An Ontario schoolteacher is free to return home to Canada after a Jamaican jury acquitted him of allegations that he attacked his wife during a vacation last year.
Authorities had accused Paul Martin of the attempted murder of his wife, Cathy-Lee Clayson, but a Jamaican jury found him not guilty of the lesser charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on Tuesday.
An online report on the Jamaica Observer website said the jurors deliberated for only an hour before returning a verdict.
Lawyer Jacqueline Samuels-Brown said that her client was relieved that he had been acquitted.
"When the jury delivered its verdict in open court, you could see he was emotionally overwhelmed," Samuels-Brown said. "There are no winners in a case like this."
Samuels-Brown said Martin must retrieve his passport from authorities and deal with other administrative matters before he can return home. But he intends to head home soon and spend time with his children.
His now-estranged wife told reporters outside of the airport in Jamaica that she is scared of her husband.
"I don't know what that man is capable of," she said through tears.
Last December, Martin and his wife were supposed to fly home on the day that Cathy-Lee was found with her throat slashed by the side of a road.
She claimed her husband had tried to kill her, but Martin said his wife had been the aggressor and she received her injuries during a struggle between them.
Martin is still employed by the Durham Catholic District School Board but it is unclear whether he will be returning to his job.
After his arrest last December, Paul Martin remained in custody for the next four months, but was granted bail in April.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Michelle Dube and files from The Canadian Press
