Tonight, 7News has unearthed new evidence in the Crown vs. Jasmine Hartin for the Manslaughter of Henry Jemmott.
It's a statement from Andrew Ashcroft which speaks to his recollections of the night Henry Jemmott was killed. In the statement Ashcroft claims that his former partner Jasmine Hartin had quote: " been drinking heavily and had started consuming alcohol while getting ready to attend [a] party and continued doing so at the party."_end quote.
He goes on to say that when Hartin, who, by that time he believed to be, quote: "very drunk" asked him to accompany her downstairs to visit with Superintendent Henry Jemmott. Ashcroft says he declined, and instead chose to stay with his children in the family apartment.
And that by 1 am when he was awoken to hear of a shooting accident he rushed down to the beach to find Jasmine Hartin quote: " Standing in front of the Mata Rocks Pier covered in Blood." end quote.
The statement continues discussing what Ashcroft's claims is his awareness of his former partner's knowledge of firearms. He says quote: "I am aware that she once held a Canadian hunting and fishing license which allowed her to be in possession of a firearm."
He also says that he and Hartin would often accompany friends and (at least on one occasion) BATSUB personnel to the north of Ambergris Caye for shooting practice. It's on those trips he claims that Harting, quote: "learned to load guns with ammunition and shoot." end quote.
Finally in what is perhaps the most scathing of Aschroft's allegations, at least for a mother fighting for custody, he claims that Jasmine Hartin had misfired a gun before, and that she'd done it off their apartment balcony while he and their children were sitting by the pool.
But Ashcroft isn't the only one speaking out. Hartin too has come back against his claims telling 7News in a press release tonight that this 11th hour statement has not been admitted into evidence by the court.
She then responds to the allegations of her first accidental shooting by saying quote, "This accusation was proven to be false when Mr. Pech, a former Grand Colony security guard, took the stand,(during the couple's custody fight) to say that no such incident had occurred because Hartin has never touched his gun."
She then goes on to speak on her former partner's allegations of her "drunken staten" on the night she committed manslaughter by negligence according to Hartin, Ashcroft wasn't present while she was getting ready and so could not speak to whether or not she's been drinking prior to going out.
Another point of contention: that Canadian fishing license that allows the holder to operate a gun, according to Hartin it's standard fare for any recreational fisher in Canada and can be acquired for the equivalent $20USD for a one day fishing trip without even sitting through a training course.
Hartin's statement concludes by claiming that she has never owned a firearm and has only been seen to shoot one on three occasions, once at a Las Vegas bachelor party and twice in the recreational shooting videos shot and according to her "likely distributed" by Andrew Ashcroft.
