Chapter 5

‘NO BRUISING, NO SWELLING, NO CUTS’

SHORTLY after 11am on Tuesday, July 25, the trial opened with details which would shock and fascinate people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Having given brief trial instructions to the jury of nine women and three men, plus the male and female alternative jurors, Judge Lee handed the case over to the prosecution who would make the first submission.

Assistant District Attorney Alan Martin rose from the prosecution bench and, walking towards the jury, outlined what they claimed had happened in the early hours of August 2, 2015 when Jason Corbett met his death.

The opening was, as many had expected, shocking both in terms of the violence it outlined and the sheer scale of the fatal injuries sustained by the Irish father-of-two in his own bedroom.

Mr Martin revealed that the Limerick father-of-two was struck at least 10 times over the head with the damage to his skull so severe that a post-mortem couldn’t even determine precisely how many times he was hit with the two implements, a concrete garden paving brick and a metal baseball bat.

Even more shocking was the fact that such was the damage to Jason Corbett’s skull, as the pathologist attempted to adjust the scalp during the post-mortem, pieces of the skull actually fell out onto the surgical table.

It also emerged that traces of a powerful sleep drug prescribed just days earlier for his wife, Ms Martens-Corbett, were found in the Irishman’s system.

Mr Corbett did not suffer from the sleep issues for which the drug was prescribed. His wife received a prescription for Trazodone on July 30, just three days before Mr Corbett’s death.

Mr Martin said that, despite their 2011 marriage, Ms Martens-Corbett remained only a step-mother to Mr Corbett’s two children by his late first wife – and her husband was apparently considering moving back to Ireland.

The District Attorney also said that while Mr Corbett was discovered in the bedroom naked and blood-spattered with a crushed skull there wasn’t a mark on either his wife or his father-in-law when police and paramedics arrived.

This was despite their claim that they had acted only in self-defence that night. “Thomas Martens – [had] no injuries, no bruises, no swelling, no cuts and no blood appeared to come from him,” he said.

“Molly Martens-Corbett – [had] no bruises, no swelling, no cuts and no blood appeared to come from her.”

But Mr Martin said Jason Corbett left the master bedroom of his Panther Creek home in the luxury Meadowlands gated community on a board with his skull shattered so badly that a pathologist couldn’t even determine precisely how many blows he had sustained.

At least one blow was sustained when Mr Corbett was already dead.

Multiple blows had been sustained by two specific areas of the back of his head.

“His skull was badly crushed,” he said.

When a Davidson County sheriff arrived at the scene early that morning, a paramedic warned him: “It is bad.”

When the paramedic tried to help Mr Corbett – who was lying naked and blood covered on his bedroom floor – he attempted to move his head and found the back of his skull to be “squishy”.

“There was nothing that could be done,” Mr Martin said.

“Jason Corbett left that room on a board and his head was badly crushed.” During the post-mortem examination, a pathologist moved his scalp and “pieces of his skull fell out onto the table”.

Pieces of his shattered skull had also been driven into his brain.

“It was like a hard-boiled egg that had been dropped on the counter,” Mr Martin said. On the number of blows that had been sustained, Mr Martin said,“It was not two, it was not four, it was not six and it was not eight. It was at least 10 times [he was struck].”

The only mark on Ms Martens-Corbett at the scene was a little redness on her neck akin to “a sunburn”.

Mr Martin said that, at the scene, Ms Martens-Corbett was also asked repeatedly to stop rubbing her neck.

“That was how they walked out of that room – but Jason Corbett left it on a board.” Both Mr Martens and Ms Martens-Corbett also refused emergency medical treatment at the scene.

Mr Corbett’s blood was found all over the bedroom floor and walls as well as in the hallway and bathroom.

Mr Martin told the jury that expert medical, forensic, pathology and pharmacology evidence would be introduced at the trial.

Blood spatters indicated that Mr Corbett was subjected to a sustained series of blows – with blood spray patterns indicating that he was, at one point, near the ground when his head was struck.

“The State will [try to address] why? Why didn’t they stop?” Mr Martin said. David Freedman, for Mr Martens, in his opening remarks said the father-of-four and retired FBI agent heard noises coming from an upstairs bedroom of his daughter’s home early that morning.

