Just when exactly was Jason killed?
Detectives expected to focus on time of death and blood stains which will ‘cast doubt’ on Martens’ explanation
DETECTIVES leading the investigation into the death of Jason Corbett are expected to focus their case on the time he is alleged to have died.
Mr Corbett’s second wife, Molly Martens, 31, and her father Thomas, 65, have been charged with second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
However, the pair claim that Mr Corbett was choking his wife when they hit him in self defence with a paving stone and a baseball bat
In a 911 call placed by Mr Martens at 3.05am on August 2, he told an emergency dispatcher saying he ‘might have killed him [Mr Corbett]’
Sources say the time of death, ‘as suggested in the narrative of the two accused’ will be a key issue in the upcoming trial. An autopsy report on Mr Corbett’s body puts his time of death at 3.24am, when emergency responders found him at the scene.
It is understood that expert testimony and forensic evidence will be used to show that Mr Corbett died before the 3am 911 call was placed by Mr Martens. Investigators also plan to use a blood spatter expert to show that Mr Corbett was bludgeoned to death in a sustained attack when the case comes to trial. Sources close to the case have indicated that the pattern of blood spatter in the master bedroom where the alleged crime
‘The use of force was excessive’
took place is not consistent with the accused duo’s version of events.
‘We have a blood spatter expert who will talk about the pattern that was left at the scene,’ said a source. ‘His or her forensic evidence will cast doubt over the assertion that the accused parties acted in self-defence. The use of force was excessive.’
Details revealed in the autopsy state that the bedroom where Mr Corbett’s remains were found ‘had a large amount of blood on the floor, spatter on the walls and furniture. Pieces of tissue and scalp were visible on the floor.’
Mr Martens told detectives that he came to his daughter’s defence after she got into ‘an uncontrolled argument’ with his son-in-law.
Mr Corbett, he alleges, was ‘choking’ Molly when he struck him with a baseball bat. In affidavits given by detectives who visited the scene say the struggle described by Ms Martens and her father ‘was not consistent with the evidence at the scene, particularly the master bedroom where Mr Corbett was killed’.
Furthermore, neither Mr Martens nor his daughter showed any ‘evidence of injury to their person,’ according to investigators.
However, details contained in autopsy examination of Mr Corbett’s remains, released on Thursday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, show the 39-yearold suffered a catalogue of harrowing injuries as a result of an ‘altercation’.
These included ‘multiple blunt force impact sites to the head, notably including two large, complex, branched, full-thickness scalp lacerations.’ Mr Corbett also suffered extensive skull fractures including a ‘hinge fracture of the skull base’.
There were numerous bruises to the brain and the father-of-two suffered traumatic brain injury due to bleeding. Other blunt force injuries included scattered abrasions and bruises to the torso, shoulder, arms and legs. Autopsy diagrams also show multiple marks and abrasions on the left hand, mainly on the second and third fingers. The pictures also illustrate the extensive bruising to the head, specifically marks under the right eye and nose.
Police will present evidence of a lengthy spell of bitterness in the marriage and the acrimony over the split as a reason for Mr Corbett’s bloody end. Officer’s allege that Mr Corbett was planning to travel to Ireland ‘with or without’ his wife Molly but with the children, and that his wife allegedly removed large sums of money from shared bank accounts after he died.
Shocking details were contained in a set of search warrant documents released by Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank on Thursday reveal a series of damning insights into the relationship between Mr Corbett and his second wife. An affidavit given by Wanda Thompson, the lead detective in the case, states that, through Mr Corbett’s colleagues and friends, she had learned that he was planning to return home on or around August 21.
She also states that Mr Corbett’s business partners had provided information that he had allegedly discussed transferring some of his financial assets, to include up to $60,000 from bank accounts in the US to bank accounts in Ireland. Ms Thompson said that members of the Corbett family had told her that Ms Martens’ spending habits were a source of concern for her husband. She concludes: ‘Davidson County Sheriff’s officers have also learned, from attorney’s handling Mr Corbett’s estate, that since Jason Corbett’s death, large sums of money have been removed from some of the bank accounts he shared jointly with Molly Martens Corbett. Jason Corbett’s alleged comfortable financial status provides additional motive for his untimely death.’ Mr Corbett, originally from Janesboro, Limerick, died from blunt-force injuries.
Although no arrests were made, in the days after his death, investigators confirmed they were not looking for anybody from outside the home. Jason’s wife and his father-in-law were later named as ‘persons of interest’ by detectives.
He shared the North Carolina home with Ms Martens and his two children from his marriage to first wife Mags Fitzpatrick, who died in 2006 as a result of an asthma attack.