KINGSTON, Jamaica — An Ontario teacher accused of slashing his wife’s throat and leaving her for dead on a dirt road near a popular Jamaican resort has been denied bail.
A court official said Wednesday that the next court hearing for Paul Martin, 43, of Ajax, Ont., is scheduled for Jan. 21.
Martin, charged with attempted murder, appeared Tuesday for a preliminary court hearing in Falmouth, a coastal community near the resort of Montego Bay.
His wife of six-an-a-half years, Cathy-Lee Martin, who underwent surgery after the attack, told the court her husband attacked her after accusing her of having an affair with a long-time friend.
The Jamaica Observer, a local newspaper, reported that Cathy-Lee Martin had a thick bandage on her throat and one on her left thumb. She broke down several times during her testimony, the newspaper said.
She told the court they arrived in the island on Dec. 18 and were scheduled to depart Dec. 23, when the incident took place. She admitted under cross-examination that they were having marital problems.
Investigators said a taxi driver who happened to be travelling along the isolated road saw the struggle, spun around and found the bleeding woman at the side of the road after she apparently managed to jump out of the vehicle.
He notified police, and detectives found the suspect sitting in the rental car farther down the road.
Police Supt. Linette Williams-Martin said earlier this week that the husband claimed they had been carjacked by Jamaican men who attacked his wife.
“His wife is telling a very different story,” Williams-Martin said, adding that a knife was found in Martin’s possession. “He was quite calm, I’m told.”
As the woman gave evidence, her husband, who was seated in the dock, stared blankly at her, the Observer reported.