Brenda Martin, held in a Mexican prison for over two years on fraud charges, burst into tears at her final hearing Monday after the judge said he wouldn't guarantee a ruling in her case by Friday.
"In the beginning, she was very composed, she listened to the judge and through her translator she made her statement," CTV's Lisa LaFlamme reported from Guadalajara.
"The things she said in English were that she's innocent and she wants to go home to see her family."
Previous reports had suggested that the judge was planning on rendering a decision by April 18.
Instead, he told Martin that he had 30 business days to make a decision.
"When she found out that indeed she may not find out by Friday... she basically collapsed into tears and needed to be escorted in handcuffs out of the office space that was doubling as this public hearing room," said LaFlamme.
The judge did say he intended to "issue a statement as soon as possible" and that he would not exceed the 30-day period, LaFlamme reported.
After the hearing, Martin was visited by a Canadian consular official who asked her to sign a form allowing for a prison transfer to Canada if she were found guilty. She declined to sign it, believing it would be an admission of guilt, LaFlamme said.
Martin has been held in custody since February 2006. She is accused of knowingly accepting illicit funds from an Internet fraud scheme operated by Alyn Waage. Martin had been Waage's chef until she was fired.
Waage, in prison in the U.S., has issued an affidavit in support of Martin, who has long professed her innocence.
If found guilty, Martin faces a prison sentence of at least five years.
LaFlamme said there was "no direct evidence proving that Brenda Martin knowingly accepted illicit funds."
After she was fired by Waage, Martin was given $26,000, said LaFlamme. She invested $9,600 of that money back in Waage's company and after he was arrested he refunded $8,600 to her. The money was refunded through a bank account in Belize, said LaFlamme.
"The prosecution is trying to say that because this money that she was given from Alyn Waage came from an offshore account she must have known that there was something illegal about it and that she tried to conceal it," said LaFlamme.
Martin claims she never knew or asked where the money came from.
"One of the new things about today is that apparently the judge has separated Brenda Martin from the other people that were allegedly involved in this," said LaFlamme.
"Her lawyer is certainly looking at this as some very good news."
The 51-year-old, originally from Trenton, Ont., has complained of deteriorating mental and physical health as a result of her incarceration. Some of her supporters have expressed fear for her life.
Rebecca Roth, an American arrested for her alleged role in the scam, was also present at the hearing Monday.
"She was the bookkeeper where Brenda Martin was the chef," said LaFlamme.
Roth also claims she was not involved in any fraudulent activity.
