Molly Martens Now: You Won’t BELIEVE What Happened!

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The prosecution was keen on ensuring that Molly Martens and her father, Thomas Martens, wouldn’t receive an acquittal for the charges of murder.

In her words from the Netflix documentary “A Deadly American Marriage“, Molly expressed that she didn’t wish for her father to potentially spend the remainder of his life in prison, should he be found guilty.

Initially, Molly expressed no intention of accepting a plea bargain, but in the year 2023, she opted for a ‘no contest’ plea, while Tom confessed guilt for voluntary manslaughter regarding the death of Jason Corbett in August 2015. They were both sentenced to serve between 51 and 74 months in prison, which was handed down in November 2023.

Since they had been imprisoned for murder, a crime for which their convictions were later overturned on appeal in 2021, they were both freed in June of the same year that followed.

Consequently, those impacted by Jason’s passing were compelled to gather the fragments of their lives and proceed onwards.

However, as documented in “A Deadly American Marriage”, the truth about what transpired between Jason and Molly remains subjective, with Molly asserting that her father used a baseball bat to shield her from an abusive husband, while Jason’s family, including his children Jack Corbett and Sarah Corbett, insist that he was wrongfully accused and was actually brutally attacked and killed.

Lieutenant Wanda Thompson, one of the investigators who responded to the Corbetts’ home in Davidson County that night, stated in the documentation: “[Molly and Tom] seem to have suffered no harm…However, they have a legal right to defend themselves. But are they the ones being harmed or is he?

And that is the disturbing mystery Deadly American Marriage tries to unpack:

 

Jason Corbett primarily lived in his birthplace Ireland, surrounded by his loved ones in Pallaskenry County, Limerick. He tied the knot with Margaret “Mags” Fitzpatrick, and together they brought forth Jack Corbett and Sarah Corbett as their offspring.

In June 2006, when Mags passed away due to an asthma attack, as recounted in the Netflix documentary “A Deadly American Marriage”, Jason was deeply affected by her death. According to his sister Tracey Lynch, he would write letters to his deceased wife and place them at her grave site.

Sarah, who is now 18 years old and was just 11 weeks old when her mother passed away, expressed in the documentary that her father was truly extraordinary.

Jack was 3 and Sarah 18 months old when Jason advertised for an au pair in 2008.

As recounted by my sister Tracey and others who knew us at the time, it didn’t take long for me to realize that my hire of Molly went beyond the typical employer-employee relationship.

“He was charming, funny,” Molly said in the doc. “He made me feel very special.”

In the Netflix series, an old email from Jason to Molly revealed his sentiment about taking things slow in their relationship. He was concerned about potentially causing harm to the children if their relationship didn’t succeed.

In 2011, the business manager, who was 32 at the time, received a job transfer and moved with Molly, Jack, and Sarah to Winston-Salem, North Carolina – more specifically, to Meadowlands, a well-planned residential and golf community boasting spacious homes and immaculate lawns. That same year, they also got married as a couple.

In “A Deadly American Marriage,” Tracey mentioned that they were in North Carolina for a wedding when she discovered from the maid of honor that Molly had been claiming to be a childhood friend of Jason’s late wife Mags, and had supposedly gone to Ireland to serve as Jack and Sarah’s godmother. This is how Tracey explained their relationship with Jason.

“Why would anyone create this fabricated story?” Tracey recalled thinking.

In the document, Molly did not mention this point, but her father, Thomas Martens, stated that fabricating a tale didn’t imply that she was culpable of any other wrongdoing.

On the night of Aug. 2, 2015, Tom Marten called 911.

He informed the operator, as heard in “A Deadly American Marriage,” that his daughter’s husband had a dispute. He stepped in and struck him on the head with a baseball bat, he admitted when asked for the weapon.

Lieutenant Wanda Thompson stated that she received a call to visit the residence located on Panther Creek Court, within the Meadowlands area, at approximately 3:00 AM.

She entered the bedroom shared by the couple, and in her report, she stated, “It’s quite gruesome. It ranks among the bloodiest crime scenes I’ve encountered in years.”

Upon entering the room of the couple, she remarked in her documentation that it was one of the goriest crime scenes she had witnessed in a long while.

