed she needed protection.”
She claimed he wanted her to practice “unloading and reloading” the gun and told her to “get familiar with it.”
Hartin said: “I thought it was empty. The only time I touched the gun was at the very end when Henry asked me to give it to him.”
The mother-of-two claimed Supt Jemmott invited her and her partner Andrew, 44, the son of the former Conservative Party vice leader, over for a drink.
But she went alone to meet him after Andrew settled for an early night at her apartment in San Pedro on the resort island of Ambergris Caye off Belize.
The mother-of-two (pictured) claimed Supt Jemmott invited her and her partner Andrew, 44, the son of the former Conservative Party vice leader, over for a drink
She said the Belize Police Chief previously showed her his Glock 17 pistol and advised her to get a gun to defend herself because he “believed she needed protection.”
She said: “Andrew should come with us and have a cocktail with us that night. At the last minute he decided to stay and not join us. So we shouldn’t be alone.’
Hartin said before the incident happened, Supt Jemmott asked her to rub his shoulder as it was sore from his day of fishing.
She firmly denied rumors that she was having an affair with Supt Jemmott, insisting their relationship was a friendship.
Hartin claims he was “sitting a foot or two away on her left” before the gun went off.
Hartin (left) insisted she and Supt Jemmott were just friends and not lovers, although her relationship with Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew (right) was breaking up at the time.
Hartin was pictured under a blanket as he left Hattieville Prison in Belize last June
She also attacked other wild rumors swirling around Belize, adding, “I’m perceived as this wild cocaine addicted party girl. It’s just not true.’
During the interview, Piers also addressed an old video Hartin took 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 her a few times, you know, but I’m no expert.
“And what this video doesn’t show you is the 10 times I tried to hit that watermelon and missed, and that video was shot by my ex.”
Hartin can be seen in an old video carrying a pump-action shotgun and then pretending to blow smoke out of the barrel
Former dental assistant Hartin was raised by a single mother in rural Canada before relocating to Belize in 2014 after the end of a long-term relationship, ending up on the bustling resort island of Ambergris Caye.
She became a real estate agent in San Pedro, the island’s capital, where she met businessman Andrew Ashcroft, whose father owned the Belize Bank.
Hartin previously said she was ready to return to Canada but fell in love with Andrew’s sense of humor and vowed to make Belize her home.
The couple became parents to twins in 2017 but never married, despite describing themselves publicly as husband and wife.
She is now estranged from Andrew and engaged in a bitter custody battle over their twins. He has accused her of being an unfit mother.
Piers Morgan Uncensored: Death on the Dock, TalkTV on Mondays at 8pm (Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 and Sky Glass 508) and live and on-demand on the TalkTV app and Talk.TV