All language subtitles for adeadlyamericanmarriage20251080pwebh264-peculiarlavendermuskratofpietyHi[_26140]

[pensive music playing]

[birds chirping]

[dog barking in distance]

[melancholy music playing]

[seatbelt clicks]

Today is Thursday,
August 6th, 2015.

I'm about to do an
interview on Sarah Corbett.

Well, Sarah, did you know
why you're here today?

[Sarah] Yes.

Tell me why you're here today.

Because my dad died.

Okay.

Just have a seat for me.

And, Jack, my name is Brandy, and
it's my job to talk to you today.

You said your dad died.
What's your dad's name?

Jason Paul Corbett.
C-O-R-B-E-T-T.

[Brandy] What is
your mom's name?

[Jack] Molly Martens.

[Brandy] And what is
your grandpa's name?

[Jack] His name is Tom Martens.

[Brandy] Okay. And
what do you call him?

I call him Grandpa Tom.

Grandpa Tom. Okay.

[music continues]

[seatbelt unbuckles]

[foreboding music playing]

[phone dialing]

[line ringing]

[operator] Davidson County 911. What
is the address of your emergency?

[Tom] My name is Tom Martens.

I'm at Panther Creek Court,

and... we need help.

[operator] Okay,
what's going on there?

[Tom] My... My
daughter's husband,

um, my son-in-law,

uh, got in a fight
with my daughter.

I intervened, and I...

I hit him in the head.

- [operator] With what?
- With a baseball bat.

- [operator] With a baseball bat?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Molly] Help!

- [operator] Is he conscious at all?
- [Tom] No.

[operator] Is he breathing?

[Tom] I can't tell.

I'm dead asleep in bed
when the phone rings.

As a detective, you know when that phone
rings at three o'clock in the morning,

it's never good.

So, I'm out of the bed,
and I'm out the door,

and I am headed to
Meadowlands in North Carolina.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[crickets chirping]

I go into the house,

and I look inside
the master bedroom,

and it's pretty horrific.

[camera clicking]

It's one of the bloodiest crime
scenes I've seen in a long time.

The female resident tells me
that her name is Molly Corbett...

[camera clicks]

...and that the victim is
her husband, Jason Corbett.

[Wanda] These offices
are really cold.

- [Molly] Thanks.
- You're welcome.

[Tom grunts]

[Wanda] All right. Tell
me what happened tonight.

We were fighting.

- Who was fighting?
- My husband.

My daughter had a nightmare.

She or I woke him
up, so he was angry.

He choked me.

How did he choke you?

First, with his hand pressed
really hard right here.

He let go for a second,
and I screamed really loud.

[Molly sniffles, exhales]

I can't remember next
until my dad came in.

[Wanda] Okay.

I heard arguing and thumping
going on on the floor above me.

And it... it sounded bad.

I grabbed the bat,
and I ran upstairs.

So, I open the bedroom door,

and he's got Molly by
the throat like this.

And he sees me coming,

and he goes around
the throat like this.

And I said, "Let her go."

"I'm gonna kill her."

- "Let her go."
- "I'm gonna kill her."

And he started to drag
her towards the bedroom,

into the, uh, bathroom.

[tense music playing]

And I hit him.

I hit him with the baseball bat.

And he reaches out,
and he grabs the bat.

Jason got the baseball bat.

And... he tried to hit my dad.

I think he might
have missed, and...

I... [sniffles]

Um...

I hit him on the head.

You hit him on the
head with what?

With... With a brick
on my nightstand.

[Wanda] Okay.

[Molly] I'm not sure. I hit him
on the head or the shoulder.

[Wanda] How many times
did you hit Jason?

I don't know.

Okay. You don't remember?

[crying] I don't know.

I can't tell you how
many times I hit him.

I can't tell you how
many times he shoved me.

I can't tell you. I...

'Cause it was a battle.

[Wanda] These two people are telling us
they just were in a fight for their life.

Her husband has
horrific injuries.

And they don't
appear to have any.

[camera clicking]

In North Carolina, they have
a right to defend themselves.

But are they the victims,
or is he the victim?

[ominous music playing]

[music fades]

[Wanda] You know your husband
didn't survive his injuries, right?

I didn't... I didn't think so.

[Wanda] No, he didn't
survive his injuries.

[Sarah breathes deeply]

How long have you been together?

Probably seven years.

My children aren't
biologically my children.

They're his first wife's
children, and she died.

Is there anybody that you need for us
to contact from your husband's family?

