Call for retrial date to be set on seventh anniversary of Jason Corbett's death

Jason Corbett was killed at his North Carolina home on August 2, 2015

Jason Corbett was killed at his North Carolina home on August 2, 2015. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

A support group for the family of slain Limerick man Jason Corbett called on the US justice system to return his killers to prison as they mark the seventh anniversary of his death.

Molly and Tom Martens were convicted of the second-degree murder of the father of two at his North Carolina home on August 2, 2015. The pair had pleaded they acted in self-defence. The 38-year-old and her 72-year-old father, a retired FBI agent, both served four years of 20 and 25 years of their respective convictions for second-degree murder in their 2017 joint trial.

However, their convictions were quashed last year after the courts ruled the exclusion of certain evidence and erroneous inclusion of other evidence in the original trial had prevented the Martens from presenting a full and meaningful defence.

No retrial date has yet been set leaving the family in the dark as to when legal proceedings will proceed. A plea deal has been offered which could see the pair, if they agree, serve just two further years. 

Mr Corbett's children — Jack, 17, and Sarah, 15 — are likely to be crucial witnesses to the prosecution’s evidence if a retrial goes ahead. They did not give evidence in the first trial.

His sisters, Marilyn Corbett and Tracey Corbett Lynch, have slammed the fact that no retrial date has been set. On Facebook, they said: “The world changes year by year without you Jason yet here we are seven years later with no sight to the end of our fight for you. We will not give up. Loving you always.” 

Mrs Corbett Lynch remarked: “Seven years ago Jason was beaten to death by Molly and Tom Martens with a paving brick and baseball bat while drugged with meds prescribed to Molly. They are free — no retrial date, no hearing date to set a retrial date.” 

The family support page, Jason’s Journey, said it is "the responsibility of the justice system to return your murderers back to where they belong, so their evil darkness cannot inflict any more devastation on the living victims of their crime".

Molly Martens Corbett and her father, Thomas Martens, a former FBI agent, were convicted of second-degree murder in 2017. Picture: Jerry Wolford

“The loss of a family member by murder is like a life sentence without any possibility of parole" adding: "It is Tom and Molly Martens that deserve a life sentence".

The support group has vowed to continue to keep the business executive’s memory alive.

“Jason, seven years have passed since your life was brutally stolen from you. Your future (was) stolen from your children and from your family. As ever, the wheels of life keep turning, even in the face of death.

“But you are a constant in everyone’s lives, even those that never knew you, but have shared on your journey to justice."

It added: “It is ours to keep shining your light, to keep those shadows where they belong, locked up in the dark. Jason, we will honour you by keeping your memory alive, we will honour you by loving and protecting your greatest achievements Jack and Sarah. And finally, we will honour you by forever holding the hands of those you loved.”