As per the autopsy findings shared by Alan Martin, the Assistant District Attorney in the report, it was noted that the deceased, named Jason, had several injuries. These included abrasions on his forehead, under his eye, on his shoulder blades, and extensive ones on his head. The pathologist stated that there were numerous blows to Jason’s head, so many that they overlapped, making it impossible to count them accurately. Furthermore, a piece of Jason’s skull actually detached from the skull during the autopsy and fell onto the table. Such severe injuries require an immense amount of force to inflict.

According to the interview footage from “A Deadly American Marriage,” Molly stated that she and Jason had an argument following Sarah’s disturbing dream, which caused Jason to wake up.

Molly explained, “He tightened his grip around my neck forcefully first, and then released it briefly before I let out a loud scream.

In a separate interview, an ex-FBI agent named Tom stated that he overheard loud arguments and heavy footsteps coming from upstairs which sounded concerning. So, he quickly grabbed a bat and rushed upstairs. According to Tom, Jason had his hands around Molly’s neck in a way that resembled choking, and then moved them to her throat as if he was applying a chokehold. When Jason began dragging Molly towards the bathroom, Tom admitted that he struck him.

Afterward, Jason seized the bat, to which Tom remarked. In her statement to police, Molly reported that Jason made an attempt at striking her father, although she added “it’s possible he missed.” Later on, it was stated that Tom reclaimed the bat and shared with investigators, “I can’t disclose how many times I struck him, nor how many times he pushed me…It was a struggle.

Apart from confessing, it was revealed that Molly had grabbed a bloodstained brick paver from her bedside table and used it to strike Jason. The image displayed in the document depicted the stone, which was now marked with both blood and strands of hair.

During their interviews, Tom and Molly mentioned that Jason appeared intoxicated, as suggested by the video footage. However, Alan Martin, who conducted the autopsy, stated that Jason’s blood alcohol level was just 0.02. The prosecutor further explained that traces of the tranquilizer trazodone were found in Jason’s system. This drug is prescribed to Molly, but it wasn’t clear whether Jason had taken it willingly or not.

On August 6, 2015, then-10-year-old Jack Corbett and his 8-year-old sister Sarah Corbett spoke with a social worker during interviews at the Dragonfly Child Advocacy Center. They claimed they had witnessed their father shouting at Molly. Sarah mentioned that she had seen her dad strike their mother on one occasion. Both children referred to Molly as their mother during these discussions.

In a recent interview, Jack stated that Jason would react angrily over minor matters. He also shared that Jason had physically and verbally harmed his mother on at least one or two occasions, when he was asked if he’d ever observed his father being violent.

In the novel “Deadly American Marriage“, Molly expressed that Jason had grown controlling and suspicious, constantly questioning her about her destinations and associates. She revealed that she secretly installed recording devices throughout their home to strengthen her argument for child custody if they were to divorce. Molly claimed to be worried for her own safety, stating unequivocally that she never imagined it would be Jason who met a tragic end.

In the given scenario, When Molly made her allegations of abuse against Jason, his family firmly rejected them. Interestingly, Jack and Sarah, who had returned to Ireland to stay with their aunt Tracey and uncle David, changed their earlier statements about witnessing abuse approximately nine months after Jason passed away. They were designated as the children’s legal guardians in Jason’s will by him.

In the document, they both stated that Molly was their coach, implying to the children that they would be removed from her care if they didn’t deceive. (However, it is worth noting that she contested Tracey and David’s guardianship in court in North Carolina, but the judge sided with the couple.)

In 2016, Jack informed investigators during a video call from Ireland that Molly had caused him to tell untruths to those conducting interviews with him.

In the Netflix series, Sarah mentioned that she repeated what Molly instructed her to say. She explained this action was taken because she didn’t wish to lose anyone else, so she chose to tell a lie.

Martin, the prosecutor, stated in the document that forensic evidence suggested “Jason had been struck on the head while he was already lying on the floor.” He added that blood found on the back of the bedroom door implied that “Jason suffered fatal violence” prior to Tom arriving upstairs.

Molly and Tom found themselves in custody, accused of a second-degree homicide. Both claimed innocence, and their respective bails were set at $200,000 each, allowing them temporary freedom pending trial.

