It was to be a last-ditch effort to save a troubled marriage, four days away from their young children and Canada’s winter for the turquoise waters and white sand of Jamaica’s Montego Bay. It was not to be, police said. Cathy Lee Martin, a 34-year-old bank manager, was found with her throat slit, and her schoolteacher husband, Paul Martin, has been charged with attempted murder.
Ms. Martin underwent surgery and has recovered sufficiently to appear in court Tuesday, where she arrived heavily bandaged around the stitches in her neck but still able to testify at a preliminary inquiry against her 43-year-old husband, Paul Martin.
The proceedings were held promptly to allow her to return to her Ajax, Ont., home on Wednesday to be with her two young children, Jamaican police said.
Superintendent Linette Williams-Martin of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said Ms. Martin had told her husband, a Grade 5 teacher with the Durham Catholic District School Board, that their marriage was over as they checked out of their resort hotel. The couple packed their bags shortly after lunch on Dec. 23 and loaded the luggage into a rental car and departed for the airport, police said.
“Instead of turning towards Montego Bay where the airport is, he turned in the direction of Trelawny, a parish along the coast. She said she asked him why he was going to this place and he said he wanted to take some pictures,” Supt. Williams-Martin said.
Their hotel was on the island’s picturesque northern coast between Montego Bay and Falmouth, the capital of Trelawny parish, about 35 kilometres east of the bustling resort town. Between the two are miles of sparsely populated coastline.
“It was on a lonely road in the area, along the beach side but on a road that is not used anymore, when he took out a knife and he slit her throat,” Supt. Williams-Martin alleged.
The car kept driving along the deserted road, back onto the main highway, travelling about five kilometres.
“As they went, she kept pulling on the window and pushing with her feet to get out, all this time holding on to her throat because it was bleeding profusely,” said Supt. Williams-Martin.
About 1:15 in the afternoon, a taxi with passengers inside passed the car in the opposite direction and, seeing the commotion, turned around to investigate. They found Ms. Martin lying in the road, after she apparently jumped from the moving car.
The cab driver saw the tail end of a car driving away and called the police as they took Ms. Martin to Falmouth hospital. Police officers arrived in the area and searched for the car and found it on a dirt road, off of the main road.
“There was a lot of blood in the car and we also found the weapon used,” said Supt. Williams-Martin. He was arrested without incident and charged with attempted murder.
When police interviewed Mr. Martin, he said he left his wife in the car to take some pictures and when he returned he saw a Jamaican man in the vehicle attacking his wife, said Detective Sergeant Pheonia Watson, also of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Det.-Sgt. Watson accompanied Ms. Martin to court Tuesday, where the injured woman gave testimony. She said Ms. Martin has been provided grief counselling as well as medical attention. After the attack, her parents and brother and sister from Canada joined her in Jamaica. A Canadian diplomat was also present as an observer.
Kathy LeFort, chairwoman of the Durham Catholic District School Board, said the board has not received official notification of the incident but called it“tragic.”
“You feel terrible for everyone involved – friends and family. It’s going to be tough,” she said. “I don’t know a lot of details.”
“We believe he is a teacher with us at a school in Ajax, St. Francis de Sales. We have a protocol that kicks in. We will notify staff and a note will go home with parents. The crisis team will be there in the New Year. If it turns out to be him, there will be a replacement for him.”
A parent connected to the small school told the local Durham newspaper that Mr. Martin was a well-liked and respected teacher.
“They love him… This news will hit very hard,” the woman, who did not want her name published, was quoted as saying. “He’s an excellent teacher… He has been a great asset to the school.”
Mr. Martin was remanded in custody until his hearing resumes on Jan. 21. A preliminary inquiry is to see if there is a case against an accused to decide whether to proceed to trial. If so, a case goes to a higher court to be tried by jury.
- with files from Dan Bitonti, National Post
ahumphreys@nationalpost.com
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