Minister urged to intervene in US custody battle involving Limerick children

The foreign affairs minister was last night urged to intervene in a custody battle involving two Limerick children. They are in the care of a woman in the US who has been questioned by police about a head wound which claimed the life of their father.

Jason Corbett, from Limerick, was found dead at his home in North Carolina more than a week ago.

The American woman he married after the death of his wife has taken custody of the two children he had with his first wife, Mags.

Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Niall Collins said: “I want Charlie Flanagan to take up this as a matter of the utmost urgency given that these two children, who are Irish citizens, are being held by their stepmother against the will of the children’s now legal guardians, members of the late Jason Corbett’s family who have travelled to the US.”

Mr Corbett, 39, from Janesboro, Limerick, died on Sunday, August 2, in what police say was a “domestic disturbance”. He had blunt force injuries to the head.

Jack and Sarah, the children of Jason Corbett, who was found dead in his North Carolina home on Sunday, August 2. The two children are in the care of the American woman who Mr Corbett married after their mother, Mags, died of an asthma attack.

Molly Martins, 32, the American he married after first wife Mags died from an asthma attack, is the only person police have interviewed in connection with his death.

Mr Corbett moved to the US four years ago with his children, Jack, 8, and Sarah 10.

Ms Martins, from Knoxville, Tennessee, came to Limerick in March 2008 to work as an au pair looking after Jack and Sarah.

Mr Corbett and Ms Martins started a relationship and, according to Mr Corbett’s friends, decided to move to the US with his children when she said she wanted to return home. The company Mr Corbett worked with in Limerick arranged to transfer him to a plant it has in North Carolina.

Following his death, four members of the Corbett family and a close friend travelled to the US and engaged a lawyer to have the body of Mr Corbett handed over to them for repatriation and burial next to Mags at Castlemungret cemetery in Limerick.

A custody battle has now erupted as Ms Martins has taken Jack and Sarah to live with her relatives.

The North Carolina District Attorney is to bring the case surrounding Mr Corbett’s death before a grand jury on September 8 when a decision is expected on what legal action is to be taken regarding Ms Martins.

On Friday a judge is due to hear an application by Mr Corbett’s family to have the children handed over to them. Mr Corbett’s will stipulated that his family should be his children’s legal guardians in the event of his death.

Close friends, Lynn Shanahan and Karen Gorey, are due to fly out from Shannon today to join the family at the custody hearing.

The body of Jason Corbett was found in his home at 160 Panther  Creek Court in Wallburg, North Carolina.

Mr Corbett was a business partner of Ms Shanahan in the Day Dream’s creche in Dooradoyle and Ms Gorey is the creche manager.

Ms Shanahan yesterday welcomed Mr Collins’s call saying: “This is a very serious matter involving two young Irish citizens and we feel an involvement of the Irish embassy in Washington at the highest level is warranted.”

She said it was Mr Corbett’s wish to return to Ireland to bring up his two children. “After Mags died, we had the two children with us in the creche every day and got to know them so well. Jason loved his children and got involved in coaching the under-6 team in Young Munster rugby club to be with Jack when he started playing rugby. He raised tens of thousands of euro for the Asthma Society after Mags died when Sarah was just two and Jack was only 11 weeks old.”

Mags (nee) Fitzpatrick was from Pallaskenry.

“Molly Martins came over as a nanny for the children in March 2008 and moved into the house and a relationship started. Molly got homesick and wanted to go home to the US. They moved to the US in May 2011,” Ms Shanahan said

After moving back to the US, Ms Martins married Mr Corbett. Ms Gorey was one of the guests at the ceremony in Knoxville.

Since Mr Corbett’s death, his sister Treacy Lynch, her husband David, his brother Michael and sister Marlyn, and family friend Paul Dillon have been staying in a hotel in North Carolina as they try to get custody of the children and bring them back to Ireland with their father’s remains.

Ms Gorey said: “They have engaged attorneys and are also liaising with the sheriff’s office in Davison County. Jason’s body is now at a funeral home and we are waiting for the custody hearing on Friday in North Carolina before a judge, which David and Treacy will attend as the children’s legal guardians.

“The children have had no contact with Jason’s family except for a brief phone call. They haven’t been told why they can’t have contact with the children, it’s just they haven’t been allowed. The children are with Ms Martins and her family. The Irish consular official in Atlanta is in contact with Jason’s family out there, but we feel that this case merits the attention of the Irish ambassador given that we are talking about the welfare of two Irish children, Irish passport holders.”

Ms Shanahan said Mr Corbett had resisted efforts by his second wife to have the children made US citizens and obtain US passports.

She said: “It was Jason’s intention to come back to Ireland with the children to rear them. They remained under his care and were under his working visa with Irish passports. She asked numerous times to adopt them and get them US passports, but he wouldn’t allow it. They were Irish and connected to him only. He wanted to ensure this after Mags’ death.

“I went over two years ago with my family to visit Jason to see where they were living and how they were getting on. Jason at that time seemed to be struggling and very, very homesick. He didn’t know how long he could stay out there, was missing all his family and friends and found it very hard to settle there. He was our best friend and he is dead and we can’t grieve because of the situation of the children.”

Ms Shanahan said last night:

“We contacted the Minister for Foreign Affairs, but heard nothing. Hopefully it will now dawn on him that this is very serious crisis for two young Irish citizens and their Irish legal guardians.”