Molly Martens case: The court drama behind pleas of voluntary manslaughter of Jason Corbett

More than eight years have passed since Jack and Sarah Corbett Lynch were woken by police officers shortly after 3am on August 2nd, 2015. Told to cover their eyes, Jack (10) and Sarah (8), were taken from their bedrooms down the stairs of their North Carolina home, past the ground-floor master bedroom, where their father, Jason Corbett (39) was beaten to death with a baseball bat and a brick.

The actions of the police officers on the night spared Jack and Sarah the sight of the blood-soaked walls and carpet in the bedroom Jason shared with their stepmother, Molly Martens. The children could not escape the horror of what happened in their home, however, and they have spent the last eight years in therapy, their teenage years dominated by the gruelling fight for justice for their father.

On Monday, there was finally a dramatic conclusion to that fight – and not one Jack or Sarah wanted. In Courtroom Number 6 of the Davidson County Superior Court, in Lexington, North Carolina, Jack and Sarah sat less than eight feet across the aisle from their former stepmother, and the man they once called grandpa, Molly’s father, Tom Martens, a former FBI agent and counterintelligence officer.

The children remained impassive as Molly Martens (40), appearing gaunt and wearing grey pinstriped pants and a pale blue jacket over a blue turtleneck top and matching blue heels, stood with her left hand on the Bible and entered a plea of “no contest” to a voluntary manslaughter charge. Molly Martens’s 2017 conviction for second-degree murder was previously overturned on appeal and her sentence of 20-25 years was set aside, pending a retrial. On Monday, however, the public learned that the district attorney in Davidson County, Garry Frank, would not be proceeding with a retrial of the second-degree murder charges and had decided to reach a plea deal with both Tom and Molly Martens.

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The children had been informed more than five weeks ago that this would happen, but a gag order imposed by Judge David Hall prevented them from talking publicly about this or any other aspect of the case.

[ Molly Martens and father Thomas reach plea deal over death of Jason Corbett ]

Judge Hall warned the relatives of Jason Corbett and the Martens that there was to be no reaction to the plea arrangement, and said that he had the power to remove anyone “who even grimaces” from the courtroom for the duration of the proceedings. He did not have cause to exercise this authority, as there was no reaction from anyone in the half-full courtroom as Tom Martens (73) then stood and entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter. Unlike in previous court sittings, where the ex-FBI man always appeared impeccably dressed in a white shirt and tie, this time, he entered court wearing a sports jacket, open-necked shirt, grey pants and rubber-soled shoes. He appeared relaxed throughout the 1½-hour morning proceedings, sat with his shoulders open and his right arm draped over his seat.

Judge Hall explained that under the eyes of the law, Molly Martens’s “no contest” plea meant she would be considered a “convicted felon”. Tom Martens would also have a felony D criminal conviction, and both defendants face the prospect of further jail time, on top of the 3½ years they both served before being freed on appeal in 2021.

Judge Hall explained that both Tom and Molly faced maximum sentences of up to 204 months (17 years), however, he said this upper limit would not apply as neither had a prior criminal record. The judge told Tom and Molly Martens that he could impose a sentence at the lower end of the scale, or even decide that there were “exceptional mitigating circumstances” which would allow for the defendants to walk free on probation.

[ Molly Martens and father Thomas return to court six years after being convicted of Jason Corbett’s murder ]

The Martens argue that they acted in self-defence and that the force they used was reasonable. The district attorney will counter-argue that the force used was unreasonable and/or excessive. The remainder of this court hearing – which is scheduled to last into next week – will be consumed by various witness testimony as to the extent of the force used on the night.

The fact that two minors – Jack and Sarah – were in the house on the night should be considered an aggravating factor, according to the DA, which justifies a higher sentence.

Assistant district attorney Kaitlyn Jones has already outlined to the judge the extent of the injuries suffered by the victim. He was struck so many times by Tom, wielding a baseball bat, and Molly, using a brick, that the medical examiner, Dr Craig Nelson, couldn’t be sure how many impacts there were. Dr Nelson said the Limerickman was struck at least 13 times, and that many of those blows were sufficient, individually, to have rendered the victim unconscious – and therefore, no longer a threat.

Jack and Sarah Corbett had already suffered tragedy in their lives prior to that August 2015 night. Their mother, Mags Fitzpatrick, died of an asthma attack in 2006, when Jack was aged two, and Sarah was 12 weeks old. Bereaved and struggling to cope with two young children, Jason Corbett, an executive at a packaging plant, placed an online advertisement for a live-in au pair. Molly Martens answered the advertisement and moved in with the children in March 2008. Molly and Jason married at Bleak House in Tennessee in 2011, and the family began their new American lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The American dream descended into a nightmare on the night of August 2nd, 2015, when the children were made orphans by Molly Martens and her father.

In court on Monday, Jack and Sarah sat next to their guardians, Tracey Lynch, who is Jason’s older sister, and Tracey’s husband, David.

Following the plea deal with the Martens the case now becomes a sentencing hearing. In Monday afternoon’s session, Jack and Sarah were left in no doubt about how gruelling the next week will be. Molly Martens’ defence counsel, Douglas Kingsberry, said Molly Martens believed Jason has killed his first wife and that she was next.

“Molly confided in multiple witnesses that she had growing concerns that he had killed his first wife and the same fate was going to befall her.”

Mr Kingsberry said experts for both the defence and the prosecution agree that Jason’s first wife did not die of an asthma attack. “Homicide by strangulation is a possibility.”

Mr Kingsberry said statements made by Jack and Sarah to social workers in the immediate aftermath of the killing “supported a history of domestic violence in the house.”

Though Jack and Sarah have recanted those statements, they face the prospect that their words said when they were both aged under 10 may now be used to reduce their father’s killers’ sentence and possibly set them free on probation with no further jail time.