Henry Jemmott, the Belizean cop who was killed by his close friend Canadian socialite Jasmine Hartin, was helping Hartin improve her shooting skills when the gun went off killing him on the spot. The revelation was made by the socialite in a statement given to the police, the Daily Mail has reported.
Hartin, daughter-in-law of billionaire Michael Ashcroft, was arrested after Jemmott was found dead with a gunshot on his head. Hartin, the wife of Michael Ashcroft's son Andrew, was found on the dock near Jemmott's body in the town of San Pedro.
Jemmott Gave His Gun to Hartin to Improve Her Shooting Skills
Describing the incident as a "living nightmare", Hartin told the cops that she met the police chief on the pier where both of them were drinking late in the night.
Hartin revealed that after she had a run-in with a violent man during a party in the capital, Belmopan, on May 22, Jemmott, who was a long-time friend of the socialite, suggested that she needs to have a gun for self-protection.
Later, during a car ride with the officer, Hartin was made to practice unloading and loading the bullets in the gun. It was on Jemmott's police-issued Glock 17 on which the socialite practiced her skills.
To express her gratitude to the officer, Hartin offered the policeman a free stay at the Grand Colony, in Unit 1, a pretty villa right on the beach, when he told her that he was taking some time away from his common-law wife Romit and their three children, reported the outlet.
Jemmott Fell on Hartin After Being Shot
Giving a detailed description of events which took place on the fateful night Hartin said that after getting drunk on shots taken earlier, they were sitting on the pier when she started loading and unloading his gun again.
"The last time I did it, he took the bullets as I was unloading and placed them on the left side of him. I then put the gun, with the magazine clipped inside it, beside me to the right," she reportedly told the cops.
After a while when the duo planned to return, Jemmott asked Hartin to hand over his magazine so he could reload the gun. "I picked up the gun and tried to eject the magazine clip but it was stuck.I struggled with it, trying to get the magazine out, when the gun suddenly went off. I had no idea it still had a bullet in the chamber," she said.
After being shot, Jemmott's body fell on Hartin and she was pinned down under him unable to move. "Henry fell back on top of me. I was pinned down and he was bleeding all over me. As I was wriggling to get out from under him, to get free so I could check to see if he was OK, he slipped into the water," she told.
It was Hartin's screams for help that alerted the security guards. The guards found Hartin pacing up and down on the pier when they reached the spot.
