The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:21 AM
Former FBI Agent, Daughter Convicted Of Murdering Her Husband In August 2015 Sentenced To 20-25 Years In Prison
The former FBI agent and daughter have been convicted of murdering her husband in August 2015.
Thomas Martens was an FBI agent for 31 years, a supervisor for 19, and recently worked at ORNL with a top secret clearance. But Wednesday, his life took a different direction when he and his daughter left the courtroom in handcuffs.
A jury found Martens and Molly Martens-Corbett guilty of killing her Irish husband Jason Corbett in August 2015.
Juror Tom Ammland says, "You feel bad for everybody involved, both the defendants and the deceased's family, but we had a job to do, and I believe we got it the best way we could."
Molly met Jason in 2008 when she worked as a nanny for Jason's two children from his previous wife who died in 2006 from an asthma attack.
Police described a disturbing, bloody scene when Jason Corbett was found dead in the master bedroom of the couple's luxurious North Carolina home.
Garry Frank of Davidson County District Attorney says, "If you saw those photos, that wasn't just a wack with a bat at the head, it was a severe, severe beating."
The defense said Thomas heard screams in the early morning, went upstairs, and intervened when he saw Jason Corbett with his hands around Molly's throat. The prosecution disclosed that Jason's skull was bludgeoned 12 times by a baseball bat and a brick paver.
Ammland says, "After going over some of the evidence and discussing it, the clothing and proximity to the attack, we felt that she could have gotten out of that situation but chose to stay. It may have started as self-defense, but at some point it escalated to manslaughter."
Jason's family who lives in Ireland kept those following the case updated by starting the "Justice for Jason" Facebook page, and it soon made international headlines.
Tracey Lynch, Jason's sister, said, "We worried the jury might not find the two accused guilty, but they did, and we thank them for it, for the vindication of Jason."
Thomas and Molly's family thought they were innocent. Thomas's brother-in-law Michael Earnest says, "In my personal life, this is the most atrocious miscarriage of justice I've ever been a part of."
But Juror Tom Ammland thinks the case was a lose-lose situation, "There are no winners in this case. Everybody loses to some degree, and we all agreed on that."
The Knoxville father and daughter will spend the next 20 to 25 years in prison.
