Socialite Jasmine Hartin has insisted she wasn't drunk and hadn't taken drugs when she shot and killed Belizean police superintendent Henry Jemmott - as she made her first TV interview since being charged over the killing.
Hartin, 32, spoke to CBS reporter Peter Van Sant for a world exclusive edition of 48 Hours on Saturday night.
In the interview she admits that she shot and killed Jemmott, a 42-year-old father-of-five, on a moonlit pier in Belize on May 28 - but claims it was accidental.
She also admits that the pair had been drinking cinnamon whiskey before the shooting - but insists she was not drunk.
She also insists she had not taken cocaine, and that the small amount found on her by Belizean authorities was not hers.
But the mother-of-two claims that she is being misjudged, and complained: 'I've been through what I would consider hell on earth.'
She claims that Jemmott was teaching her how to use the gun for her protection, after he had rescued her when she had been sexually assaulted at a party on May 22.
She said: 'A man followed me into the room and was quite aggressive with me. Physically, in a sexual manner.
'In that moment, I fought him off me. I called Jemmott right away.
'He drove an hour to come pick me up. And he kept saying, we need to really work on getting your firearms license.'
She claims that when the pair met up almost a week later, he again encouraged her to learn how to use a gun.
Socialite Jasmine Hartin admits that the pair had been drinking cinnamon whiskey before the shooting - but insists she was not drunk
In a world exclusive, Hartin sat down with CBS reporter Peter Van Sant on 48 Hours
Superintendent Henry Jemmott, a 42-year-old father-of-five, was killed by a bullet from his own service pistol in May
Hartin admits that the pair had been drinking cinnamon whiskey before the shooting on May 28.
She said: 'He took his like a shot. I was sipping mine.
'It was a full moon. The stars were gorgeous. We decided, let's go down, sit on the pier. We were sitting on the edge, our legs kind of dangling, just talking.'
But while she claims Jemmott was a little drunk, she was not impaired herself.
She said: 'I had had a few drinks. Yeah. I wasn't drunk.'
She also told Van Sant that she had not taken drugs, and claimed that a small amount of cocaine that was found by police was not hers.
She said: 'I definitely do not have a drug problem at all. And I will say that the substance that they found was not mine.'
When Van Saint asked who the drugs belonged to, she replied: 'I don't think I can say that.'
Hartin insists she had not taken cocaine, and that the small amount found on her by Belizean authorities was not hers
Back at the scene: Jasmine is pictured with Peter Van Sant during the CBS exclusive
Hartin admitted to shooting the police chief on a moonlit pier in Belize on May 28 - but insisted it was an accident
Hartin told Van Sant that Jemmott taught her how to load and unload his Glock 17 pistol and magazine. Hartin claims she was stunned when the gun went off.
She told Van Sant: 'He says "Can you hand me the magazine from the gun?". So, I lean over. I pick up the gun.'
Gesturing for the camera, Hartin explains how she was trying to remove the magazine from the gun before it went off.
She said: 'I'm trying to click out the magazine and it's not working. So, I'm holding it like this and I'm trying to use the moonlight or whatever to see if I'm clicking the right button.
'Next thing I know, the gun went off.'
'And did you have a finger on the trigger?' Van Sant asks.
'Not that I thought,' Hartin replies.
'Somehow you must have pulled the trigger,' Van Sant responds.
'It was an accident or the gun misfired. But – consciously did I pull the trigger? No,' Hartin says.
Hartin claims Jemmott taught her to use the weapon because he wanted her to have a gun for her personal protection
The blonde socialite is seen behind bars. She is currently out on bond and is awaiting a trial date
A ballistics expert interviewed by CBS said that the Glock 17 is an 'extremely safe' handgun.
David Katz, a former DEA agent and a veteran firearms instructor, said: 'I could bang it. I could drop it. … it's not going to go off.'
He added: 'There's no doubt about it, she pulled the trigger.'
But he said that her account of
