Belmopan – A court has denied bail to the Canadian national, Jasmine Hartin, who has been charged with manslaughter by negligence in the death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott last week.
Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith told the media on Monday night that his client was denied bail and remains in police custody, pending remand to the Central prison in Hattieville.
“The charge is manslaughter by negligence. Bail has been denied; we will apply to the Supreme Court as is normal. We will endeavour to talk to the press tomorrow [Tuesday] and give some details if we can,” Smith told reporters late Monday.
Hartin, 32, was arraigned in the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court on the charge of manslaughter by negligence in the shooting death of Jemmott. The charges were laid following a directive given by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Monday.
Hartin, the partner of the son of a well-known British magnate, Lord Ashcroft, was taken into police custody here last Saturday after the body of the senior police officer was discovered on a pier in the resort town of San Pedro.
Prior to her appearance in court, Police Commissioner Chester Williams, said contrary to what the social media experts and trial attorneys and prosecutors have been saying, the accused woman remains in police custody.
According to official reports, the accused and the deceased were on a dock in front of Mata Rocks Beach Resort south of the town during the early hours of the morning when a single shot was heard. The single bullet from Jemmott’s service weapon caught him behind the right ear. His body was discovered in the water beside the dock. Hartin was found with blood on her clothes and hands.
“We cannot say we have a clear understanding of what happened because we were not there. The only two persons who could have said that to us would have been the deceased and Miss Hartin. You will know that the deceased is dead. He cannot speak for himself; dead man carries no tale. Miss Hartin had given her version of what she said transpired,” the Commissioner said. (CMC)