[Molly] Oh God.

[crying] What if I'm
scared of his family?

[sobbing]

I'm scared they'll
try to take the kids.

[Wanda] Um...

- You guys are legally married?
- Yes.

- Did you adopt the children?
- No.

Okay, then that's
a real possibility.

[sobs] Oh!

Oh!

[seagulls squawking]

[somber music playing]

[phone vibrating]

My brother got a call to
say that Jason was dead.

He and Molly had an argument.

She pushed him, he fell,
hit his head, and died.

So I immediately
started to call Molly,

um, and I got no
answer at that time.

I can't comprehend.
I can't process.

You know, I just
couldn't believe it.

Jason and I, we
were super close.

We had a really big family.

We grew up in
Janesboro in Limerick.

And Jason and Wayne and
myself are the three youngest.

Jason remained a
constant best friend.

When I had learned the news,

my first thought was to the
welfare of Jack and Sarah.

And so, within hours, I'm
packed and on the road

to fly to America in order to
find out what happened to Jason

and to make sure Jack
and Sarah are safe.

We just knew that we needed to get to
North Carolina as quickly as possible.

Myself and Tracey were named
as guardians in Jason's will.

I went straight to Jason's
solicitor's office.

I collected the will and flew out
to America a couple of hours later.

[pensive music playing]

[Wanda] We start coordinating with
the district attorney's office

about where the investigation
needs to go from here.

[man] What
immediately strikes me

is that this is going to be a case
outside the normal of what we deal with.

I'm a retired FBI agent.

[detective] What did
you do with the FBI?

First half of my
career was Criminal.

Second half of my career
was Counterintelligence.

[Alan] Tom Martens is
a retired FBI agent,

and he has been schooled in

and has schooled other officers

on the art of interrogation.

We would be remiss in our duties

if we ever just accepted,
wholesale and without examination,

what any person who's
killed somebody has to say.

Perhaps it would be helpful if I
just kinda launched into the story.

[detective] Okay.

'Cause it will contribute
to my state of mind.

[detective] Okay.

I see Tom attempting to
control the narrative

and present things the way
he wants to present them.

Tom never admits that he
saw Molly hit Jason at all.

[detective] At any point, did
Molly join in on the volley?

When I lost control of the
bat and she wiggled out,

she somehow distracted
him, but I don't know.

I'm scrambling. I don't know.

We find that hard to believe.

The night of the incident,
I'm at the house,

I learned that Molly's
mother was in the basement.

So, we get a statement from her.

Sharon Martens tells us

that they got awakened in the
middle of the night to a ruckus,

and she hears her
daughter scream.

Her husband gets out of bed,

goes upstairs to take care
of whatever the ruckus is,

and she rolls over and
goes back to sleep.

I'm... dumbfounded.

Like, what
grandmother does that?

What mother does that?

[Alan] Sharon Martens is telling
us she never responded in any way

to this horrible,
violent, explosive event

that was happening right upstairs in
a house full of people that she loved.

It just doesn't quite add up.

We are also looking
at the 911 call.

[Molly] ...three, four.

- [Tom] One, two, three, four. Good.
- [Molly] One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four. One...

[Alan] EMS workers are listening
to this recording and saying,

"I don't think those
people are doing CPR."

It's too hard.

You can't count out loud like that
with that precision, that rhythm.

[Tom] One... I'll count. I'll
count. One, two, three, four.

[Alan] EMS personnel
also describe

that Jason's body was
cool to the touch,

and one of them even
looked at another and said,

"When did they
say he went down?"

This is not scientific evidence,

and there are sufficient variables
in how quickly a body cools,

but it was compelling
information for us.

[Wanda] Now there's a possibility
the Martens were thinking,

"I've got to sit down
and get my story straight

before I call the cops."

[somber music playing]

[Tracey] We found out that
within hours of Jason's death,

Molly and Thomas
Martens returned home,

and at this point,

the children are in the care and
control of Molly Martens and her family.

Within 48 hours, the Martens
had filed for guardianship,

adoption, and custody
of Jack and Sarah.

I asked to speak to them,
you know, on the phone,

to have a supervised
visit, uh, anything.

I just wanted to put
my arms around them.

They had lost their father.

And Molly would not allow it.

There's all these things happening,
all at once, all colliding,

and I want to see my brother.

We spoke to the funeral director,
trying to get to see Jason,

and he apologized profusely, but he
had been given clear instructions

that we were not
allowed to view Jason.

[Tracey] I believe that Molly's
trying to cremate Jason's body

before I got there.

