Partner of British billionaire’s son charged in death of Belize police officer

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Canadian businesswoman Jasmine Hartin looked the picture of success as she stood next to a shimmering swimming pool last month during the grand opening of the Alaia luxury resort in Belize.

Ms. Hartin and her partner, Andrew Ashcroft, the son of a British billionaire, had spent more than five years building the resort – which features three pools, a collection of beachfront cabins and several high-end restaurants – and the May 7 opening was attended by a host of government officials, including Belize’s Minister of Tourism. “For Jasmine and I, this marks the fulfilment of a dream,” Mr. Ashcroft said during the ceremony. He added that the hotel was the first of many projects the couple had planned for Ambergris Caye, an exclusive island getaway made famous by Madonna in the song La Isla Bonita.

Ms. Hartin’s luxurious life has suddenly come crashing down. She’s now languishing in the notorious Belize Central Prison, awaiting trial on manslaughter charges. Police allege she shot a local police officer in the head last week after a night of drinking. According to media reports, Ms. Hartin told police the shooting was accidental, but she has been denied bail and it could be years before the case comes to court.

The killing has shaken this small Central American country, where the Ashcroft family has considerable interests, including owning Belize’s largest bank. It has also caused a stir in Britain, where Mr. Ashcroft’s father, Michael Ashcroft, is a former member of the House of Lords and one-time deputy chairman of the Conservative Party.

Police in Belize have offered few details about what happened in the early hours of May 28, and reporters were barred from attending Ms. Hartin’s bail hearing this week, reportedly because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Police Commissioner Chester Williams told a news conference this week that a gun shot rang out at around 12:30 a.m. Officers found Ms. Hartin walking on a pier with “what appeared to be blood on her arms and on her clothing.” The body of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, 42, was retrieved from the water nearby along with his Glock service pistol. Commissioner Williams said Supt. Jemmott had been shot behind the right ear.

The incident “seems rather personal and not an attack,” he added. “From what we know is that they are friends. From what we have been made to understand, they were drinking. From the investigation, they were alone on the pier and, yes, they were both fully clothed.”

Supt. Jemmott was a 23-year veteran of the police department and had recently been transferred to a unit in the capital, Belize City. Commissioner Williams said Supt. Jemmott had “some personal issues” and had been back on Ambergris Caye visiting friends and fishing.

Local media have reported that Ms. Hartin told police she had invited Supt. Jemmott to her apartment, where they drank and discussed her family’s security. During a short walk to the pier, Supt. Jemmott began complaining about shoulder pain and reportedly put his gun down while Ms. Hartin gave him a massage. When she picked up the pistol and handed it back, the gun accidentally fired. Other reports have suggested that Supt. Jemmott had urged Ms. Hartin to get a gun for security purposes and that, as she practised handling the weapon, it went off. Police have not said why Supt. Jemmott was carrying his gun while on vacation or why it was loaded.

As she awaits trial, Ms. Hartin sits in a grimy cell in the country’s only jail. It’s home to more than 1,000 inmates and gained notoriety for being featured in the Netflix series Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons. The institution is run by the Kolbe Foundation, a non-profit organization that mixes religious zeal with strict rules. Ironically, Mr. Ashcroft and Ms. Hartin’s charitable foundation has been a major donor to the Kolbe Foundation and helped build the prison’s Ashcroft Rehabilitation Centre.

Ms. Hartin, 32, has spent at least seven years in Belize, working briefly as a real-estate agent selling high-end properties before joining Mr. Ashcroft in the Alaia project. It’s not clear how long they have been together or if they are married, but they have two young children. A resort brochure listed Ms. Hartin as “director of lifestyle and experience” and said she had “played an integral role in shaping the vision for Alaia Belize from the very beginning.” The brochure added that she worked “on every aspect of the experience, from the master plan and amenity curation to interiors and social programming.”

There’s already concern among Supt. Jemmott’s family that Ms. Hartin will receive special treatment because of her connection to the Ashcrofts. Michael Ashcroft, 75, spent his childhood in Belize, where his father was a British diplomat, and he returned regularly over the years as he built a business empire in Britain that included the home security firm ADT. He’s been a major investor in Belize, largely in telecommunications and financial services, and served as Belize’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2000. Last year his company bought the Belize Bank from Bank of Nova Scotia for US$30.5-million.

“I think, in my honest opinion, with due respect to [the police], I think they should have took that to court as murder and let the court decide,” Supt. Jemmott’s sister, Marie Jemmott Tzul, told Belize’s News 7 this week. “So why the special treatment? That gives us more pain in our heart to see, because maybe it’s a person [who is white], a person with money. … Jasmine has taken away the family breadwinner. … My little big brother.”

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