ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands —The ex-wife of the prison informant who testified for the prosecution in the murder trial of Lois McMillen was taken into custody herself Sunday and is being held in the same police station as her ex-husband.

Channon Lytton, the 10th wife of the prosecution's star witness Jeffrey Plante, checked out of the Prospect Reef Resort about 11:10 a.m. Sunday and was headed for the airport on the eastern tip of the Caribbean island of Tortola when two plainclothes police officers approached her outside the hotel lobby, according to Honey Labrador of California, who said she witnessed the incident.

Labrador's brother, 37-year-old New York businessman William Labrador, testified at his murder trial here last week that he had nothing to do with the Jan. 14, 2000, drowning death of McMillen, an artist and former model. He denied every allegation made last month by his former cellmate Plante, a 59-year-old convicted swindler.

Lytton, whom Plante testified is 49 years old, arrived Thursday in anticipation of testifying for the defense and had planned to go home to Alabama Sunday after being told her testimony was no longer needed.

"Channon had just come back from church, was checking out and was on her way to the airport," Honey Labrador told Court TV. "The police officers said, 'We need to speak to you.' She said, 'I'm getting ready to leave' and they said it would just take a minute."

William Labrador's lawyer, Richard Hector of Bermuda, said that upon recognizing him as an attorney one of the officer's told Lytton that she was under arrest for suspicion of obtaining property by fraud. Police would not confirm Sunday night that Lytton was in custody; arrest logs are not public records in this British territory.

According to Hector, police told Lytton that they are investigating a complaint by the island's phone company about a bounced $300 check written in August against a bank account Lytton and Plante shared.

"They took her to the police station. They gave her the impression that all she had to do was pay the $300 and she would be allowed to travel," Hector said. "They, as I expected, took her into custody instead."

In his testimony, Plante blamed a lot of his legal problems on Lytton. Plante still wears a wedding ring and insists Lytton is still legally his wife.

Plante is charged with bouncing 32 checks last year while receiving a government subsidy that he testified was part of a witness protection program. He testified that Lytton signed the $300 note to the phone company.

Lytton told Court TV Friday that she received a disturbing telephone call shortly after checking into the hotel the night before. The caller asked Lytton to confirm her identity, she said, but hung up when Lytton asked who the caller was.

Lytton then changed rooms and had the hotel screen her calls.

Hector stopped short of labeling Lytton's arrest as witness tampering but said the timing is suspicious.

"It is very strange that this should happen at this time when this lady was likely to be called as a witness in this case," Hector said. "These boys play hardball here. They really do."

A spokesperson for the prosecution could not be reached Sunday night. William Labrador's mother, Barbara Labrador of Southampton, N.Y., declined comment. McMillen's mother, Josephine McMillen of Middlebury, Conn., also declined.

On Monday, High Court Justice Kenneth Benjamin will rule on what questions, if any, Hector can ask Plante's parole officer. In an effort to show the jury that Plante is a liar and a career criminal, Hector hopes to ask the Texas official about Plante's claim that he had permission to leave the U.S. when he and Lytton arrived here in 1999.

Benjamin has already said that Plante is not the one on trial and will limit the parole officer's testimony to relevant issues.

The nine-member jury, which has been listening to testimony since April 2, is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday or Wednesday. Three of Labrador's friends and co-defendants named in the murder indictment were released Thursday after Benjamin ruled that prosecutors presented insufficient evidence to link them to the killing.