I thought to myself,
"What have you done?"

[Alan] Then we get the
results from the autopsy.

And the autopsy findings...

are horrific.

Jason has abrasions
on his forehead,

under his eye,

his shoulder blades,

and then... we get to his head.

And in... 30 years
of prosecuting...

I've never seen
photographs like these.

He had...

so many blows to his head

that the pathologist
couldn't count them

because they overlapped,

and a chunk of Jason's skull

fell out onto the table.

It takes an incredible
amount of force

to cause that kind of injury.

[somber music playing]

[footsteps approaching]

[Tracey] It's taken me four days of
legal action to see Jason's body.

It's horrendous to see

what one human being
can inflict on another.

His children lay in a bedroom
just feet away from him,

and I know his last thoughts
would have been with them.

I hold his hand, and I promise him
that his children would be okay,

and I promise that I would get
justice for what happened to him.

[music ends]

[Wanda] Jack and Sarah
were in the home,

in bed asleep,

when this event occurred.

We need to have them interviewed

by people that are trained
to interview small children.

So, they're taken to the
Dragonfly Child Advocacy Center.

Let's just start with the very first
thing you told me, that your dad died.

How did your dad die?

Well, my sister had a nightmare

about insects crawling.

She had fairy blankets and
insects all over her bed.

My dad got very mad,

and he was screaming at my
mom, and Mom let out a scream,

and my grandpa came up and
started to hit him with a bat.

And then my dad grabbed a hold of the
bat, and hit my grandpa with the bat.

And so my mom...
put her... like...

We were going to paint a brick that
was in there, like, a cinder block,

and it hit his
temple right here,

and he died.

[Brandy] Okay.

Now, your sister had a
nightmare. How did you know that?

My pare... My mom told me.

Okay.

Did your mom and dad
fight before this?

He gets very angry at my mom
for leaving one light on.

- What would he do?
- He would... he would scream at her.

Okay. Did you ever
see him hit her?

Um...

Once.

He just got very mad
about simple things.

- [Brandy] And who would he get mad at?
- My mom.

- Did you see him get mad at her?
- Yes.

And when he would get
mad, what would he do?

He would physically and verbally hurt
my... physically and verbally hurt my mom.

Did you see him
physically hurt her?

Um, once or twice.

What did you see?

Um, punching, hitting, pushing.

[Alan] The children do both make
some statements about Jason.

We have to pay close
attention to that.

But they also use a lot of words

that eight-year-olds and
ten-year-olds don't generally use.

He would physically and verbally hurt
my... physically and verbally hurt my mom.

That's unusual and stands out.

And... And how do you
know she's afraid of him?

She told us.

[Sarah] No. My mom
told me about that.

And who told you about that?

Uh, my mom.

My mom told me.

She told me.

[Brandy] Your mom told you.

There's a possibility the
kids may have been coached.

There's a lot of, "This is what
my mom told me about that night

and about things that had
happened in the past."

My mom told me,

not when I was four, not when I was
five, but she told me when I was six,

"Your dad is not
that good of a dad."

[Alan] Why is she
saying that to Sarah?

What is the truth
and what's not?

We went back to Molly
and Tom's interviews.

I know he's got me outmatched.

I know he's a martial arts guy.

I know he's a boxer.

I am trying to stay a bat's
length away from this guy.

[detective] Right.

I'm scared to death.

[Wanda] We're trying to verify any
training that Jason may have had

in karate or martial arts,

any boxing training
that he may have had.

[Tracey] Within one week
of Jason being killed,

I am contacted by the Davidson
County Sheriff's Department

asking questions like,
"Was Jason an MMA fighter?"

"Was he a professional boxer?"

"Was our family in the
Irish Republican Army?"

[gun firing on TV]

But, of course, these
things are ridiculous.

They were just doing everything
they could to destroy his character.

I want the world to know
the truth about Jason.

[man] He was the most kind-hearted
person you could meet.

You'd never not see
the man smiling.

Everybody loved him.

Everybody loved Jason. He was
just... He was everybody's friend.

[bright music playing]

[Tracey] He was very charismatic,
and he had a loud voice as well.

You knew when Jason was around.

Family meant everything to him.

I never thought he was
a romantic growing up,

um, until he met his
first wife, Mags.

[woman] We were out socializing one
night, and I introduced Mags to Jason.

And from the start, they were
just meant for each other.

They were very, very happy.

I, Margaret, take you, Jason,

as my husband,

for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health,
all the days of our lives.

