A Canadian man sits in a Jamaican prison Wednesday night after his wife's throat was slashed near the resort area of Montego Bay.

Paul Martin is charged with attempted murder and remains in custody after being denied bail during a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

His wife, Cathy-Lee Martin, had been in the Caribbean nation since she was attacked on Dec. 23. She arrived back in Canada late Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, with bandages covering wounds on her neck and thumb, she tearfully testified before a judge in a Falmouth, Jamaica, courtroom and accused her husband of twice slitting her throat and trying to strangle her in a failed murder attempt.

"She's under no misapprehension as to what happened to her and who did it," Cathy-Lee Martin's lawyer, Nathan Robb, told reporters outside the courthouse.

The alleged attack occurred the day the Ajax, Ont., couple, which has two kids aged five and two, was scheduled to leave Jamaica after a weeklong vacation.

Paul Martin, a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Ajax, allegedly told his 34-year-old wife he was taking her on a sightseeing tour before heading to the airport but drove their rental van into a secluded area and allegedly attacked her, the Jamaica Observer newspaper reported.

Cathy-Lee Martin, a bank manager, alleges her husband became violent because he mistakenly believed she was cheating on him, the newspaper reported.

The Martins reportedly travelled to Jamaica to mend their strained relationship.

Despite her serious injuries, Cathy-Lee Martin was able to escape the van and flag down a passing motorist who pursued the suspect's vehicle down the road, she told court.

A passing taxi driver picked her up and drove her to a hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.

Speaking via telephone from Falmouth, taxi driver Lenworth Blake who claimed to have witnessed the incident, told CTV News Channel that after passing the van on the road he looked in his rear-view mirror and was surprised to see a woman's legs sticking out of an open passenger-side door.

Clearly suspicious, Blake decided to turn around and investigate. He located the van and a woman, who was standing nearby and covered in blood.

"She was bleeding, so I told her, ‘Get in.' After she (got) in she told me her husband was trying to kill her," Blake said.

In his defence, Paul Martin told police investigators his wife was attacked by a stranger during a robbery attempt, said Det. Sgt. Pheonia Watson of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

However, further investigation foiled that claim, Watson told CTV News on Wednesday.

Paul Martin was present at Tuesday's court hearing. So were members of Cathy-Lee Martin's family, according to the Jamaica Observer.

For now, Paul Martin sits in a Jamaican jail pending his next scheduled court appearance is in January.

"He himself is very traumatized. His primary concern is about his children … and he is very, very concerned about his wife," said Ernest Smith, Paul Martin's attorney.

Residents of Ajax expressed shock at the allegations.

"We just don't believe it. He's a real gentleman. We had a couple laughs together and he's great with the kids," said Leo Giovannelli.

He added that his daughter Kristina, a Grade 6 student who was being taught by Paul Martin at St. Francis, is "coping."

"I guess I'm fine, but I'm kind of shocked. He was such a good teacher. What am I going to do?" Kristina said. "It's hard a little bit. But I guess it's happening -- we have to deal with it."

Students and parents at the school will be offered counseling after the holidays, said Kathy Lefort, Chair of the Durham Catholic District School Board.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss