US police surgeon claims Jason Corbett's first wife could have died by strangulation

For the past week, Ms Martens' defence team has been presenting claims that there was a pattern of abuse by Jason Corbett towards his wife throughout their marriage. Picture: Walt Unks/Winston-Salem Journal

A US police surgeon has told a sentencing hearing that it is possible that Jason Corbett’s first wife died because of strangulation.

The claim was made despite the cause of death of Margaret “Mags” Corbett being determined by Irish doctors as an asthma attack, and robust denials of any suspicions from her family.

The evidence was heard at the sentence hearing for Mr Corbett’s second wife Molly Martens and her father Tom which continued this morning in Davidson County Court in North Carolina.

The father and daughter admit beating Jason Corbett to death with a brick and baseball bat at his home in North Carolina on August 2, 2015, but claim it was in self-defence.

They are due to be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. A charge of second-degree murder was dropped as part of a plea deal struck by prosecutors.

Today, two medical experts gave evidence that they believe the cause of death of Mags Corbett 17 years ago may have been due to strangulation. A third medical professional disagreed, saying there was no solid evidence to show otherwise.

Dr Bill Smock, who is also a medical director on strangulation, detailed how he believed the cause of Mrs Corbett’s death was not due to an asthma attack.

He said no investigation of her upper neck area was made by medical professionals in Ireland following her death at her home in Limerick in 2006.

“Looking at her symptoms,” Dr Smock said, “we know she can’t breathe; we know she dies. But there is no documentation of details or trauma to the upper body.

“But there is blushing around the nose and mouth in page two of the autopsy report, it says ‘very pale, and blush around the mouth and nose’. That is a physical finding that is consistent with strangulation.”

He added that suffering an asphyxiation death was common in strangulation and that he tells all his students across the world to examine the upper body in similar deaths.

He continued: “Certainly but not with certainty but with probability, Mags Corbett died of an asphyxiated death. The most common cause we are left with is strangulation. If that were the case it would be homicide,” he said.

Jason Corbett’s children Jack, 19, and Sarah, 17, were present in court during the hearing along with their aunt Tracey Lynch and her husband David, who flew to the US for the hearings.

At one point, Sarah Corbett left the court room during the evidence, holding the hand of her aunt, but returned a short time later.

Molly Martens and her father arrived at the court after the Corbett family and sat with their legal team.

Dressed in a brown suede jacket with her hair slightly curled and pinned back on both sides, Ms Martens took notes throughout all of the evidence presented. Her father stared ahead listening to the evidence in the three hours session.

Molly Martens and her father arrived at the court after the Corbett family and sat with their legal team. Picture: Jerry Wolford

Meanwhile, a second expert for the defence, Pathologist Dr Thomas Sporn who works in the Duke Department of Pathology in North Carolina, said it was also his opinion that Mags Corbett did not die from an asthma attack.

He said he believed that the medial professionals “relied” too heavily on her medical history and family testimony at the time.

“She had a heart that was normal,” he told the courtroom. “There were no intoxicants or poisoning. They found her death was due to asthma.

When asked if he agreed with the Irish autopsy findings he replied, “I don’t”. He said “asthma is a condition that affects the airways” and it is sensitive to allergies and can cause an airway spasm.

“It is so severe that that good air gets in but the bad can’t get out, they (patients) are no longer able to breathe."

It would be obvious when she was opened up (after her death), he said. “The lungs would be over extended”.

“There was no investigation of the upper airways or the throat and neck. The pathologist (in Ireland) did not conduct a more in-depth approach. It appears they relied on the information supplied by the deceased’s husband Jason Corbett."

He said the autopsy was “incomplete” and “has opened the door to another injury by another person that caused her death".

When asked by the Judge David Hall if it was fair to say that it was “speculation” on the cause of her death, he agreed it was.

A third expert for the state, Dr William Bozeman gave evidence saying he agreed that the autopsy into Mags Corbett’s death was “incomplete”, however he did not believe it was because she was strangled.

When asked why, he replied: “It is the word probable, I do agree it could be plausible as a cause of death.

“She (Mags) could have had an asthma attack followed by another thing that ran concurrent with it. It’s best described as underdetermined."

The cause of death as strangulation for Mags Corbett is being argued by Molly Martens who claims she fears her husband suffocated his first wife.

The court heard last week that she told a social worker that her husband used to force her to have sex before placing his hand over her mouth and nose until she passed out.

She made the statement 24 hours after her husband was found beaten to death.

Ms Martens' legal team sought an opinion from Dr Smock for the case on strangulation and claimed that her husband Jason Corbett was trying to choke her on the night of his death.

Her father, who was staying over with his wife at the time, intervened during the row.

However, during cross examination by state solicitor Alan Martin, Dr Smock was asked if he did a thorough investigation of Ms Martens when he was asked to prepare a report for her legal team this year.

Molly Martens had photos taken by police on the night of her husband’s death and the state claims there was little evidence that Mr Corbett tried to choke her.

But Dr Smock said that Ms Martens claimed her husband held her in a headlock which does not always result in obvious bruising.

He said “difficulties in swallowing” or “complaining of a sore throat” were signs of choking from a headlock.

He also said there was “urine in her pyjamas” that police did not examine and that this could also have been evidence of being choked.

Ms Martens' legal team claimed that her husband Jason Corbett was trying to choke her on the night of his death. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

“The detectives may not have been aware you can pull biological fluid out,” he said. “It is common to urinate” during choking or strangulation, as well as feeling nauseous.

When he was cross examined by Mr Martin, he was asked if the evidence before him was “everything that Molly Martens said”.

“That’s her history,” replied Dr Smock before Mr Martin said: “Everything on page five of your report is everything that Molly said...Everything in the bullets point on page 7 is everything Molly said."

He then asked Dr Smock if he was aware of “Ms Corbett’s complicated history with the truth”.

He replied: “I assume they are telling me the truth, until I get a finding by a lab or another finding which tells me they are not telling the truth."

Mr Martin then said given that her husband had “just had his head bashed in” Ms Martens may have felt “nauseous” because of that, which Mr Smock agreed with.

Mr Martin asked if Dr Smock was informed that Molly Martins “from time to time told people she was the biological mother of the Corbett children”.

“No sir” he replied.

However, he told Ms Martens' legal team his opinion in his report to the defence team was unchanged.

Molly Martens and her father Tom were convicted of second-degree murder in 2017 and were facing 20-25 years in prison.

However, they appealed their conviction which was overturned at the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2021. A new trial was then ordered.

Last week when the case came before the courts again, Molly Martens entered a no-contest plea for voluntary manslaughter and her father Tom Martens entered a guilty plea for voluntary manslaughter.

For the past week, Ms Martens' defence team has been presenting claims that there was a pattern of abuse by Jason Corbett towards his wife throughout their marriage.