Thomas Martens told police he struck Jason Corbett with a baseball bat

Tue, 31 Oct, 2023 - 22:27

John Hinton in Lexington, North Carolina

Thomas Martens admitted in a video interview with police that he struck Jason Corbett with a baseball bat after he allegedly saw the Limerick businessman choking Molly Martens, Mr Corbett's wife and Mr Martens' daughter, in August 2015 in the couple's Davidson County home.

“I was scared to death that he was going to kill her,” Mr Martens said in the video. “I hit him with the baseball bat.

“I was scared he was going to kill me,” Mr Martens said about Jason Corbett.

“That guy was crazy.”

Prosecutors played the video Tuesday during the sentencing hearing for Mr Martens and Molly Martens in Davidson Superior Court. Molly Martens and her father entered arranged pleas Monday in Jason Corbett’s death.

Jason Corbett. File Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Jason Corbett, 39, a Limerick businessman, was found dead in his Davidson County home in the early hours of August 2, 2015.

Mr Martens, 73, who is accused of beating Jason Corbett with a baseball bat, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Mr Martens is a retired FBI agent.

Molly Martens, 40, who is accused of striking her husband with a concrete brick, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. Judge David Hall indicated that a no contest plea is treated as a form of a guilty plea.

Hall will determine the sentences for Molly Martens and Thomas Martens.

A voluntary manslaughter conviction carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, but that’s only if there are extensive aggravating factors that are unlikely to come into play in this case.

Hall said Monday that he has the option of giving what would be the much more lenient sentence of probation without active time in prison. During Tuesday’s hearing, Hall said that Jason Corbett was a victim of domestic violence.

Mr Martens testified in his own defense during his trial in 2017.

In the video, Mr Martens told an investigator that the sound of an argument in Corbetts’ bedroom woke him up on August 2, 2015. Mr Martens then went upstairs and opened their door and, he alleged, saw Mr Corbett choking his daughter.

Mr Martens said that Jason Corbett had consumed 10 beers prior to the struggle.

“He was holding her in front of himself,” Mr Martens said of Jason Corbett. “I was afraid that I was going to hit her. I said, 'Let her go.'"

Mr Corbett then lost his grip on his wife, or Molly Martens managed to free herself from her husband, Mr Martens said. Mr Corbett then grabbed the bat from Mr Martens.

“I got the bat back from him,” Mr Martens said to the investigator. “I can’t tell you how many times I hit him.”

Molly Martens and her father, Thomas Martens pictured at their original trial in 2017. File Photo by Jerry Wolford.

After their struggle, Mr Martens and Molly Martens called 911 and attempted life-saving measures on Jason Corbett, Mr Martens said in the video.

Molly Martens and Mr Martens were charged with second-degree murder after they were accused of brutally beating Jason Corbett to death with a baseball bat and a concrete paving brick.

Molly Martens and Mr Martens claimed self-defense, saying Jason Corbett attacked them and threatened their lives.

They said Mr Corbett choked his wife and that Mr Martens came to her rescue with a baseball bat he had intended to give his grandson Jack.

A Davidson County jury convicted Molly Martens and Thomas Martens in a high-profile trial in August 2017 of second-degree murder. A judge sentenced each of them to 20 to 25 years in prison.

However, the North Carolina Court of Appeals later overturned the conviction, finding that the trial judge made prejudicial decisions that prevented the two from mounting a defense. The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the lower appellate court’s ruling, sending the case back to Davidson County for a re-trial.

The sentencing hearing continues Wednesday.