Inaccurate reports of Molly and Tom Martens release causes further heartache for Corbett family

Molly Martensarriving at Davidson County Court in Lexington on November 8. Pictures: Perfecta Visuals

Killers Molly Martens and her father Tom were transferred to a maximum-security prison in the US on Tuesday following two days of confusion around their release dates.

Ms Martens, aged 40, was moved to a state prison for women while her father Tom, aged 73, was also moved to an all-male jail.

The father and daughter were being held in custody at Davidson County jail in Lexington North Carolina since November following their sentencing hearing last month.

The move comes following a major miscalculation of their release date from jail, which made international headlines and caused the family of the late Jason Corbett much distress.

The Martens battered Mr Corbett to death at his home in Panthers Creek in North Carolina in August 2015 with a brick and baseball bat.

In the US, it can take some time to process a prisoner and move them to a state correctional facility.

The Martens much-anticipated transfer comes after The North Carolina Department of Corrections (NCDP) mistakenly stated on its website earlier this week, that they would be released on December 5 and 6.

This would have meant that the pair would have only spent just four weeks in jail after they were sentenced to a minimum of seven months and a maximum of 23 months behind bars for the manslaughter of Mr Corbett.

However, “human error” was blamed for the mix-up of their prison records which are accessible by members of the public online, according to a statement by the NCDP to the Irish Examiner on Tuesday.

It said: “After further review, the initial projected release dates calculated in response to resentencing for Molly Corbett and Thomas Martens were found to be incorrect.

"The current projected release dates for both are June 27, 2024. Corbett and Martens will be transferred to state prison facilities to complete the remainder of their sentences."

Thomas Martens arriving at Davidson County Court.

Sarah Corbett Lynch, the 17-year-old daughter of the late Jason Corbett expressed her feelings on the episode in a tweet that said: “The pain and the confusion”, which was attached to an explanation of the error by a news reporter in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, the “pain and confusion” for the Corbett family did not end there.

In a further twist of miscalculations, the inmate’s incarceration records online were updated on Tuesday.

This time they stated that Ms Martens are her father were released on Monday.

Local reporters in Lexington said they were just also confused at the updates on the prison records, while photographers waited at Davidson County Jail in case the Martens were released — which they were not.

The Corbett Lynch family have been left deeply hurt over the incident.

They issued a statement on Monday night, but had to update their statements as the mistakes by the US prison service continued.

Jason Corbett.

A post on the Jascorbettjourney Instagram page on Tuesday afternoon, said: “I can’t believe I am writing this. Their prison records have been updated.

“Projected released dated June 2024. But it states they were both actually released yesterday [Monday].

“What has happened their miscalculation?

“Is this another system error? Why is this happening? Everyone we need your emails and calls again please."

Following the second incident, the Irish Examiner contacted the NCDP media office again.

In a fresh statement last night, a spokesperson said the prison service had deactivated the prison information link for the Martens over the confusion.

The statement said: “They [Molly and Tom Martens] remain in custody and have remained in custody. The public information page for them is being taken down temporarily to get it fixed and corrected.” 

Last night, the Corbett Lynch family provided a further update on their Instagram page, following communication with the District Attorney’s office.

It said: “It is with great relief (and frustration) I can tell you the CAC is working to change the information which is currently still incorrect on the prison records website.

“It comes from central communications and causes issues as the inmates are not in the system.

“They WILL be moved today [Tuesday]. Thank you again everyone. I truly believe they would have been free only for all your efforts for Jason."

On Tuesday, following the two errors by the prison service, Tracey Corbett Lynch also tweeted a further statement on the matter.

She wrote: “Molly and Tom Martens, by their violent actions, orphaned our brother Jason's beloved two children, Jack (19) and Sarah (17). They have never shown remorse. The events of the sentencing hearing and the confusion over incorrect early prison release dates in North Carolina this week caused further hurt and upset to two children who have already suffered far too much.

“Our family were left dealing with a nightmare on Monday over this prison release error — and no one from the North Carolina justice system contacted us that day to offer help or support.

Molly Martens Corbett and  Thomas Martens in 2017. Picture: Jerry Wolford.

We find it incredible that it was only on a second check of the early release sentence calculations that the error was spotted. We also remain convinced that, but for the actions of the Irish media and the Justice for Jason supporters in highlighting this injustice, the two killers who cruelly took Jason's life and tried to attack his good name would be released after the shocking period of just four weeks behind bars.

“We have been fighting for justice for Jason for eight long years. But many other families are not able to fight for justice for loved ones in the manner we have — the events of the past few weeks raise serious questions about the fairness and the empathy of the justice system in North Carolina.

“Other criminals in North Carolina are getting sentences of 20 years plus for non-fatal assaults. A seven-month sentence extension for two people who beat a helpless man to death with a baseball bat and a concrete paving slab is nothing less than a shocking injustice.

“This is simply not good enough for the families of victims of violent crime. Our family will continue to speak out about this and campaign for victims’ rights whether it is in Ireland or the US.

“We would now respectfully ask for privacy to allow us to deal with the hurtful events of the past few days and weeks."

Molly Martens admitted killing her husband in August 2015 along with her father – the pair claimed self-defence.

However, Judge Hall said they had “little or no injuries” after beating Mr Corbett to death and he added that this “did not make sense”.

The Martens both pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and, were returned to jail by Judge David Hall, where they have already served 44 months.