FAMILY ANGER AT CLAIM JASON WAS CHOKING WIFE WHEN HE WAS KILLED
JASON Corbett’s brother has hit out over claims that the ‘bludgeoned to death’ father-of-two had been ‘choking’ his wife when he was killed.
John Corbett, who lives in England, described claims that Molly Martens and her father acted in selfdefence as ‘untrue and deluded.’
‘The attempts to blacken my brother’s name are very upsetting,’ he said.
‘Jason and his first wife Mags led a very peaceful harmonious life with no history of any conflicts or aggression. This is verified 100% by the ongoing support, love and care from the Fitzpatrick family (Mags’s parents and family) to us, the Corbett family.’ He claimed: ‘The only aggression and deceit has stemmed from a long litany of events by Molly Martens. This includes being very aggressive towards my nephew and niece, as witnessed by family members, and abusing my brother Jason at social events, as witnessed by mutual friends of Jason and Molly.’
Mr Corbett was responding to claims by Michael Earnest, Molly Martens’ uncle, who alleged that her life was in ‘mortal danger’ on the night her husband was killed.
‘Tom Martens would have been incapable of doing anything other than protecting himself and protecting his daughter,’ Mr Earnest told the Irish Daily Mail. ‘In his training, there are only two instances where lethal force can be used and that’s when your life is in mortal danger or the life of another is in mortal danger. And I know Tom so well that those are the only two times that he would ever consider using any type of force.’
However, John Corbett said that efforts were being made to ‘degrade’ the character of his brother.
‘Thomas Martens was a trained law enforcement officer for a long period in his life,’ he said.
‘He was trained to restrain, trained to use as much force against the perceived threat as needed. The reality is that my innocent, loving brother Jason never had any kind of self-defence training in his entire life. They are trying to degrade my brother’s character. Jason lived for golf, his favourite sport.
‘He was a loving caring father who lived for and adored his children, his family and his friends. We miss him and his laughter so dearly,’ he said.
Police believe Ms Martens, 32, and her 65-year-old father Thomas killed the Limerick man, 39, in his North Carolina home on August 2. The former nanny and her ex-FBI officer father have been charged with both second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
Mr Earnest put emphasis on the fact Mr Corbett weighed a lot more than his wife and father-in-law and that a baseball bat allegedly used to kill Jason was ‘for a child’.
He added that they used ‘necessary and justified actions’.
However in response, John Corbett described Mr Earnest’s claims as ‘desperate’.
‘The claims by the Martens family that they acted in self-defence against my gentle, innocent brother are so desperate, so weak, so untrue,’ he said.
‘I have the utmost faith in the North Carolina justice system and in the professionalism and hard work being carried out by the DA and the Davidson County Police Department in their pursuit of the truth. Jason was a very kind gentle soul who loved life.
‘He had a wonderful loving wife in Mags Fitzpatrick Corbett, who is the mother of his two beautiful children. Jason moved to the US to give Molly Martens the opportunity to help raise, care for, and love my nephew and niece for the rest of their lives.
‘He bought them a lovely family home to live out their hopes and dreams,’ he said.
‘He provided Molly Martens with everything that she needed and more. Jason’s reward for this was to pay with his life, leaving his children without a father and leaving a mother and father without a son.’
‘Molly aggressive towards the kids’