​Jason Corbett’s family are ‘deeply disappointed’ at release of killers

Jason Corbett’s loved ones vowed to “remain resolute in our pursuit of truth, justice and the protection of Jason’s cherished memory” despite father and daughter Tom and Molly Martens being freed from separate prisons in North Carolina.

Both are scheduled to be released early this morning, having completed the four year and three month prison terms imposed for the voluntary manslaughter of the 39-year-old Limerick father of two.

Tom Martens (73), a former FBI agent and counter-intelligence operative, is expected to return to his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Molly Martens (40) is expected to go to live with one of her brothers in North Carolina.

Father and daughter will be subject to parole controls and monitoring for 12 months after their release.

They agreed a plea bargain deal with North Carolina prosecutors to voluntary manslaughter charges last November after they successfully appealed against their 2017 convictions for the second-degree murder of Mr Corbett.

His family accused Molly Martens of having spun “a web of lies” and of relentlessly putting his two children, Jack and Sarah, through a judicial nightmare that was “inhumane”.

In a statement, the Corbett family acknowledged what they had endured since Mr Corbett was beaten to death on August 2, 2015 in his North Carolina home.

“After a nine-year battle for justice, we are deeply disappointed by the impending release of Tom and Molly Martens, the individuals responsible for the senseless and brutal murder of Jason, leaving his two children orphaned,” a family spokesperson said. “Jason was drugged and they beat him with a brick and a baseball bat while he was unable to defend himself. They left the room without a mark on either of them.

“The heinous actions of Tom and Molly Martens not only took Jason’s life in a malevolent, cruel and vicious manner, but they set out to tarnish his reputation and use his children in a self-serving attempt to evade accountability.

“Molly Martens relentlessly put Jack and Sarah into the centre of her bid to evade justice with a web of lies while refusing to take the stand to give evidence herself.

“Her cruel disregard and treatment of two children under 10 years of age whose birth mother had died, whose father had just been battered to death and whom she professed to love, was inhumane.

“Despite the gravity of their crime and the immense loss they inflicted, they will be freed after serving just four years and three months.

“Their lack of remorse for the irreparable harm caused to Jason’s children, whom they callously orphaned, is a stark reminder to all of their callous disregard for human life and decency.

“Justice is twofold for criminals like Tom and Molly Martens. While they may have completed the court-mandated sentence, they now carry the enduring burden of their actions – forever knowing they extinguished a noble life.

“We know the truth, they know the truth. Soon the world will know the entire truth.

“Their legacy is one of undeniable guilt, exposed to an intelligent public who, when they look at the facts and evidence, acknowledge their malevolent deeds on August 2, 2015 without the shield of legal technicalities.

“As Jason’s family, we vow to tirelessly uphold his honourable legacy and seek justice to preserve his memory.

“Yet amid this sombre occasion, we draw solace from witnessing Jack and Sarah, the remarkable children Jason left behind, blossom into exceptional individuals he would undoubtedly be proud of.

“We remain resolute in our pursuit of truth, justice and the protection of Jason’s cherished memory.”

Tom and Molly Martens had been scheduled to be released on June 27, but that was brought forward by three weeks as they received extra credit for the time they have already spent in custody.

Mr Corbett was beaten to death by the pair with a metal “Louisville Slugger” baseball bat and a concrete paving slab in the master bedroom of his home.

His killers insisted they acted in self-defence after claiming Mr Corbett had attacked his Tennessee-born wife.

However, Mr Corbett’s family are adamant he was killed because Molly Martens feared he would bring his back to Ireland amid worries over her mental health and increasingly bizarre behaviour.

The packaging industry executive had repeatedly refused to sign adoption papers which would have given Martens, whom he met when she travelled to Ireland to work as a nanny for his son and daughter, equal rights to the children.

It also emerged that Mr Corbett’s will had been changed by remote means several weeks before his death to exclude the children, with everything going to Martens.