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In the early hours of August 2, 2015, Irish businessman Jason Corbett was killed inside his North Carolina home. The murder would raise questions still debated a decade later.
His wife, Molly Martens, and her father, retired FBI agent Thomas Martens, admitted to striking Jason with a baseball bat and a concrete brick, later claiming it was in self-defense after a domestic dispute escalated. According to a CBS News report dated April 24, 2025, both stated Jason had been choking Molly at the time of the altercation.
However, the version of events became more complicated as Jason’s children, Jack and Sarah, recanted earlier statements about alleged abuse and instead claimed they were coached to lie, as per The Irish Sun report dated April 23, 2025.
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The case, detailed in the Netflix documentary A Deadly American Marriage, examines conflicting narratives surrounding Jason Corbett’s death and the intense custody battle over his children.
Prosecutors and his family maintain that Jason’s murder was premeditated, rooted in a failed custody plot and rising marital conflict.
Molly Martens’ push to adopt Jason Corbett’s kids led her to consult a divorce lawyer soon after their marriage, as shown in A Deadly American Marriage
In A Deadly American Marriage, Molly Martens’ early desire to adopt Jason Corbett’s children becomes one of the key stress points in their relationship. Back in 2008, Jason had hired Molly to look after Jack and Sarah after their mother, Margaret "Mags" Fitzpatrick, died from an asthma attack.
By 2011, Molly and Jason were married and had moved their new family from Ireland to North Carolina. Not long after the wedding, Molly began urging Jason to let her legally adopt the kids. At first, Jason considered it.
He even told his family that they had talked about including the adoption in the wedding ceremony. But things changed. Molly’s behavior had started to unsettle him. He began to worry about what might happen if the marriage ended.
He spoke to a lawyer and learned something that shook him. If Molly adopted the children and the marriage fell apart, there was a chance a judge could award her custody. But Jason decided to hold off.
His priority was keeping Jack and Sarah safe and with family he trusted.
Secret recordings, custody concerns, and rising tension before Jason Corbett's death
The months leading up to Jason Corbett’s death were marked by escalating tensions. Jason had expressed to his family a desire to return to Ireland with his children due to ongoing marital issues.
Prosecutors allege that Molly, aware of Jason's intentions, began secretly placing recording devices throughout their home and even in his vehicle. Davidson County Deputy District Attorney Alan Martin said that Molly appeared to be collecting material to use in custody proceedings and had possibly intended to frame Jason as abusive.
Molly and her father, former FBI agent Thomas Martens, later claimed they killed Jason in self-defense on August 2, 2015, after a domestic altercation. According to CBS News coverage dated April 24, 2025, Jason suffered multiple blunt-force injuries, including at least a dozen head blows from a baseball bat and a landscape brick.
The Martens pair alleged that Jason had been attempting to strangle Molly when Thomas intervened. However, prosecutors pointed to the lack of visible injuries on either defendant and argued that the killing was not proportional to any threat.
A jury delivered a second-degree murder verdict against Thomas and Molly back in 2017. Their convictions were overturned in 2021 by the North Carolina Supreme Court, which ruled that the jury had been improperly denied access to child witness statements supporting Molly’s abuse allegations.
As part of a plea agreement finalized in October 2023, Molly submitted a no-contest plea while Thomas admitted guilt to voluntary manslaughter. They were both released in June 2024 after serving a total of 51 months.
Custody fallout and family statements
After Jason Corbett’s death, his sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David fought a lengthy custody battle and were ultimately granted guardianship of Jack and Sarah. The children returned to Ireland and now live in Limerick.
In interviews for A Deadly American Marriage, both Jack and Sarah state that they were coached by Molly to lie about witnessing abuse. Jack recalled finding a hidden recorder in Jason’s car and realizing Molly’s narrative was being manufactured.
Sarah later told VIP Magazine, as per their report dated May 12, 2025,
“I was made to lie, and that’s a big reason why the Martens are out today.”
She added that Molly had manipulated her into believing Jason was abusive, a claim she now fully recants.
Jason Corbett had previously written a will naming Tracey and David as the children’s guardians in case of his death. This decision played a critical role in the legal proceedings that followed.
According to CBS News, Molly had no legal standing to retain custody since she had never formally adopted the children.
Molly and Thomas Martens maintain that they acted in self-defense. However, Jason Corbett's family continues to assert that the killing was premeditated and linked to custody motives.
A Deadly American Marriage captures the emotional weight of this long-standing tragedy and leaves the final interpretation to the audience.
Stay tuned for more updates.