On going to investigate from his basement bedroom, he would claim he saw Mr Corbett holding his daughter by the throat.

“Jason’s hand was around Molly’s throat – his little girl had her husband’s hand around her throat.”

Mr Freedman said that Mr Martens instructed Mr Corbett to release Ms MartensCorbett.

“[But Mr Corbett said:] I’m sorry – I shouldn’t be doing this,” he said. However, he said that Mr Corbett then put his entire arm around his wife’s throat. “I am going to kill her – I am going to kill her,” Mr Freedman said the Irishman replied.

At this point, Mr Freedman said Mr Martens used a baseball bat he had brought from Tennessee as a present for his grandson to try to protect his daughter and himself.

Mr Freedman pointed out that Mr Corbett was much bigger than either Mr Martens or his daughter.

Both the father and daughter feared for their lives at the time.

Walter Holton, defence lawyer for Ms Martens-Corbett, said that a strand of the

Tennessee woman’s hair was later found in Mr Corbett’s hand.

But this was not preserved by forensic experts.

Police statements also indicated that Ms Martens-Corbett was in severe shock at the scene.

The prosecution’s first witness would be Karen Capps, the emergency dispatch operator who received a 911 call from Mr Martens at the scene.

The two defence teams had objected to supplementary prosecution submissions as to how the female 911 operator perceived Mr Martens to be during the call.

In submissions to Judge Lee, it was claimed the operator would say the former FBI agent was “surprisingly calm” and “was not out of breath”.

The operator would claim that this was not normal for how callers in such circumstances appear, people tending to be “very upset” or “excited”.

Ms Capps of the Davidson County Emergency Call Centre, confirmed she took a 911 call from Mr Martens at 3.02am on August 2.

The entire 911 call was played to the jury and Ms Martens-Corbett began weeping, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue.

Mr Martens told the dispatcher his son-in-law had sustained serious head injuries. Ms Capps, who has been an emergency call dispatcher for 16 years, said the call lasted around 14 minutes.

In submissions between the prosecution and defence to Judge Lee, she outlined aspects of the call.

“He [Mr Martens] was calm – surprisingly calm. He stayed calm throughout the call.”

“He said he hit him [Mr Corbett] in the head with a ball bat.”

The dispatcher said that she automatically made the call an issue for both paramedics and the Davidson County Sheriff ’s Department.

Ms Capps said undertaking Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for any lengthy period is an exhausting process.

“CPR is very exhausting – it is very hard physically,” she said.

Those on a 911 call which requires CPR are asked to do two chest compressions per second.

The dispatcher instructed Mr Martens to check Mr Corbett’s airways, to place him on his back and to begin CPR until paramedics arrived.

Ms Capps said she noted that Mr Martens did not at any time during the lengthy call appear out of breath or gasping despite the fact he had been asked to do 400 chest compressions. His daughter, Molly, was being asked to do 200 compressions in relief of her father.

“I noticed he was not out of breath,” Ms Capps said.

“He did not sound like most people sound. He wasn’t panting or gasping or out of breath.

“There was a lot of communication back and forth but he was not out of breath.”

Ms Capps said Molly Martens-Corbett later came on the phone.

“She was very tearful – a little excited I guess would be a good word.”

At one point, Ms Martens-Corbett was shouting out the CPR count.

“She counted like she was yelling – like she wanted to make sure I heard she was counting.”

The District Attorney’s Office also revealed that traces of a powerful sleep medication,

Trazodone, were found in Mr Corbett’s blood stream.

A nurse, Katie Wingate-Scott of the KPC health centre, confirmed to the trial that Ms Martens-Corbett was prescribed Trazodone in 50mg doses on July 30 – three days before her husband’s death.

The prescription was given after the Tennessee woman complained she could not sleep due to a congenital circulatory problem with her foot.

Ms Wingate-Scott treated both Ms Martens-Corbett and Mr Corbett who were patients of the centre.

Pharmacist James Hiatt confirmed that the prescription in Ms Martens-Corbett’s name was filled and collected.

Ms Wingate-Scott said the KPC health centre had treated Mr Corbett between 2012 and his death.

