INADMISSIBLE: CLAIM THAT JASON WAS ‘RESPONSIBLE’ FOR FIRST WIFE’S DEATH

JUDGE David Lee ruled as inadmissible a statement from Mr Martens about comments he claimed were made by the father of Mr Corbett’s first wife.

Mr Martens said he was approached by Michael Fitzpatrick who told him Jason was responsible for the tragic death of Margaret ‘Mags’ Fitzpatrick from an asthma attack in 2006.

‘(Mr Martens was) approached by Michael Fitzpatrick (since deceased), the father of Jason Corbett’s first wife… He believed that Jason had caused the death of his daughter, Margaret,’ the statement read.

David Freedman, for Mr Martens, stressed they were not suggesting that this was what had actually occurred in 2006, but that it reflected on the state of mind Mr Martens was in in the early hours of August 2, 2015, when he claimed that he struck his son-in-law Mr Corbett in self-defence.

Mr Martens had described Mr Fitzpatrick as ‘uneducated’ and claimed he also found him hard to understand.

However, Ina Stanton, for the prosecution, objected to the statement being allowed on the basis that it was both highly prejudicial and inflammatory.

Ms Stanton also pointed out that Mr Fitzpatrick, before his death, had made a sworn statement to an Irish solicitor denying that he had ever made such a remark to Mr Martens.

Furthermore, Margaret Fitzpatrick’s mother, Marian Fitzpatrick, and her sister, Catherine, gave detailed interviews in which they attested to the ‘loving and caring relationship’ between Ms Fitzpatrick and Mr Corbett.

Judge Lee refused to allow the jury to hear the statement on the basis it was potentially prejudicial and misleading.