[David] They'd
built their house.

Mags had opened a new crèche, and
Jason had got promoted in work,

so life couldn't
have been better.

It was like a fairy tale.

And Jason's kids were
everything to him.

When they were born, he was just
the happiest he's ever been.

That's it. Good
boy. I love Sarah.

- Aw! You're the best boy, Jack.
- [Mags] Who's that, Jack?

[Jason] Jack, do you know what...
do you know what Sarah told me?

She said she's getting Jack a
tractor and a trailer as a present

because you're her brother.

'Cause she loves Jack.

Get off my chair.
Get off my chair.

This was the beginning
of his whole life.

What you doin'?

You dancin'?

[music continues]

[Lynn] All that changed
drastically when I got a phone call

at home one night, telling me that
Mags had had an asthma attack.

[tense music playing]

Myself and my husband managed
to get to the hospital.

And Jason was with Mags,
and we could hear him...

[inhaling deeply]

He just begged her not to go

and leave him.

Jason, in that
moment, was just...

broken into pieces.

[somber music playing]

He would write letters to Mags and
then leave them at the grave site.

All of our family
rallied around,

but obviously, he had very
little space to grieve.

He was a single
parent of two babies,

and he had to go
to work every day.

So, he advertised
for an au pair,

and that's when Molly
Martens came into our lives.

[somber music continues]

I was in my early 20s, and I'd been
in a relationship for several months

and, um, unexpectedly
got pregnant,

and, um...

shortly thereafter,
suffered a miscarriage.

And I think anybody who's
suffered a miscarriage

can understand that that
is devastating at the time.

I, um...

was in that relationship
with someone,

and I realized I didn't want to
spend my life with that someone,

and I felt like that might
be easier if I got away

and enjoy the world.

And for me, working with
children was a natural choice.

And so, I joined
an au pair agency.

And when Jason
reached out to me,

he indicated on his profile
that he had lost his wife.

I guess that just pulled
on my heartstrings.

There were these two babies

without a mother,

and maybe I had an
ache to fill that need.

It was only natural that
she would develop a talent

for taking care
of young children,

in that her two younger brothers

came along as she was nearing the
age where she could help her mother.

She was very good
at engaging them.

I arrived in Ireland on,
um, a traditional rainy day.

And I met Jason, and
he put me at ease.

[gentle music playing]

He was charming, funny.

He made me feel very special.

[Tracey] Molly hadn't been
in the country too long

when I began to
pick up on things,

just little signals
between Jason and Molly.

We were walking on the beach,
and they were dropping behind us,

and I think Tracey
mentioned to me

that, you know, she thought there
was more to the relationship

than employer-employee.

I felt like I was bringing joy
into Jack, Sarah, and Jason's life.

[Molly] Okay, go
get your sandal.

[Sarah babbling]

[Molly] You gotta put
them on over your tight...

Hello.

...'cause it's the warmest day in
Ireland and you still need tights.

Sarah, how old are you?

Two.

- [Molly] Two and a half.
- Yeah.

[Molly] How old are you?

Four and a half.

- Are you sure you're not one and a half?
- No.

[Molly] Are you sure?

But that noise you make, sometimes
it kinda sounds like this...

[mimics a crying baby]

That's kinda like a
one-and-a-half-year-old.

And it was in the very early days
that Sarah started calling me "Mom."

I was really becoming
a mother to those kids

before I became a
mother to those kids.

It was just wonderful.

[Tracey] Molly made Jason smile,

and he hadn't in
a very long time.

But it was clear from
emails from Jason to Molly

that Jason wanted to slow the
pace of their relationship down.

"My concern is for
Jack and Sarah."

"They have had enough
tragedy in their short lives,

and while I know that
they are resilient,

I'm nervous about putting them
through anything further."

"I'm really scared, Molly."

"I don't want to lose you,

but more so, I don't want
to risk Jack and Sarah

losing another mother
if we don't work out."

But Molly always wanted
the relationship validated.

And she's pushing,
pushing, pushing.

Eventually, Jason began to
talk about the opportunity

to begin a new life
for Jack and Sarah,

to allow them to have a
stable family environment

with a mother and father.

I was on a regular night
out with my friends.

Jason walked in first, and
Molly walked in behind,

showing the ring on her finger.

And I said, "I am delighted.
I want you to be happy."

"Mags wouldn't want
you to be miserable."

[Molly] Ultimately, we decided
to move to the United States.

Mostly, it was the lifestyle,

and in particular, the lifestyle
in regard to raising children.

