Amid allegations that she hired gang members to kill a local magistrate and the Commissioner of Police, and following the departure of her ex-partner, Andrew Ashcroft, from the country with their twin 5-year-old children, Jasmine Hartin has taken her plight to the Canadian media, and through those outlets has begged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for help.

By Khaila Gentle

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 15, 2022

The attorney for Jasmine Hartin, set to stand trial for the May 2021 killing of Police Superintendent Henry Jemmott in San Pedro and accused of ordering a hit on both the Commissioner of Police and a local magistrate, says that the allegations being made against his client, at least in regards to the purported hit, are “bogus”.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley spoke briefly with the media on Wednesday about the fact that Hartin is still being investigated for threats made against the Police Commissioner, Chester Williams, as well as the alleged hit.

“In regards to the allegations against poor Miss Jasmine, that she is trying to kill, she is trying to make arrangements to kill the Commissioner of Police, that is hogwash,” stated Bradley.

Hartin was taken into police custody for questioning regarding the matter back in May but was released shortly after. This month, however, Commissioner Williams told local reporters that Hartin is not yet off the hook. Still, Bradley is confident that nothing will come out of the investigation and, subsequently, the case.

“Now, by now you know that the police have gone through every phone—the alleged hit person, all his phones have been thoroughly checked; Jasmine’s phone was taken away, likewise, every phone, everybody’s phone was checked. Nothing,” he added.

According to the Police Commissioner, Jasmine Hartin has, on numerous occasions, sent him “disturbing” text messages, the content of which makes it easy for him to believe that she made attempts to harm him. Hartin’s attorney asserts, however, that those texts are irrelevant to the allegations being made against her.

Bradley also spoke to local media about the departure of Andrew Ashcroft, Hartin’s ex-partner, who just a few weeks ago was granted legal custody of their two children, from the country.

On Monday, Ashcroft issued a press release stating that he, along with the children, would be leaving Belize for the Turks and Caicos to develop a hotel similar to the Alaia.

“I hold no ill will or malice towards Jasmine and wish her well with the court proceedings in which she is facing charges of manslaughter, cocaine possession, and common assault,” he wrote.

Ashcroft further noted that he had gifted Jasmine ten percent of the shares of the holding company of The Belize Alaia Hotel and that he intends to provide her with their fair value “after obtaining an independent valuation.”

“You ever hear somebody announce that they’re leaving the country?” Bradley questioned sardonically, “when supposedly, and I use the word guardedly, supposedly, the matter of the custody decision is being appealed in the Supreme Court of the country?”

Just one day after Ashcroft’s departure, Hartin, once again, turned to an international audience to plead her case, this time via the Canadian media. In a video recording sent to the Toronto Sun, Hartin asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his intervention:

“Dear Mr. Trudeau, my name is Jasmine Hartin. I’m a Canadian citizen living in Belize. I was involved in a terrible accident last May that resulted in the death of my friend,” she says.

In the recording, Hartin also claims that, since her arrest following the shooting death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, she has been denied a proper investigation and has often been harassed and threatened.

“I’ve been told I’m not safe if I remain in this country,” she states.

Additionally, Hartin claims that she has often been “very vocal” about the corruption in Belize, and as a result, she and her business venture have been ruined by an unnamed “they”. She pleads to the Canadian government to help ensure she has a “fair trial” and an “ethical investigation” and to help her reunite with her children and return to Canada.

The interview with the Toronto Sun is the third time that the Canadian-born socialite has appeared before cameras since Superintendent Henry Jemmott was shot in the back of the head with his own service weapon on May 28, 2021. Her first televised appearance took place in October 2021, when she was featured on CBS’s 48 Hours. She was then featured in the Discovery Plus documentary, One Bullet in Belize, which premiered on the one-year anniversary of Jemmott’s death.

In regards to the killing of Jemmott, Hartin is expected to be indicted in the Supreme Court any time now. The June session of Supreme Court proceedings began on Monday, and many persons, including the family of Superintendent Jemmott, expected to see the Canadian-born socialite in court on the first day.