She said medical records indicated in 2013 and 2014 that, when assessed, Mr Corbett was found to be either moderately or mildly depressed.

However, no medication for depression or sleep problems were ever prescribed for him. She said that one medical note detailed that Mr Corbett was complaining of high stress levels, anxiety, malaise, fatigue and occasional feelings of being overwhelmed.

He also told doctors: “He gets angry lately for no reason.”

David Freedman, for Mr Martens, noted that this statement was made just 17 days before his death.

Mr Hiatt, in cross-examination by the defence, said he knew of cases where one family member will share a prescribed medication with another family member who needs it.

The next major witness was North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office associate pathologist Dr Craig Nelson.

He confirmed that Mr Corbett’s skull was badly shattered and the damage was so severe that he could not determine at a post-mortem examination precisely how many times he had been struck.

However, he confirmed that Mr Corbett sustained at least 12 blows.

Complex injuries were sustained to both the left and right side of his skull.

The blows were sufficiently violent to drive fragments of skull into his brain.

His nose was also broken, there was swelling to the orbit of one of his eyes and there were injuries to his torso and extremities such as his legs and arms.

Dr Nelson said it was clear Mr Corbett suffered blunt force trauma blows to the head

rather than sharp force blows. “It (post-mortem examination photos) shows detachment of scalp from the skull and the connecting tissues,” he explained.

“It illustrates the depth and underscores that this was a laceration and therefore a blunt force trauma injury rather than a sharp force injury.”

A total of 12 photographs were introduced to illustrate the injuries suffered by the

39-year-old.

In one photograph, it was said that Mr Corbett’s scalp was effectively “drooping [off] with gravity”.

Judge Lee warned the jury that the photographs involved were “very graphic”. They were taken during the post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Nelson in a Davidson County hospital on August 3.

The photographs had barely been put on display, variously on a large easel near the jury box or via a giant wall-mounted screen, when one of the jurors began to get sick.

The woman desperately tried to control her reactions but she couldn’t avoid vomiting all over herself.

Sounds of her distressed retching left the entire courtroom in shocked silence. After being allowed return to the jury room to compose herself and freshen up, the woman insisted she was able to continue with the trial.

She blamed her reaction on the fact she hadn’t eaten a proper breakfast that morning. Dr Nelson noted that at least one of the injuries to Mr Corbett’s skull was sustained after he was dead.

“It [one wound] has the appearance of a post-mortem injury. There was very little bleeding suggesting it was post-mortem, it was after death.”

Dr Nelson said toxicology tests showed the presence of ethanol [alcohol] but at a relatively low level.

The blood test also confirmed the presence of the sedative Trazodone but in a below therapeutic dose.

Dr Nelson added that Mr Corbett was six foot tall and weighed around 260lbs.

His time of death was confirmed as 3.24am but he said it was not possible to determine precisely when Mr Corbett’s heart stopped beating.

In cross-examination with Mr Holton, Dr Nelson said: “I place very little value on body temperature at the scene due to variable factors.”

The next witness, Davidson County Sheriff ’s Department officer, Corporal Clayton Dagenhardt, said he saw blood on the walls, floor, bed, hallway and bedroom of a luxury Panther Creek gated community home he was called to at 3am on August 2, 2015.

Corporal Dagenhardt was the first police officer to enter the master bedroom of the home after the alarm was raised.

He also revealed how, with a colleague, Cpl Rusty Ramsay, he was determined that the two sleeping children would not see their father’s blood.

So, on waking Jack and Sarah in the bedrooms, the officers carried both children downstairs, insisting the youngsters push their faces into the crook of the officers’ necks, both men walking carefully backwards down the stairs.

Corporal Dagenhardt confirmed he was assigned to call to the Panther Creek home

after 3am on August 2 when Mr Martens called 911 and said his son-in-law may have been killed when he struck him over the head with a baseball bat while acting in selfdefence.

The officer, a 14-year veteran who said he had attended more than 200 scenes where blood had been spilled, confirmed the grim sight that greeted him.

“There was blood on the floor – fairly large amounts that already seemed to be congealed,” he said.

“There was blood on the bed, blood in the hall and blood in the bathroom. I saw some

[blood] on the floor – puddles and on the walls.

