Molly Martens to make €147k from sale of murder house
Wife gets half of proceeds from sale of home where Jason died
MOLLY Martens, who beat her Irish husband Jason Corbett to death, is set to receive $173,000 (€147,000) — half the proceeds from the sale of his US home.
The 34-year-old former model from Knoxville, Tennessee, was jailed for up to 25 years for the second-degree murder of her Limerick-born husband in North Carolina on August 2, 2015.
Mr Corbett was beaten to death with a concrete paving brick and a metal baseball bat by Martens and her father, retired FBI agent Tom Martens (68).
During their murder trial last year, Davidson County prosecutors revealed that Mr Corbett had been drugged with a sedative prescribed for his wife and was most likely asleep in bed when he was savagely attacked.
The father and daughter, having brutally bludgeoned him, then cruelly delayed ringing emergency services — to ensure the Irishman was dead when police and paramedics finally arrived.
The Sunday Independent has now confirmed that the five-bedroom North Carolina family home bought by the Limerick father-of-two in 2011 has been sold.
It was detailed by Mays Gibson real estate in North Carolina as sold for a listed fee of $345,900 (€294,000).
Under US law, half the amount will go to Martens and half to Mr Corbett’s estate for his two children.
The stunning property in the gated Wallburg community of Panther Creek Court had been on the market for some time but hadn’t sold, in part because of the notoriety over the brutal crime committed there.
Martens’s cash windfall may be wiped out by legal costs over her murder conviction.
MOLLY Martens, the wife of Irish businessman Jason Corbett, is set to receive €147,000 from the sale of her husband’s US home — despite her conviction for beating him to death.
Martens (34), from Knoxville, Tennessee, is serving a 20 to 25-year sentence for the second degree murder of her husband in North Carolina on August 2, 2015.
Mr Corbett (39) was beaten to death with a concrete paving brick and a metal baseball bat by Martens and her father, retired FBI agent Tom Martens (68).
During the pair’s high-profile murder trial last year, Davidson County prosecutors revealed that Mr Corbett had been drugged with a sedative prescribed for his wife and was most likely asleep in bed when he was savagely attacked.
The father and daughter, having brutally bludgeoned him, then cruelly delayed ringing emergency services — to ensure the Irishman was dead when police and paramedics finally arrived.
Prosecutors also indicated the duo probably faked performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Mr Corbett while a 911 operator listened via a telephone.
The trial heard that Mr Corbett had been planning to move back to Ireland with his two children — and was attacked by his wife and her father because he steadfastly refused to allow her to adopt them.
Mr Corbett was increasingly worried about his wife’s mental health issues.
Both his children were born to his first wife, Margaret ‘Mags’ Fitzpatrick, who died after an asthma attack in 2006 in Limerick.
Martens met Mr Corbett when she applied for a job as an au pair for the children in 2008. Mr Corbett’s sister Tracey Corbett Lynch and his Limerick-based family waged a remarkable two-year campaign to support North Carolina prosecutors and ensure the father and daughter faced justice.
Mrs Corbett Lynch has since written a bestselling account of the Irish family’s battle for justice entitled My Brother Jason.
The Sunday Independent has now confirmed that the five-bedroom North Carolina family home bought by the Limerick father-of-two in 2011 has been sold.
It was detailed as sold by Mays Gibson real estate in North Carolina for a listed fee of $345,900 (€294,000).
Under US law, half the amount will go to Martens and half to Mr Corbett’s estate for his two children. It means that Martens will receive $173,000 (€147,000).
However, her windfall is set to be totally wiped out by legal costs over her murder conviction.
The stunning property in the gated Wallburg community of Panther Creek Court had been on the market for some time but hadn’t sold, in part because of the brutal crime committed there.
It eventually sold for €50,000 less than Mr Corbett paid for it in 2011 when he decided to relocate his entire family to the US and build a new life with his homesick second wife.
The property — 160 Panther Creek Court — is one of the finest houses in the area, boasting an expansive corner site and a large lawn.
The community boasts its own tennis courts, pool and golf course.
Since Mr Corbett’s murder, the property has been meticulously maintained by his neighbours and friends in Panther Creek Court.
Mrs Corbett Lynch paid tribute to the incredible kindness of her brother’s former neighbours — who would take it in turns to cut the lawn and help ensure the property was monitored and maintained despite being empty for almost three years.
While Martens will now receive roughly €147,000 from the property sale, the Sunday Independent understands that the entire sum will be eaten up by her legal costs.
Martens mounted a full defence of the second degree murder charge — and is now engaged in twin appeals, both of which are due to come before the North Carolina Court of Appeal.
She was recently moved from one North Carolina prison to another following three breaches of jail rules in less than 10 months.
The nanny could face having her sentence extended if the parole board penalises her for such breaches.
However, because of her murder conviction Martens will not benefit from a $600,000 (€510,000) life insurance policy taken out by her husband.
The policy had been inexplicably changed in the months before Mr Corbett’s death to remove his children as beneficiaries and ensure that only Martens was listed to benefit.