Greensboro News and Record June 2nd 2017
Motion: Father of Jason Corbett's first wife blamed Corbett for his daughter's death
The father of Jason Corbett’s first wife believed Corbett was responsible for his daughter’s death, according to a motion filed by attorneys for Thomas Martens, who is charged in Corbett’s death. David Freedman and Jones Byrd, attorneys for Martens, filed a notice of intent to introduce statements Wednesday in Davidson Superior Court. The motion said Freedman and Byrd intend to introduce statements that Michael Fitzpatrick, father of Margaret Corbett, made. “The content of the statements were that Mr. Fitzpatrick believed that Jason Corbett had caused the death of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s daughter Margaret Corbett,” the motion says. “Mr. Fitzpatrick’s prior statements are offered in support of the defendant’s asserted defenses of self-defense and the defense of others, in that they are relevant to the defendant’s state of mind during the alleged altercation with Jason Corbett.”
Irish Mirror June 9th 2017
Jason Corbett trial: Son of victim lied about witnessing domestic abuse, court hears
THE son of an Irishman allegedly murdered by his American wife and her father lied about witnessing domestic abuse, a US court has heard. The judge in Friday’s pre-trial hearing deferred ruling on a motion to redact statements about domestic abuse that Jason Corbett’s two children made when interviewed after the alleged homicide. Testifying yesterday, Tracey Lynch stated that shortly after moving to Ireland, Jack told her he had lied about witnessing any domestic abuse and wanted to contact police in Davidson County. Lynch told the court: “He said he felt really bad about it. He said he wanted to tell the police he lied.” Judge David Lee said he preferred the lawyers argue before the judge presiding over the case at trial whether specific statements should be heard.
Lexington Dispatch June 9th 2017
Corbett murder trial stays in Davidson County
The judge in a pretrial hearing for the murder case against Molly Martens Corbett and her father, Thomas Martens, denied a motion Friday to have the trial moved to Mocksville in neighboring Davie County. Walter Holton and David Freedman, lawyers for Corbett and Martens, filed the motion to have the trial moved. They argued the amount of publicity the case has received in Davidson County has made it impossible to form an unbiased jury. “The defense has failed to find existing community prejudice that they can’t receive a fair trial,” Lee said. “There is no showing of prejudice in the investigation or proceedings ... to preclude selection of a jury.”
Irish Examiner June 20th 2017
US attorneys admit error in preparing case for Jason Corbett murder trial
Attorneys representing a US man accused, along with his daughter, of killing his Irish son-in-law have said that they made a mistake when submitting a controversial pre-trial statement on behalf of their client.
Jason Corbett, 39, was found dead two years ago in the early hours of August 2 in the home he shared with his wife Molly Martens, 33, in Panther Creek, Wallburg, North Carolina.
Ms Martens and her father Thomas Martens, 67, are charged with the murder of the Limerick native, but say that his death was an act of self-defence on their part. In court documents lodged earlier this month, attorneys representing Mr Martens said that Margaret Corbett’s late father Michael Fitzpatrick had told their client he held Mr Corbett responsible for his daughter’s death.
However, the documents claimed that this exchange took place at the wedding of Ms Corbett and Ms Martens in 2011. Yesterday, Mr Fitzpatrick’s widow Marian told the Daily Mail that the claim by Mr Martens could not be true, as neither she nor her husband attended the wedding in 2011. Her account was supported by Mr Corbett’s best man and another guest at the wedding.
Mrs Fitzpatrick described the claims made by Mr Martens as “extremely upsetting”, “deeply hurtful” and said that Mr Corbett was a “wonderful person” and a great husband to her daughter.
Asked by the Irish Examiner to reply to Mrs Fitzpatrick’s comments, defence attorney David Freedman confirmed Mr Martens did not speak with Mr Fitzpatrick at the 2011 wedding. “This was solely a lawyer mistake and we had never received any information about what occurred at the wedding,” Mr Freedman told the Irish Examiner. Furthermore, Mr Freedman issued a copy of a correction that was filed with the courts on June 9, days after the original statement. “Counsel was mistaken, as the statement was communicated during a different gathering at Mr Martens’ home in Tennessee in August 2012,” the document read. While copies of the original statement lodged with the court were released to the media earlier this month, the correction lodged days earlier was not circulated among the press.
The Irish Daily Mail July 15th 2017
Will Jason get justice? (Very Informative article)
IT HAS been two years since Limerick father of two Jason Corbett was found bludgeoned to death in the master bedroom of his luxury North Carolina home. His wife, pretty, all-American girl Molly Martens and her father Tom, a former FBI officer, were later charged in relation to his brutal killing. The prosecution claim Jason wanted to come home to Ireland with his children and was preparing to leave his wife. Her side, on the other hand, say she is the victim. Her life was in danger, they say, and her father stepped in to protect her. This week, in a trial that looks set to grip the nation, an American jury will weigh up the evidence on both sides and ultimately decide who is telling the truth...
The Irish Examiner July 15th 2017
Cameras banned from Corbett trial
The US judge in the forthcoming trial of a woman accused, along with her father, of murdering her Irish husband has banned cameras from the courtroom. The trial is scheduled to commence on Monday, and Judge David Lee has ruled that there will be no still photography or video recording of proceedings by the media for the duration of the hearing.
Evoke.ie July 22nd 2017
Jason Corbett’s family launch new legal action against Molly Martens
A wrongful death suit has been filed against Molly Martens and her father Tom. Ms Martens, 34, and Mr Martens, 66, are already facing a US criminal trial on a charge of second-degree murder of Jason Corbett in August 2015. Now a separate civil suit alleging wrongful death is being brought against the pair by Mr Corbett’s brother-in-law David Lynch.
The Irish Examiner 25th July 2017
Wrongful death lawsuit filed amid Jason Corbett murder trial
David Lynch, the executor of Mr Corbett’s estate, filed the lawsuit in Davidson Superior Court last week and also named Molly Corbett’s mother, Sharon Martens, as a defendant. As reported by the Winston-Salem Journal, the lawsuit alleges that Ms Corbett and Mr Martens “intentionally, willfully and maliciously assaulted” Mr Corbett, using a baseball bat and a concrete paving brick. It also alleges that Mrs Martens “assisted, aided and abetted the defendants Molly Page Corbett and Thomas Martens in the killing of Jason Corbett and in the concealment and destruction of evidence related to Jason Corbett’s death”. Mrs Martens has not been criminally charged in Mr Corbett’s death. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants’ actions caused Mr Corbett “extreme pain and discomfort and death”. David Pishko, who represents Mr Lynch in his role as executor of Mr Corbett’s estate in the lawsuit, declined to comment over the weekend. David Freedman, Mr Martens’ attorney, said he and Walter Holton, attorney for Ms Corbett, had no comment on the lawsuit. He confirmed they were both served with the lawsuit last Thursday in Courtroom C of Davidson Superior Court, where the trial is taking place. Volume 0%