The family of slain Limerick man Jason Corbett have said they are deeply shocked and disappointed, after his wife and father in law, Molly and Thomas Martens, were granted a full retrial charged with his murder.
Mr Corbett’s body was found with multiple injuries inside his adopted home in North Carolina in 2015.
His wife Molly Martens along with her retired FBI agent father were both found guilty of murdering the Limerick father of two following a 2017 trial.
Prior to the murder trial Ms Martens had lost a protracted legal battle in the US courts with Mr Corbett’s sister Tracey Corbett Lynch and her husband David Lynch, for custody of Mr Corbett’s children Jack (now 16) and Sarah (now 14).
Molly and Tom Martens were jailed for between 20-25 years after a jury convicted them of second degree murder.
The jury found the daughter and father had beaten Mr Corbett to death while he slept in his North Carolina home on August 2, 2015.
There was evidence Mr Corbett was drugged and beaten about the head with a brick and a baseball bat, and that he sustained crushing head injuries after he had died.
The accused pair claimed they acted in self defence. The court heard the father and daughter had no visible injuries on the night of the murder.
Mr Corbett married Ms Martens in 2011 after she had worked as a nanny to Jack and Sarah a number of years after their mother, and Mr Corbett’s first wife, Margaret Fitzpatrick, passed away after suffering an asthma attack.
Mr Corbett’s murder trial heard that he had been preparing to relocate to Limerick with his children after difficulties arose in his marriage to Ms Martens.
It was heard that Mr Corbett became increasingly concerned over his wife’s mental state.
This Friday the North Carolina Supreme Court ratified a Court of Appeal decision that both accused should have a re-trial after it was deemed their ability to argue self defence at their 2017 trial had been unfairly hindered.
They had also argued statements given by Jack and Sarah Corbett to social workers which the Martens believe would help their case should have been allowed as evidence in the murder trial.
Reaction from Jason Corbett’s family in his native Limerick was one of deep disappointment and disbelief.
Tracey Corbett Lynch said her family “are so disappointed and distraught that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has decided to grant a retrial to Tom and Molly Martens”.
Ms Corbett Lynch tweeted that Mr Martens and his daughter Molly “admitted killing our beloved Jason – a father, a brother, a son and a loyal friend”.
She said her beloved brother “is dearly missed by all who knew and loved him”.
Ms Lynch said they have put their trust in God and would work to help prosecutors convict Molly and Tom Martens for a second time.
It could be 2022 before a retrial is heard.