“It was starting to dry.”

Corporal Dagenhardt said blood that comes from the body is “runny”.

But he said some of the blood he saw appeared to be congealed like “Jell-O” or jelly. He confirmed that Mr Corbett was naked and lying on the floor in a pool of blood with visible injuries to his face and head.

There was also large amounts of blood on his head and chest.

Two paramedics who fought in vain to save the life of Mr Corbett noted how cool his body appeared as they treated him.

Davidson County emergency medical services officials, David Bent and Amanda Hackworth, made the determination as the blood-soaked body of the Limerick father-oftwo was in the back of an ambulance outside his home.

Paramedics had taken Mr Corbett’s body from the master bedroom of his home into an ambulance waiting outside to better assist their life-saving work.

“He’s cool – how long has he been down?” Ms Hackworth asked after she noted the apparent temperature of Mr Corbett’s body.

The paramedic noted the coolness of the body as she reached across and brushed his torso with her bare forearm.

“It was fairly alarming.”

“I asked Sergeant [Barry] Alphin... I said: how long did they say they waited before they called 911? He said [they said] they called the minute he went down.”

“I felt the patient was cool – his torso was cool.”

Ms Hackworth also noted the fact there was dried blood on Mr Corbett’s body. Fellow paramedic David Bent said he also noted the coolness of the body.

“I also determined that he felt cool to me as well,” he said.

“It was also pointed out to me by Amanda Hackworth that when she was attempting to gather leads to hook on the patient, she pointed out, she reached over – the skin portion of her arm touched the patient and [she] said he felt cool.

“It was a very important determination.”

Mr Bent said that the coolness of a patient’s body, combined with the total lack of electrical signals from the heart and the severe trauma sustained to the back of Mr Corbett’s head, was used in deciding to stop life saving measures at around 3.24am. “There was no electrical activity,” he said. “There was [severe] trauma to the head.” Paramedic Sergeant Barry Alphin confirmed that at no time did paramedics get any heart rhythm from Mr Corbett.

Sergeant Alphin, in trying to move Mr Corbett’s head, was shocked when his hand and fingers slipped inside the back of his skull.

Mr Bent said he later saw Ms Martens-Corbett lying on her side on the ground outside the property. He went over and examined her using a pen-light.

“I observed a redness on the left side of her neck. There was a light redness.” “[But] there was no significant injury [to her]. [There was] no abnormality to her eye.” Mr Bent said that Ms Martens-Corbett told him: “She stated that she had been choked.” The paramedic pointed out that Ms Martens-Corbett then signed a medical refusal form.

“[It means] We have assessed them and they made a decision not to go to hospital.” Former Davidson County police officer David Dillard was tasked at the scene with staying with Ms Martens-Corbett at his patrol car.

“She was making crying noises but I did not see any visible tears,” he said.

“She was also rubbing her neck in a scrubbing motion – she would do it and then stop, do it and then stop. She was upset. I heard crying noises but I did not see any visible tears.”

The trial also heard that police officers asked Ms Martens-Corbett and Mr Martens to immediately step out of the property onto the porch when they realised Mr Corbett had been struck.

Corporal Clayton Dagenhardt said this was in a bid to preserve the scene.

The police officer saw a blood-stained brick and bat near a wooden dresser in Mr Corbett’s bedroom. Puddles of blood were across the floor.

He said Mr Martens’ wife, Sharon, was later found in a basement bedroom.

“[She was] calm,” he said.

“She asked if everything was okay.”

Corporal Dagenhardt and another officer requested Ms Martens to look after Mr

Corbett’s two children, Jack and Sarah.

Outside the property, Mr Martens – who was dressed in a red shirt and shorts – asked could he use the bathroom.

“I said I couldn’t allow him back into the residence,” the officer said.

The doors of two police cars were then opened and Mr Martens urinated in the shelter between them.

Corporal Dagenhardt said Mr Martens was calm and cooperative throughout. However, he said he briefly became agitated in a police car as he was driven to a station. “He became agitated and asked where we were going and were we even in the same county?”

Corporal Dagenhardt said the agitation began when he declined to fully wind-up a car window as requested by Mr Martens.