FALMOUTH, JAMAICA—Jamaican police have charged an Ontario man with attempted murder after his wife was found in their car with her throat slashed near the resort area of Montego Bay.
A police officer in the parish of Falmouth, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the accused as 43-year-old Paul Martin of Ajax, Ont., and said Martin would be in court Tuesday.
The officer said Martin’s wife, Cathy Lee Martin, 34, underwent surgery after the Dec. 23 attack and has been released from hospital, but has not left the country.
In Ottawa, a Foreign Affairs spokesman would not confirm the names due to privacy reasons.
“What I can tell you is that Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada is aware of reports of an incident involving Canadians in Jamaica,” Claude Rochon wrote in an email.
“Canadian consular officials in Jamaica are working closely with local authorities to gather additional information, and are in a position to provide consular assistance.”
Martin was arrested shortly after Cathy Martin was found with her throat slashed in a car parked off to the side on Stewart Castle road, in Falmouth east of Montego Bay on the island’s north shore, where the couple was on vacation.
The officer said they were alerted to problems after a passing taxi driver saw two people struggling on the side of the road in a car.
The driver left to notify police, then returned to find the woman with her throat cut and drove her to hospital.
The officer said shortly afterward the accused came to the police station saying that he had been out sightseeing with his wife when they pulled over to the side of the road so he could get out and take some pictures.
“He said when he came back he saw a man inside the vehicle behind his wife,” said the officer.
“He said the man told him to drive to another location, and while driving (the carjacker) slit his wife’s throat.
“He came to the police station and gave his story . . . he thought she was dead.”
The officer wouldn’t reveal where Cathy Martin is now.
“She’s at an undisclosed location,” he said. “She’s with family and friends.”
The local newspaper, the Jamaica Observer, reported the couple had been staying at the Rose Hall resort in Montego Bay. They were allegedly having marital problems and were trying to mend the relationship.
The paper further reported that, when the couple checked out of the hotel to catch their flight home, Martin drove in a different direction from the airport, telling his wife he was heading for the peaks to take pictures.
The Observer reported that police suspect Martin intended to kill his wife then blame the attack on Jamaicans.
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