St Ann Man Remanded After Alleged Attack On Wife In Runaway Bay

MONTEGO BAY, St James — A St Ann man has been taken into custody after being accused of attacking his wife and urinating on her during a dispute that allegedly began after she placed their wedding pictures on his Instagram account.

Devin McHugan, who is from Bamboo in St Ann, appeared before the St James Parish Court on Wednesday on a new unlawful wounding charge involving his wife. During the hearing, his bail in a separate matter was withdrawn.

The complainant, who had travelled from the United States to Jamaica to visit him, told the court she still loved McHugan and wanted to repair the marriage. She became visibly upset in court as the allegations were outlined.

The alleged incident took place about 7:30 am on May 27 at a short-term rental property in Runaway Bay, St Ann.

The court was told that McHugan became angry after his wife uploaded their wedding photographs online. Prosecutors alleged that he assaulted her, attempted to choke her, urinated on her, spat in her face, and later threw a phone which caused an injury.

It was also alleged that McHugan removed the vehicle keys so the woman could not leave the property.

The matter reportedly continued later that morning. The court heard that about 11:30 am there was another confrontation at the same Runaway Bay location before McHugan tried to take the woman to the airport in Montego Bay, St James, where she was scheduled to board a flight.

During that trip, another dispute allegedly broke out in Discovery Bay. The woman reportedly got out of the vehicle because she feared McHugan would drive off the roadway and kill either her alone or both of them.

Members of the public later helped her get to the airport, where she reported the matter to the police.

McHugan was subsequently held at the airport’s bus depot and charged. While being cautioned, he reportedly told the police, "Officer, a mi wife. You don’t know the kind of woman she is."

He was later granted station bail.

In Wednesday’s proceedings, the complainant spoke about her attachment to the marriage and said she paid her own way to Jamaica specifically to see her husband. She also said she had urged him several times to get therapy because she was unsure what could happen next.

Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton made it clear that she was not giving the woman relationship counselling. However, she encouraged the complainant to think carefully about what she was prepared to tolerate and whether remaining in the marriage was worth the effect on her physical and mental well-being.

"If something happens more than once, twice, thrice, or four times and you don’t see any change apart from it getting worse, you are an adult and you should know whether or not your love for this man is worth it," Fairclough-Hylton said.

After being told that McHugan was already on bail in St Ann on another matter when the alleged offence occurred, the judge revoked his bail. He was remanded until July 2, and the unlawful wounding case was sent to the St Ann Parish Court.

Fairclough-Hylton said the St James Parish Court could not hear the matter because the alleged offence happened outside its jurisdiction.