911 call: I think I killed my son-in-law

The father-in-law of an Irishman who died following a domestic dispute in the US told a 911 operator that he believed he had killed him with a baseball bat.

Davidson County Police Department has released the audio recording of the call Thomas Martens made to emergency services shortly after 3am on August 2 last, following the dispute that led to the death of Limerick native Jason Corbett.

Mr Corbett was found dead in the master bedroom of the home he shared with his wife Molly Martens in Panther Creek, Wallburg in North Carolina.

Ms Martens, 32, and her father, 65, were released on bail earlier this week after being charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.

“My daughter’s husband, my son-in-law, got in a fight with my daughter. I intervened and I think… he’s in bad shape. We need help,” Mr Marten’s told the operator.

“He’s bleeding all over and I may have killed him,” he said. Mr Marten’s confirmed to the operator that he hit Mr Corbett in the head with a baseball bat.

“He was choking my daughter, he said: ‘I’m going to kill her,’” he said.

However, documents released by Davidson County Court show that investigating officers said that the evidence at the scene of Mr Corbett’s death were not consistent with the fight described by Mr Martens.

In an application for a search warrant Detective BM Smith said that neither Mr Martens nor his daughter suffered any injuries during the alleged struggle.

“Throughout my law enforcement career, I have been in several, of what would be described as ‘uncontrolled fights’. In my opinion; the struggle described was not consistent with the evidence at the scene, particularly the master bedroom,” Detective BM Smith wrote.

In the documents investigators outlined how Mr Martens and his wife changed their plans to visit Corbett’s home the day before his death and that the couple stayed in the basement guestroom of the Corbett home on the night in question.

Mr Martens told investigators he went to investigate a disturbance in the house while his wife stayed in the basement. He said that he was in possession of a baseball bat because he had brought it to the house with the intention of giving it to Mr Corbett’s son as a gift.

Mr Martens and his daughter also told investigators a concrete paving brick was used to strike Mr Corbett.

Court documents reveal, however, that Mr Corbett’s son had told a counsellor that Mr Martens had already gifted him a baseball bat the previous summer. Investigators also said that they have viewed pictures of the young boy playing with the bat.“I have probable cause to believe that the baseball bat used to assault Jason Paul Corbett may have come from the sports equipment bag used by Jack Corbett and stored in the garage,” Detective Lt WS Thompson wrote.

The documents also reveal investigators were told by Mr Corbett’s friends, co-workers and family, he was planning a trip to Ireland.

“The Ireland trip was allegedly for the purpose of moving him and his minor (young) children back to his native homeland permanently,” Detective Lt WS Thompson wrote in another search warrant application.

“Additional information received from business partners of Jason Corbett indicated that in preparation for that trip, Jason Corbett allegedly discussed transferring some of his financial assets ... to his home bank in Ireland.

“Investigators also learned from members of the Corbett family that Jason Corbett was possibly concerned about the spending habits of his American wife, Molly Martens Corbett. Both of these issues were allegedly a source of conflict between the couple,” the officer wrote.

The application also notes that since Mr Corbett’s death “large sums of money have been removed from some of his bank accounts that he shares jointly with Molly Martens Corbett”.

“Jason Corbett’s alleged comfortable financial status provides additional possible motive for his untimely death,” Detective Lt WS Thompson wrote.

Investigators also said that Mr Corbett “had expressed intentions of not inviting his wife, Molly Corbett, to join them on the trip [back to Ireland] and that him and the children were not going to return to the United States”.