[bright music playing]

[birds chirping]

I was excited about a new
beginning for our family.

[birds chirping]

My first time seeing the house,
I thought it was like a mansion.

It was so cool.

Everything was much
bigger than Ireland,

which I loved.

I remember when I first went in,

I went into my room and started
running around in circles.

And I loved how
big the garden was,

'cause my dad told me we could
get a trampoline and a dog.

It was just really happy.

Everyone was excited
for this new adventure.

We just moved to America.

[Jack] I feel like we
fit in straightaway

when we moved over to
Meadowlands in North Carolina.

We got straight into
activities like swimming,

joining teams.

Everyone there was
so nice, so friendly.

It was a great
community to be part of.

[Tracey] After Molly, Jason, Jack,
and Sarah moved to North Carolina,

within a couple of weeks,
there was going to be a wedding

and just a joyous occasion that
we were looking forward to.

We just wanted Jason to be happy,
and we traveled to support him.

[exciting music playing]

When we arrived,
everyone was excited.

[laughing]

[Brendan] Jason and Molly
had loads planned for us.

We went to NASCAR,

barbecues,

loads of games, loads of fun.

[camera clicking]

[announcer] We have Molly
from Knoxville, Tennessee...

[cheering]

...and we have Jason all the
way over from Limerick, Ireland!

[all cheering]

It's my duty as the best
man to introduce everybody,

and we all hit it
off straightaway.

♪ ...caught in a trap ♪

♪ Can't walk out... ♪

[Brendan] We sang, and
we drank, and we danced.

[song continues]

The atmosphere was fantastic.

[all cheering]

[Brendan] He looked happy.

[party music fades]

[somber music playing]

[Tracey] The next
day, at the wedding,

it started to become
apparent to me

that there was something amiss

when I had a conversation
with the maid of honor, Susie.

[Susie] I had a speech prepared.

Before I was supposed to give
it, I was talking to Tracey,

just telling her, you know,
it's just like a fairy tale.

She starts to say how amazing
it all is and how romantic.

You know, Molly goes over there

to be the godparent
to Jason's kids,

since she was childhood
friends with Mags.

What?

And now, like, you know,
she's gonna be their stepmom.

I... I don't know what
you're talking about.

Uh, she was the au pair.

I'm like, "What?" [scoffs]

Like, "You gotta be kidding me."

[David] We're just in disbelief

that this is what the American
contingent of the wedding believe.

Why would anybody create
this fabricated story?

[suspicious music playing]

[birds chirping]

[music fades]

[Alan] In the course
of the investigation,

we are interviewing
people about Molly.

Her friends, her
family, her neighbors.

And what we are learning
becomes full-on bizarre.

[Wanda] One of the neighbors tells
us that she was part of a book club,

and one of the ladies comes in

and is just excited about
finding out she's pregnant.

[pensive music playing]

Allegedly, Molly starts telling
everybody this whole drawn-out story

about how she gave
birth to Sarah.

And some of the people in the room
already knew that wasn't true.

And yet, the story was being told
to other people in front of them.

And she had told her college
roommate about a dead sister,

and that her sister
had died of cancer.

We found that's also not true.

So, she is fabricating a story
about a sister that doesn't exist.

[Alan] Why does it matter
that, on so many occasions,

Molly has told so many things
that are clearly not true?

It matters because there were only
three people in that room that night.

Jason can't tell his story.

The two people who are
left are Tom and Molly.

And we come to the conclusion
that Molly is not credible.

Another thing that
comes to light

is Molly's consistent demand

to be able to adopt
Jason's children.

Just months after the wedding,

she had visited a divorce attorney to
explore her rights to the children.

I wanted to adopt them
because they were my children.

I mean, I was their mommy. I was
their mama. They were my kiddos.

Jason and I had spoke previously
of an adoption ceremony

being part of the
wedding ceremony.

There were a lot of
promises that were broken,

but that was a big one.

[Tom] I brought it
up several times

and say, "Where are we
on the adoption process?"

"Anything I can do to help out?"

And he would say, well, you
know, he's working on it,

and, um, then
nothing would happen.

[gentle music playing]

[David] Looking back on the correspondence
that we got access to after Jason's death,

we realized Jason was trying to
follow through on his promise

to allow Molly to
adopt the children.

We saw an email from
Jason to an attorney.

I think one line stands out in
the email from the attorneys.

Jason would never
take that risk.

