Canadian denied bail in wife attack

Canadian tourist Paul Martin, who is accused of slitting his wife's throat, was yesterday denied bail by Resident Magistrate (RM) Icolyn Reid during a preliminary hearing in the Falmouth Resident Magistrate's Court.

Martin was remanded on a charge of attempted murder and will next appear in court on January 21.

Reid, in denying bail, said: "The court has to take into serious consideration the fact that Martin is a Canadian citizen and posed a very evident flight risk."

The RM added that there was no way for the authorities to prevent him from getting on the next flight out of Jamaica.

In reacting to the RM's comments, lead defence attorney Ernest Smith pointed out that Martin, who is no stranger to the island, has connections with the Roman Catholic Diocese in Montego Bay, St James, which has indicated that, if he is released on bail, it would provide a place of residence where he could be supervised pending trial.

In response, Reid said even though the accused is only facing allegations at this time, she could not take the chance of releasing him on bail.

Martin, who arrived in the island on December 18 with his wife, 34-year-old Canadian bank manager Staphy Lee Glayson, appeared disappointed when bail was denied. He is alleged to have slit her throat on December 23, the day they were scheduled to depart for Canada.

Glayson, who took the stand at the preliminary hearing, broke down several times while recounting the ordeal in which she said she got intoa rented car with her husband to go to the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay after vacationing at the Iberostar Hotel. Instead of driving to the airport, She said her husband went in the opposite direction. She immediately asked where he was going and he responded that he was going to get some pictures of a scenic view.

Deserted road

She said her husband continued driving for some time after which she became concerned and asked that he stop and turn around. Insteadhe pulled on to a deserted road, stopped the car, came around to the front passenger seat where she was sitting and said to her "this is the perfect place, get out of the car".

She insisted she would not get out and instead demanded that he hand her the keys.

While she remained seated, he went to the back seat. It was then that she felt a force to the front ofher neck and blood immediately began gushing from the area. She said she turned around and saw her husband with a pocket knife in his hand with blood on it. She managed to escape from him after a struggle which ended when she jumped from the moving car and was helped by residents who came to her assistance. She was treated at the Falmouth Hospital for bruises to her body received from jumping from the car and awound to the front of her neck.

Glayson was seen in court today with a large bandage on the front of her neck and one on her left thumb which she testified she sustained when she tried to repel the knife attack. The couple have two young children, two and five years old.

Tuesday's preliminary hearing was hastily called to allow Glayson to return to Canada to seek further medical treatment for her injuries.