Molly and Tom were both found guilty of second-degree murder on Aug. 9, 2017.

During the trial, Molly didn’t give testimony, but in her initial court appearance prior to sentencing, she declared, “I did not kill my husband. It was my father who did not kill my husband.

Molly and Tom were subsequently sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.

In simpler terms, Tracey expressed to reporters that the act was an extremely harsh and heartless taking of a life, following the announcement of the verdict. Sadly, her parents have lost their child, and we’ve all lost an exceptional sibling and companion. (KTVB 7 reports this statement)

In the document, Sarah reminisced about feeling liberated and unburdened, in a positive sense, and ultimately finding herself comfortably embracing family life with Jack, Tracey, David, and her relatives.

Tom’s lawyer, David Freedman, stated to reporters following the court hearing in 2017, as reported by KTVB 7. He clarified that Tom was indeed deeply distressed, but emphatically added that if he hadn’t acted as he did on that particular night, his daughter wouldn’t be alive today. In his view, nothing could ever compensate for that fact.

Tom and Molly immediately set out to appeal.

Initially, lawyers Doug Kingsberry, Jay Vannoy, and Jones Byrd, as recalled in ‘Deadly American Marriage’, focused on strengthening the proof that supported Molly and Tom’s account of the incidents.

In simpler terms, a judge’s decision before the trial prevented Jack and Sarah from discussing their observations of their father mistreating Molly at home. Consequently, it wasn’t possible for anyone to introduce evidence about the children retracting their statements.

To clarify, as the legal team outlined in the document, it was crucial to reintroduce Sarah and Jack’s initial statements as evidence. This is because the lawyers plan to assert that these two individuals were pressured to alter their account by family members residing in Ireland.

“They appear to be brainwashed,” Tom said in the doc of the kids’ 2016 interviews with prosecutors.

On January 31, 2019, the lawyers argued their case before the Court of Appeals, and they were successful. The judges decided that Jack and Sarah’s initial statements should not have been dismissed and determined that Jason was the instigator in the incident that led to his death.

In a decision favoring the Martens, the North Carolina Supreme Court decided that there was an unjust error during the initial trial which excluded key evidence crucial to their self-defense case. This ruling sets the stage for a fresh trial, as per their appeal.

In response to the court’s findings, the dissenting justices argued that there was a significant amount of compelling evidence to support the conviction, and they deemed the children’s testimonies and subsequent retractions as irrelevant in determining the defendant Martens’ mental state.

Molly found it incredibly exciting,” she reminisced in the Netflix documentary about returning home, as per their release on April 1, 2021, as indicated by online imprisonment records. Tom was also released at that time.

The defense had prepared expert witnesses who were set to affirm, using audio recordings that Molly made, that Jason displayed clear signs of verbal aggression. Attorney Kingsberry further disclosed recently discovered evidence: There was a mark on the left side of Molly’s neck near her ear and a stain suggestive of urine on the bottom part of the pajamas she wore.

According to Kingsberry, the prosecution claimed there was no neck injury on Molly, but he argued that the wound was a result of “a nail being pressed in, a common occurrence during manual strangulation.” Furthermore, he suggested that the stain indicated Molly may have lost consciousness or control over her faculties that night.

Prosecutor Martin conceded in “Deadly American Marriage” that the accusation that Jason choked someone isn’t something we’d want to present to the jury. He stated that Jack and Sarah were both eager to testify, believing their statements would resolve everything, but there was still a risk that things might not go as planned.

On October 23, 2023, both Molly and Tom admitted their guilt for voluntary manslaughter in a court of law.

Molly expressed in the document that she had no intention of accepting a plea deal. Instead, she was eager to face a trial, seek the truth, and retaliate. However, the prospect of potentially losing at trial and her father spending the remainder of his life in prison was a burden she couldn’t bear.

On November 8, 2023, the sentencing hearing for Molly and Tom marked the unique opportunity for Sarah and Jack to present their case in a court of law.

In simpler terms, the document depicts Tracy and David transporting the children to a hearing. As they traveled, David addressed the kids, saying, “It’s time to switch from crying to feeling angry.” He then encouraged them, saying, “Keep your chins up, stand tall, let’s show these individuals we mean business.

