‘I hit him until I felt he could not kill me’

The father-in-law of Irishman Jason Corbett took the stand yesterday in a North Carolina courtroom describing how he repeatedly beat the 39-year-old Irishman on the head with a baseball bat in the early hours of August 2, 2015.

“I hit him until he goes down and then I step away,” “Thomas Martens, 67, testified. I don’t know how many times I hit him. I hit him until I thought he could not kill me ... I felt both of our lives were in danger. I did the best I could.”

Prosecutors allege Molly Martens and her father brutally beat Jason Corbett to death with a 71cm Louisville Slugger baseball bat and a concrete paving brick. A medical examiner said Mr Corbett was hit in the head at least 12 times. Molly and Thomas Martens are claiming self-defence and the defence of others.