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The prominent Belizean cop shot in the head by socialite Jasmine Hartin told a friend he was going on a date the night he was killed, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Police superintendent Henry Jemmott joked he would take his secret ‘to the grave’ when the curious pal asked for details of the mystery woman.
Hours later he was found floating in shallow water beside a wooden jetty in the swank coastal enclave of Ambergris Caye with a single gunshot wound behind his ear.
Jemmott, 42, had also boasted that he was staying for free at a luxury resort operated by Hartin’s husband Andrew Ashcroft, who is the son of British billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft.
His destination, the Grand Colony Villas, is sandwiched between the gleaming new Alaia hotel, another recently opened Ashcroft property, and the Mata Rocks hotel pier, where the veteran officer died.
Police superintendent Henry Jemmott told a friend he was going on a date the night he was killed by Jasmin Hartin, DailyMail.com can reveal
The blonde socialite spent the past four days holed up in a tiny concrete cell at the stiflingly hot police and magistrates court complex in San Pedro, the tropical resort’s only town. She was pictured behind bars by local media on Monday evening
The victim’s blood could be seen at the end of the pier at Mata Rocks in the island of Belize
Hartin, 32, is facing a charge of manslaughter by negligence after she told cops she accidentally opened fire as she passed Jemmott his Glock service revolver.
Sources say he had placed it on the ground while the pair were drinking and socializing into the early hours of last Friday in violation of Belize’s midnight Covid curfew.
Hartin, 32, is facing a charge of manslaughter by negligence after she told cops she accidentally opened fire as she passed Jemmott his Glock service revolver
The petite mother-of-two is being held at the notoriously tough Hattieville prison on the Belizean mainland while her lawyers try to overturn a magistrate’s decision to deny her bail.
The friend, who asked not to be named, said Jemmott contacted him last week to say he was headed to San Pedro, the main settlement and tourism hub in Ambergris Caye, where he had previously served as a senior officer for three years.
‘I asked him where he was staying and he said Grand Colony. I said, what? You have money then?’ the friend told DailyMail.com.
‘He said, I have stripes with the Ashcrofts, they are my friends. I said, you’re with the rich people now and he laughed.’
The friend said he knew of at least one previous occasions when Jemmott – who has a long-term partner and five children – had stayed at Grand Colony Villas for free.
Hours before he was found dead, Jemmott was in good spirits and was looking forward to meeting a mystery woman, the friend added.
‘He was the happiest cop you’ll ever see but he’s always like that. I said where are you going tonight and he said, I have a date.
‘He called the girl. When I heard the voice I asked who she was. He joked, that’s my secret, this one I’m taking to my grave and he did take it.
‘I’m struggling to cope with what has happened.’
Jemmott joked with the friend that he would take his secret ‘to the grave’ when he asked for details of the mystery women. Jemmott is pictured with his sister
The friend said he didn’t know the Ashcrofts personally but had heard previous accounts of Jasmine partying beyond curfew.
Hartin will remain behind bars for another week after a Supreme Court judge adjourned her bail request until next week.
Justice Herbert Lord said he wanted a submission from the prosecution by Friday and a reply from Hartin’s team by Monday, ahead of a hearing taking place next Wednesday June 9.
Hartin’s attorney Godfrey Smith said outside the courthouse in downtown Belize City: ‘The matter has been adjourned. The public prosecution filed a short statement, just one sentence saying we object on the basis of flight risk, nothing further.’
Late on Thursday evening, Hartin left her luxury hotel, Alaia (pictured) and walked a short distance down a beach to a small wooden jetty to meet Jemmott. Jemmott, 42, had also boasted that he was staying for free at a luxury resort operated by Hartin’s husband Andrew Ashcroft
It’s not known whether the couple are currently living in the Alaia or the Grand Colony Villas, or whether Andrew, 43, and their two young children are still on Ambergris Caye.
Both properties offer spectacular views of the Caribbean sea, an assortment of swimming pools and luxurious rooms costing hundreds of dollars per night.
Police sources believe Hartin will ultimately escape with just a fine for killing Jemmott after authorities opted against a murder or full-fledged manslaughter charge.
They predict she could plead guilty within weeks and pay around 20,000 Belizean dollars (around $10,000 in US money) to secure her freedom.
The Canadian national was also caught with a small amount of cocaine in her purse but has not been charged over it.
‘It’s not right. It’s not right. The family will feel really bad. This is not justice,’ Jemmott’s sister Cherry, 48 – an assistant superintendent in the Belize Police Department – told DailyMail.com earlier this week.
‘My brother will have a state funeral on June 12. He gave 24 years to the police. And this is the value they put on his life?’
Lord Ashcroft, 75, is a former deputy chairman and key financial backer of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party.
He also holds Belizean citizenship, has invested heavily in the country and has represented it at the United Nations.
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