Friends of Molly Martens tell court Jason Corbett was jealous and controlling

Friends of Molly Martens have told a court that her husband, Jason Corbett, tried to control her and was jealous of her being noticed by other men.

Prosecutors, however, sought to question the credibility of Ms Martens, claiming she had made a series of untrue statements such as that she was actually the birth mother of Jason Corbett’s two children.

Prosecutors said she had told people in a bible study group about the difficulties and complications she had experienced during labour with Mr Corbett’s young daughter. They said that on another occasion she claimed to have known Mr Corbett’s first wife and that she had begged her to look after her children. They said she had also claimed on another occasion to have been the editor and publisher of a magazine in Ireland.

A family law lawyer, and friend, Melissa Sams, told a court in Lexington, North Carolina on Friday Ms Martens had called her in January 2015 and said her husband was being physically and verbally abusive. She said Ms Martens had maintained he always used the removal of his children “as leverage for control over her”.

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However, she said Ms Martens had told her she could not leave the children who she looked after as if they were her own and not her stepchildren.

She said Ms Martens had also told her she believed her husband was having “a Facebook affair”.

She said the day after Mr Corbett was killed, Ms Martens told her he had been choking her. “It was him or me.”

Ms Martens and her father, Thomas Martens, on Monday pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in relation to the killing of Jason Corbett in August 2015. The court in Lexington, North Carolina is holding a hearing to determine the sentences they will receive.

Billie June Jacob gave evidence that Ms Martens had told her that Jason Corbett was physically, mentally and emotionally abusive towards her.

She said they walked together regularly and confided in each other. She said when out walking they could not take more than a few steps before Jason Corbett would call or text his wife. She said he would want to know where she was, who she was with and when she was coming back.

“I knew sooner or later somebody was going to get hurt,” she said.

Ms Jacob said Ms Martens had told her that during sex her husband on occasion would put a pillow over her face and strangle her. She said she would black out.

Ms Jacob said Ms Martens had maintained she was afraid that this had happened to Margaret Corbett, the first wife of Jason Corbett who died in Ireland in 2006. Irish health authorities determined that Margaret Corbett had died following an asthma attack.

Ms Jacob said Ms Martens told her she was afraid she would not wake up.

Helen McCormac, a nurse who lived near the brother of Ms Martens, said the relationship with Jason Corbett appeared normal at first but got worse over the years “and extreme towards the end”.

She said at social gatherings Jason Corbett was always watching who she was talking to and what she was doing. She said when they were in small groups he didn’t allow her to stay there long, particularly if a man joined them.

Jason Corbett, she added, would put his hand on the nape of his wife’s neck and guide her out of the conversation. Jason Corbett also wanted to control what his wife would wear, she said.

Ms McCormac said while talking one day, Ms Martens’s phone kept ringing. She said as she fumbled with it, she turned on the speaker. Ms McCormac said she heard Jason screaming at her and that he had called her “a bitch” and said she would “pay for it”.

Another friend, Shannon Grubb, said that on one occasion neighbours had hired a limousine to attend a charity gala function. She said as they got out of the vehicle she saw Jason grab and “yank” his wife to the side. She said he seemed angry.

Ms Grubb said Ms Martens had later told her that when she got out of the car other men would be noticing her in her dress.

Ms Grubb said Mr Corbett was “very jealous”.

Another witness, Jennifer Turner, said she had told Ms Martens that she looked pretty. She said Ms Martens had looked at her, and said Jason had told her she looked like a whore.