Jasmine Hartin is the woman accused of manslaughter by negligence of superintendent Henry Jemmott. And if you'd ask her, she'd say she's spent the last few months on the run often, for one reason or another, in fear of her life.
And while we've endeavoured on this channel to tell Hartin's story less attention has been paid to the family affected by the tragedy of Henry Jemmott's death.
But tonight we'll hear from his family, sisters, Marie, Vidalia, and Anacelli "Cherie" Jemmott, all of whom believe that Hartin is guilty not of manslaughter but of murder. Here's more:
Here on 7News, we've done weeks and weeks of coverage on the case of manslaughter by negligence brought against Jasmine Hartin.
And while we've spoken to the Jemmott family, that was during the initial shock of the incident that took their brother.
But a few weeks ago, under less emotionally charged circumstances I spoke to Henry Jemmott's sisters Marie, Cherie, and Vidalia, the last of whom consented to a sit-down interview despite the limitations caused by a recent stroke.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Vidalia what do you know about Jasmine Hartin?"
Vidalia Jemmott, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"She killed my brother, she is a party chick. She takes cocaine and killed my brother."
Marie Jemmott, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"To see that now he's no longer at home when I'm there it's very difficult. I will share something with you because I'm there every day."
"We have the big pictures on the wall after the funeral and the children would sit in the sofa and they'd play with him up there daddy is looking at me I'll shift and they'll play with him. He's dead, his body but his soul is alive and they play with him because that's the type of person he was."
"It's a great loss. It's a great loss. Not only to Belize but more to his children."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now the first question that was asked, what were they doing on that pier together, and the one that follows, is it possible that they could have been having an affair, Vidalia?"
Vidalia, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"Mhmm, no, No. My brother was caring, he cared some much about his friends, he just wanted to have company."
Marie Jemmott Tzul, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"No I don't think it's an affair."
Cherisse Halsall:
"And I'll ask you like this because for Belizean men someone like Jasmine Hartin may be exotic do you think your brother would have been attracted to her."
Marie Jemmott Tzul, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"Nah, nope, I don't think so. I just think he was lured there."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Lured there under what pretense though? It's interesting because what occurs to me when you say he was lured there, was he lured there with the promise of sexual favors?"
Marie Jemmott Tzul, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"I don't think so."
Cherie Jemmott, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"I believe to be killed. That is my belief to be killed."
Cherisse Halsall:
"That's why he was lured there?"
Cherie Jemmott, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"Yes because he was in his room that I got to understand."
Marie Jemmott Tzul, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"There are certain things that my brother doesn't leave behind when he goes out. His rings, were found in his room, he doesn't leave without that, if he's going downstairs he'd pick up his rings and put them on. So when they caught him maybe he was tired half asleep or he was sleeping already but whatever the case was as I will mention now, what the COMPOL said in one of his statements, there were only two of them there one died and one left."
"But my grandmother also said that every fat foul has his own day. And I will leave that as that."
Cherie Jemmott, Henry Jemmott's Sister
"I just know that my brother was killed on that pier and later Jasmine Hartin was charged with manslaughter by negligence. I saw video footage when she was interviewed in Cayo, when she was asked about superintendent Jemmott and what she had to say to the family. She said that she was sorry and that her attorney didn't permit her to apologize to the Jemmott family. And she also said that she was sorry, it was an accident, and I must stress on that that I have seen her with bigger firearms and guns than a 38 or a 9 on range. So, how could that be an accident? Then she should be charged for MURDER, instead of manslaughter by negligence Murder, Murder."
Hartin's former partner Andrew Ashcroft has attested in custody papers that that Hartin is, quote, "an addict to both prescription and non-prescription drugs." For her part, she has, on several occasions, outrightly denied using cocaine.
We reached out to Hartin for a comment today but she refrained as per instruction from her legal counsel.
