‘Thank you’ for decision to put Martens on trial
Clerk welcomes move over Jason killing
THE US court official who refused to give Molly Martens custody of Jason Corbett’s kids has welcomed the decision to put her and her father on trial again for his murder.
Brian Shipwash was speaking after the decision of Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank to go with the retrial for killer Martens, 37 and her 71-year-old EX-FBI agent father Tom.
He said: “Thank you. On behalf of the friends and family, thank you,”
The DA in the North Carolina county where Jason, 39, was beaten to death in 2015 by the pair did have the option of offering them a plea bargain after their murder conviction was overturned last month – but he has now ordered a full retrial.
The Martens were convicted in 2017 of Mr Corbett’s murder and caged for 25 years, but the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a retrial last month.
And that decision saw the father and daughter walk free last week on a bail bond of $200,000 (€170,000) each pending the trial – although the case is not expected to take place for at least 18 months.
Shortly after Jason was beaten to death in his own home, Ms Martens applied to the local courts to have custody of his two kids, who were then aged 10 and eight.
But Mr Shipwash, who was court clerk in the case but is now a private investigator, rejected her application and ordered the kids to go back to Ireland to Mr Corbett’s own family.
He has now broken his silence – to hail the decision of Mr Frank to order the retrial.
Mr Shipwash said: “I would like to publicly thank District Attorney Garry Frank for making the decision to retry the case of the murder of Jason Corbett.
“No one is perfect, but I appreciate the willingness of himself and his staff to once again seek justice over expediency/ efficiency.
CHARGED
“Garry Frank had no control over the bond, but he had full control over the decision to offer a plea or a new trial. Thank you. On behalf of the friends and family, thank you.”
Mr Shipwash acknowledged the new case could take time to resolve, and added: “Them walking free burns the conscience of those closely related, but justice will be finalised in God’s time.
“America’s Justice System is not perfect, but it is designed to let a guilty person go free, before an innocent person is found guilty.
“Only if you are placed in the position of being charged and innocent can you appreciate this concept. God bless the journey and ultimately the path to a second conviction. #justiceforjason.”
Mr Shipwash’s comments come just days after it was revealed that Ms Martens is broke.
The former model, who was released from prison after four years last Wednesday, spent the entirety of the almost $200,000 she garnered from the sale of the house-of-horrors – on her eventually successful bid for freedom.
But even that was not enough money to cover her expensive legal bills, with her family claiming that her father and mother spent their retirement money and their life’s savings on getting them out.
God bless the journey & ultimately path to a second conviction BRIAN SHIPWASH YESTERDAY