Martens 'overjoyed' at decision to grant retrial over Jason Corbett murder

Molly Martens Corbett, 37, and her father Tom, 71, were convicted of Limerick man Jason Corbett's death by a US court in August 2017. Picture: Jerry Wolford.

A family spokesperson for father and daughter Tom and Molly Martens, granted a retrial by a US Supreme Court for their murder convictions of their Irish son-in-law and husband Jason Corbett, say they are “overjoyed” at the decision.

Mike Earnest, an uncle and brother-in-law of the pair said, from the US, that three-and-a-half years for two “innocent people” to be in prison is very difficult to bear.

Jason Corbett, 39, originally from Limerick, was murdered in his US home in Walburg, North Carolina, on August 2, 2015, while he slept. Mr Corbett, was killed with an aluminium baseball bat and paving stone.

Molly Martens Corbett, 37, and her father Tom, 71, a retired FBI agent with 30 years experience, were convicted of the business executive's death by a US court in August 2017.

The Martens pair pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed self-defence was the reason behind their deadly actions. Both are serving 20- to 25-year jail terms in high security prisons in the US.

The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a decision by a lower court to grant a retrial in the case. The two were granted a retrial last year but the decision was appealed by prosecutors.

“Thankfully with this ruling, in a new trial two eye witnesses to the events in the household will be heard for the first time by the jury. In their own words new jurors will hear of the physical and emotional abuse Molly suffered,” Mr Earnest explained from his home in the US on Sunday.

"We are thankful for the Supreme Court and Appellate Court justices who wrote the majority opinions." 

They followed the law and restored justice to North Carolina. This is a tremendous decision for those who seek true justice, where all relevant evidence is allowed to be heard by the jury.

“We are also very thankful for the hard work Molly and Tom's attorneys put into this. We would not be where we are now without them.” 

“We don’t know if Tom and Molly will be released at some stage on bail but we as a family have complete confidence in the Court ruling.

"We have always had faith in the law and we are thankful it has found in our family’s favour.” 

Mr Earnest said he did not know how long it would take for a retrial to be held but added it could take anything from up to six to 18 months before it would come before the courts.

An hour-long CBS documentary, on Mr Corbett’s killing entitled, In the Name of Jason, which aired two years ago revealed that key evidence was allegedly not put before the jury which convicted them resulting in the potential for a new murder trial.

The Martens family also launched a fundraising campaign on the site, gogetfunding.com to help with their legal costs which raised up to €20,000.