In a statement presented in court, Jack expressed, “Beware of the deceptive veneer of civility that Molly Martens portrays. She deliberately undermined me and fed me falsehoods. I want to make it clear, I have never observed my father physically harm Molly Martens at any point.

As a lifestyle expert, I’d rephrase it like this: “In court, I shared my heartfelt sentiments, ‘The belongings that Molly and Tom Martens took from me are irreplaceable. The sight of my father’s bloodied handprint on his bedroom door is a chilling reminder of the violence that claimed his life. His departure was not voluntary; he didn’t choose to leave us. He was unjustly taken away, making him the victim.’

Molly and Tom were given prison sentences ranging from four to six years, equivalent to 51 to 74 months. However, considering the four years they had already served, they only spent an additional seven months in prison: Molly at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh and Tom at the Caldwell Correctional Center in Lenoir. They were released on June 6, 2024, having completed their sentences.

Tracey expressed her family’s deep disapproval to the Irish Mirror regarding the duo’s early release. The news, she feels, is inadequate and unacceptable; they are and forever will be considered killers.

Following their discharge from prison, Molly, aged 41, and Tom, aged 75, still had a year of post-release monitoring left in their home state of Tennessee. As per the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, their probation, parole, or post-release status continues to be active.

In “Deadly American Marriage,” Molly and Tom argued that their struggle was merely a fight for survival the night Jason met his unfortunate demise.

“I was going to save her life or die trying,” Tom said, “and I have no regrets.”

Molly hasn’t seen Jack and Sarah since Tracey and David returned them to Ireland, and she is currently prohibited from having any contact with them.

She asserted in the document, “I never abused my children emotionally, physically, or in any manner whatsoever. Instead, the children have been manipulated for harmful purposes. They’ve been turned into weapons aimed at me, and they intentionally sought to harm me.

However, Molly noted, she would forever consider herself as the mother of “Jack and Sarah from a different life’s chapter.

Prior to the May debut of “A Deadly American Marriage“, Connor Martens, Molly’s brother, shared with NBC affiliate WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee that their father Tom was “in good spirits” and was “deeply appreciative for all the little joys in life”, including spending time with his wife Sharon Martens and their grandchildren.

Connor remarked that while Molly shares some similarities, it’s more challenging for her. He pointed out that his sister is nearing the completion of her college education, suggesting a busy and transformative phase in her life. However, he noted, she isn’t retired yet, and the additional media attention, harassment, and trauma have made things tougher for her. Despite these struggles, Connor believes Molly is largely grateful and managing quite well, given all the circumstances.

Jack and Sarah firmly pushed back against the accusation that they’d been brainwashed in any way.

In the documentary, I shared, ‘I know many might argue, ‘He’s been influenced by those who admired his father for eight years, that’s why he speaks that way,’ but I was always encouraged to make my own choices, form my own views. My dad wasn’t just a hero or someone I idolized; he was my inspiration, my role model, and my closest friend.

Sarah remarked, “Dad adored both me and Jack deeply; he cherished us above all else, and I have no doubt about it. I’m incredibly proud to acknowledge that I am Jason Corbett’s daughter.

Ever since I became an ardent follower of the Corbett-Lynches – that dynamic duo, Jack and Sarah, now 20 years old – my heart has been beating in sync with theirs. Now residing in the Emerald Isle, they’ve chosen to carry on with life, just like I eagerly await each new chapter in their inspiring journey. Speaking of journeys, Sarah has embarked on a remarkable one by penning her memoir, A Time for Truth: My Father Jason and My Search for Justice and Healing. I can’t wait to immerse myself in the pages, knowing that each word will bring me closer to understanding their incredible tale.

On what should have been Mags’ 50th birthday, May 8th, Sarah uploaded numerous photos of her parents on Instagram. In the captions, she wrote, “I believe you’re with us in spirit, Mom, alongside Dad. I can sense that today, you would be involved in something significant here with me, Jack, and all the others who continue to stand by us.

On May 10th, she extended heartfelt birthday wishes to her aunt Tracey, acknowledging her as an “exceptional individual who has consistently stood by me and made me feel cherished.” Thank you for being like a mother to me.

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2025-05-17 15:18