Jason Corbett's father-in-law called 911 on the night the Limerick man died saying he "might have killed him", according to recordings released by North Carolina police.
Mr Corbett, originally from Janesboro in Limerick city, was found dead in the master bedroom of the home he shared with his wife Molly Martens Corbett and his two children in Panther Creek, Wallburg in North Carolina last August following what was described by the authorities as a “domestic disturbance”.
Ms Martens Corbett (32) and her 65-year-old father Thomas Martens were charged earlier this week with second-degree murder and manslaughter. They were freed on bail, each on a $200,000 bond, with the conditions that they give up their passports and that they not have any contact with Mr Corbett’s family.
Investigators with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office alleged in search warrants large amounts of money were taken from Mr Corbett’s accounts after his death and Mr Martens admitted he struck his son-in-law with a child-sized baseball bat and a concrete paving brick.
Mr Martens, a retired FBI agent, told investigators he had no choice because Mr Corbett was choking his daughter, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.In the 911 recording, released by US police authorities on Thursday, Mr Martens tells the operator his son-in-law is in "bad shape" and that he "may have killed him".
“My daughter’s husband, my son-in-law, got in a fight with my daughter,” he tells the operator. “I intervened and I think he’s in bad shape. We need help.”
The operator asks Mr Martens to explain what he means by “bad shape”.
“He’s bleeding all over and I may have killed him,”he replies.
Ms Martens Corbett, who was the only other person in the house at time, can be heard sobbing in the background.
Mr Martens then explains he hit Mr Corbett on the head with a baseball bat.
“With a baseball bat?” asks the 911 operator.
“Yes,” replies Mr Martens.
“He was choking my daughter. He said ‘I’m going to kill her’.”
“Is he conscious at all?” asks the operator.
“No,” says Mr Martens.
“Is he breathing?” the operator replied.
“I can’t tell,” says Mr Martens.
During the 14-minute call, the dispatcher instructed Mr Martens and his daughter on how to administer CPR. Ms Martens was calm, while she was at times crying and screaming. She could be heard counting “one, two, three, four” over and over while administering CPR. She and her father took turns doing CPR until emergency services arrived.
A search warrant from the officer on the scene says police were "told through the initial interviews that Jason Paul Corbett was choking Molly Paige Corbett inside the master bedroom."
The warrant explains how Mr Martens said he was awoken by a disturbance, went into the master bedroom and “intervened with the use of an aluminium bat striking Jason Paul Corbett in the head”.
Mr Martens described the altercation as a “Donnybrook,” which is defined as a public argument or uncontrolled fight. But Detective B Smith of the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an affidavit accompanying some of the search warrants the evidence at the scene was not consistent with this account.
He said in his law enforcement career he had seen “... several of what could be described as ‘uncontrollable fights’. In my opinion the struggle described was not consistent with the evidence at the scene, particularly the master bedroom.”
Neither Ms Martens Corbett or Thomas Martens were injured, he added.
The court papers paint a picture of a marriage falling apart.
In the days before he died, Mr Corbett had been planning to take his two children, Jack (11), and Sarah (9), and move permanently to Ireland.
He had sought to transfer $60,000 from North Carolina to Ireland, according to the papers .
Mr Corbett had appointed his sister Tracey Lynch as guardian to his children following the death of his first wife Margaret in 2006 of an asthma attack.
After his death, a custody battle ensued between Ms Martens Corbett and Ms Lynch and her husband David.
Ms Lynch made several allegations, including that Ms Martens Corbett physically and emotionally abused the children. She also alleged that Ms Martens Corbett was obsessed with trying to adopt the children, which Mr Corbett would not allow.
Ms Lynch also said Ms Martens Corbett had told her she had bipolar disorder. Guardianship was ultimately awarded to the Lynch family, and the children now live in Ireland.
According to the search warrants, Thomas Martens and his wife, Sharon, had come to Davidson County from Knoxville, Tennessee, for a visit.
Mr Martens told investigators that the baseball bat he used to strike Jason Corbett was supposed to be a gift for Jack, but he had not had a chance to give it to the boy, according to search warrants.
David Lynch told investigators that Jack and Sarah had been to grief counseling in Ireland and that Jack told a counselor that Mr Martens had given him a baseball bat the previous summer and that he kept it, along with other baseball equipment, in a bag. Investigators alleged in search warrants Mr Martens lied and that the baseball bat in Jack’s bag was the same baseball bat used to strike Mr Corbett.
According to search warrants, detectives seized the bat on August 2nd and it had blood and human hair on it.
Detectives with the sheriff’s office also seized mobile phone records, emails, bank account information, computers and baseball equipment. Investigators also alleged in search warrants that large amounts of money had been removed from Mr Corbett’s accounts after his death.
Mr Corbett was buried with his first wife at Limerick’s Castlemungret cemetery on August 25th, 2015 after his children arrived back in Ireland.
Ms Martens Corbett’s uncle, Mike Earnest, said in a statement on behalf of the family earlier this week t he had known Thomas Martens for more than 44 years. “There are no finer people you’d care to find,” he told reporters outside the courtroom in North Carolina.
“Their actions of self-defence were justified. While disappointed, we look forward to having the full story heard.
“They will enter pleas of not guilty,” said Mr Earnest. “We are confident that once an impartial jury hears the full story, they will be exonerated.”
The maximum sentence for a charge of second-degree murder is 40 years and the charge of manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 17 years.
Walter Holton, attorney for Molly Corbett, and David Freedman, attorney for Thomas Martens, denied all allegations in the search warrants. They also pointed to the 911 audio recording as undeniable proof that Mr Martens and his daughter did everything they could to save Mr Corbett’s life.
"I think the 911 call makes it clear what happened that night," Mr Freedman told the Winston Salem Journal."These are not the actions of people who intend to do harm to someone," Mr Holton added. He said the allegations Davidson County investigators made in the search w arrants were "baseless."
Mr Freedman also said their clients had made themselves available for additional questioning and that the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office elected not to take them up on the offer.
Sheriff David Grice said Thursday he had no comment.
“We have no further comment until it goes to court,” he said.