Socialite Jasmine Hartin insists her fatal shooting of police superintendent Henry Jemmott in Belize this May was a “terrible accident,” not murder in a new interview with CBS News for a 48 Hours special. In a preview of Saturday’s “Jasmine Hartin’s Shot in the Dark” special, Hartin argued she’s not an heirss party girl who turned to murder the police official, but members of Jemmott’s family don’t buy her story.
“I am not a murderer. That’s ridiculous,” insisted Hartin, who is facing a manslaughter charge. “Henry was my friend. That was an accident – a terrible accident. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.” Hartin claimed people have been focusing too much on her background as the daughter-in-law of British billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft instead of the case itself. “People perceive me as being a billionairess, and this entitled, spoiled rich girl,” she complained. “This wild, crazy, party girl that’s hanging from the rafters … That’s not it at all.”
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Hartin, who lost custody of her two children with husband Andrew Ashcroft after Jemmott’s death, insisted that when the officer was killed, they were drinking and walked to a pier to look at the moon. She claims he tried to show her how to unload and load a gun so she would be able to protect herself, but the practice turned into her accidentally shooting him.
“He says, ‘Can you hand me the magazine from the gun,’” Hartin recalled. “So, I lean over. I pick up the gun. … I’m trying to get the magazine out. Next thing I know, the gun went off.” The heiress insisted she still isn’t sure “it was an accident or the gun misfired,” but said she didn’t “consciously” pull the trigger.
Jemmott’s loved ones, however, aren’t buying her story, with his sister, police officer Cherry Jemmott, telling the outlet, “My brother was shot behind the ear – execution style. Jasmine Hartin should be charged with murder, not manslaughter. She gives so many stories, so who knows when she’s telling the truth.” Watch Hartin’s interview on 48 Hours Saturday, Oct. 2 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+, which can be subscribed to with a free trial here.
