An estranged husband poured petrol into his wife’s place of work and set it alight causing $200,000 worth of damage.

George Evans also sprayed gasoline into her face and lit a match before she managed to escape.

Evans was found guilty of trying to kill his wife Martiza and also of damaging property and intending to damage in order to endanger her life. The Honourable Justice Charles Quin jailed Evans for 10 years for attempted murder and eight years for arson to run concurrent.

Judge Quin said: “This is a tragic case where the negative effects of alcohol, added to uncontrolled jealousy, have made this defendant behave in a manner in which he would, otherwise, not behave.”

The court heard how the couple had been having serious marital difficulties and that Mrs Evans had moved out although she tried to maintain a presence at the matrimonial home for the sake of their 10 year old son.

On December 11th 2010 – the night before he tried to kill her – the defendant came home “in a bad mood”.

Judge Quin said: “Mrs Evans also noticed that his eyes were flaky and she said that when the defendant would get like that, she would get scared.

“Accusing her of  infidelity, Mrs Evans said the defendant said to her ‘People like you shouldn’t be alive, you know’.”

Scared of what he might do, Mrs Evans left the home and returned to her apartment with their son. During that night her husband kept telephoning her.

The next day he turned up at her place of work in Plantation Village armed with a machete. He left but returned 30 minutes later.

This time Mrs Evans went into the car park with him where he said: “Come here, I have something good for you.” He then went to his truck and produced the bottle of H7 industrial cleaner that he had filled with petrol.

Judge Quin said: “The defendant shoved his hand through the door and sprayed the contents of the HY bottle on his wife. The liquid hit her face and burned her eyes. Mrs Evans managed to close the door whereupon the defendant used a lighter or match to cause the door, and the area around the door, to burst into flames.”

Evans then got behind the wheel of his truck and smashed his wife’s car before driving the vehicle into the front of the reception.

He poured petrol inside and set the area ablaze.

Judge Quin told the court if Evans had managed to set his wife alight after spraying the accelerate into her face he would have been facing a life sentence.

He said that it was clear he is suffering from alcohol dependence and a personality disorder.

Mrs Evans has continued to visit her husband at HMPS Northward and claims she still loves him.

Their own son said: “Daddy is smart, educated, intelligent, confident man and knows what he is doing. But when he drinks alcohol he acts like he has got no sense.”