Jason Corbett's family 'distraught' as Tom and Molly Martens granted retrial over killing

The family of the murdered Limerick man are 'disappointed and distraught' following a narrow US Supreme Court vote which granted a full retrial to his former wife and her father who were convicted of his murder

Thomas Martens, left,  and Molly Martens Corbett at Davidson County Courthouse in Lexington, North Carolina, on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, for the final day of the Jason Corbett murder trial. Picture: Jerry Wolford

The family of a murdered Limerick man is "disappointed and distraught" following a narrow US Supreme Court vote which granted a full retrial to his killers.
 

Jason Corbett, 39, a father-of-two and businessman was killed in his North Carolina home in 2015. 

His wife, Molly Martens, and her father, FBI agent Tom Martens, admitted killing him but claimed self-defence. They were convicted in 2017 of his murder.  

But the North Carolina Supreme Court has now ratified a Court of Appeal decision, which found that the Martens should have a new trial because evidence excluded from the first trial reduced their ability to argue self-defence.

The shock Supreme Court decision was not expected before Autumn.

"We are so disappointed and distraught that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has decided to grant a retrial to Tom and Molly Martens who admitted killing our beloved Jason - a father, a brother, a son and a loyal friend - who is dearly missed by all who knew and loved him,” Mr Corbett’s sister, Tracey Corbett Lynch and David Lynch, legal guardians of Mr Corbett's children, said in a statement after the ruling.

"Neither of the convicted defendants has ever expressed remorse for Jason’s killing. They put his orphaned children, then aged 8 and 10, and Jason’s parents, siblings and friends through the horrific ordeal of the first trial, all the while waging a vicious and unrelenting smear campaign in the media and in the courtroom. 

"The jury unanimously found them guilty of second-degree murder, concurring with the detectives and EMT workers who found the crime scene to be wholly inconsistent with the defence claims concocted by Tom Martens, a former FBI agent, and his daughter, Molly. 

"We can only put our faith in God to guide us through the torment of a second trial. We place our trust in the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department and in the District Attorney for North Carolina both of whom recognised from the outset that Jason was the victim of a cold and calculated murder, designed to give Molly custody of Jason’s children, and the financial benefit of an insurance policy." 

"Despite our disappointment at this decision, by a 4-3 majority, to grant the Martens a retrial, we retain our faith in the US Criminal Justice system and our confidence that a jury will once again find the Martens guilty of this “heinous, atrocious and cruel” crime. Our priority is to continue providing love, care, support and protection to Jason’s two wonderful children whom we are blessed to have as part of our family.”

Just one vote swung the decision to grant a retrial, with four Supreme Court judges voting for the retrial and three against. 

One dissenting judge, the Honourable Phil Berger, stated that the evidence against the defendants "was overwhelming”.

Four years after they were jailed in North Carolina for Mr Corbett’s murder, Tom and Molly Martens are now expected to secure release from prison on bail pending a new trial.

They had been sentenced to 20 and 25 years for second degree murder.

Molly Martens, 37, married Mr Corbett, then a widower, in 2011.

The couple met when Ms Martens worked as a nanny for Mr Corbett’s children in Ireland.