Shooting of Henry Jemmott

On May 28, 2021, Jasmine Hartin, a Belize-based Canadian hotelier and mother of two, accidentally fatally shot Belizean police superintendent Henry Jemmott with his own pistol while socialising with him in San Pedro Town. She pled guilty to manslaughter in April 2023, before being fined and ordered to undertake community service.

Jasmine Hartin
Hartin was born in 1988 in Kingston, Ontario to mother Candice Castiglione. Her older sister, Jacinta Hartin, was born in 1986 (age 35).

Hartin was in a common-law marriage with hotelier Andrew Ashcroft, the son of former British Conservative Party deputy chair Michael Ashcroft. She worked in real estate before being employed by her husband's hotel.

After the shooting, the couple separated. Andrew took custody of the couple's two children in 2022, prompting a custody battle between them.

Shooting
On May 28, 2021, Hartin accidentally shot Belizean police superintendent Henry Jemmott. The shooting occurred on a pier in San Pedro Town. After fatally shooting Jemmott with his own pistol, Hartin was arrested on May 31 and charged with manslaughter. Initially denied bail and held in Belize Central Prison, she was later released on 30,000 BZD of bail.

Aftermath
Hartin discussed the shooting on the television program 48-hours stating that she went for a late night walk and drink of whisky with Jemmott, who was a long time friend, before accidentally shooting him, while he was showing her his Glock 17 pistol. Hartin also was interviewed by The Times and by Piers Morgan on TalkTV denying any romantic connection to Jemmott and explaining that he was giving her a gun lesson. In June 2022, Hartin made a plea to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for assistance to leave Belize. The family of the Henry Jemmott accused Hartin of operating an "international PR campaign" in the aftermath of his homicide.

On April 26, 2023, Hartin pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced by judge Ricardo Sandcroft to 300 hours of community service and a 75,000 BZD fine. The court confiscated Hartin's passport. After Hartin paid the fine, officials refused to return Hartin's passport, but she was able to obtain temporary travel documents from the Canadian embassy.

On June 6, 2023, Hartin was detained overnight at the Belize–Mexico border amid allegations that she was trying to leave Belize without paying her fine. The next day, she was released after police commissioner Chester Williams confirmed she had broken no laws and met her obligations to pay the fine.