[news theme music playing]

[reporter] Behind closed
doors in Davidson,

a custody battle
began yesterday.

At its center are
ten-year-old Jack Corbett

and his eight-year-old
sister, Sarah.

The children are in
the care of this woman,

his second wife,
Molly Paige Martens.

[Sarah] I remember
Molly telling me that

Tracey and David were
trying to take us away,

and that she was going to court.

And she told me that
she was winning.

[Jack] Molly was telling us about
the new life we're going to have.

She was already
looking at apartments,

looking at new cars, new
schools we were going to.

[David] It shouldn't
even have got to this.

These children are two Irish citizens.
Their father was an Irish citizen.

There's nothing. There's no adoption.
There's no dual citizenship.

They're solely Irish citizens.

We presented evidence
that I was a mother,

and clearly was the mother.

I'm the one that took them
to all their appointments,

and took care of meals, and did
all the day-to-day activities.

And I feel like we proved
that without a doubt,

and their home environment was with
me and that they were safe and stable.

[judge] We're here on the
matter of the guardianship

of the minor children,
Sarah and Jack Corbett.

The parents of Sarah and
Jack, I'm almost certain,

would want their children to be
raised in the land of their origin,

where the culture, the
religion, the customs,

and their extended family on both sides
are prepared to nurture them in a manner

that will be in the
child's best interest.

These children will be
returning to Ireland.

All these people,
you know, have said,

"Well, Jason wanted his children to be
in Ireland with their family." What?

Jason wanted to be alive.

[scoffs]

Jason didn't think he was gonna die.
I didn't think he was gonna die.

And I don't know, if some crazy world
where he thought he was gonna die,

I believe he would have wanted the
children to be with their mother.

That is something I do believe.

[birds chirping]

[Jack] I remember the day
that I was taken from Molly.

A police car pulled
up outside the house,

and two policemen hopped out,

and a van came up behind
them with two people in it.

[police radio chatter]

They told me that there had been
a court order to remove the kids.

You know, Jack was kicking
and screaming and saying,

"I'm not leaving with you.
I'm not leaving with you."

"I'm not going,"

and "You can't take me."

And Sarah was crying.

I remember I was holding Jack's hand,
and I asked them, "Where are we going?"

"Who are you? Take us back.
Where are you taking us?"

And I was... I was melting down,
and, you know, I was crying,

um, but I was trying
to hold it together.

I was trying to make sense of this,
and I was trying to... I don't know.

How can this possibly
be happening?

[Molly crying]

[Molly] I love you so much.

[Jack] I remember just saying goodbye
and saying "I love you" to her,

and she was saying
that she loved me.

I was a ten-year-old kid,

and this was the only person that
had been there every single day.

[Sarah] I'm saying goodbye
to someone who'd been my mom

for as long as I can remember.

I loved Molly.

[Molly] It was not a goodbye
for me, it was just a visit,

and I was going
to see them soon,

but it was the last
time I saw them.

[sobbing]

[reporter] Eleven-year-old
Jack and eight-year-old Sarah

arrived back in
Ireland yesterday.

Molly Martens and her father,
65-year-old Thomas Martens,

are described by police
as persons of interest

in the death of
39-year-old Jason.

[Jack] When I came
back to Ireland,

there was just a huge media frenzy
around our family and my dad.

[melancholy music playing]

It was just a shock to see
so many people interested,

and it being such a
high-profile case back home.

I had made a promise to Jason

that I would make sure that
he would be buried with Mags.

[church bell tolling]

[Jack] There were so many people
there that loved and supported my dad,

and supported all of us.

And for the last, like, 200 meters,
we walked behind the casket.

[somber music playing]

It was just hard to know that
I'm never going to see him again.

[somber music continues]

I remember holding Sarah in my arms
in bed at night, and she's asking me,

how did she lose, you
know, three parents.

I wanted to trust Tracey
and David. I really did.

And I remember
thinking about that.

I remember thinking to myself,

"You should just trust them.
You know they love you."

But I found it really
hard to let myself

because I didn't want
to get hurt again.

[Tracey] We were dealing with just two
completely traumatized little children.

And they just needed me to be a
mother, and that's what I did.

I suppose we were lucky that myself and
Tracey had trained as foster parents.

We knew what needed to
happen to the two kids

in order for them
to move forward,

and counseling was going to be a
very important part of their healing.

[phone ringing]

[Molly] The family
wouldn't allow any contact.

They wouldn't answer any calls.

[phone continues ringing]

And so, I used social media

to send messages to my kids.

[pensive music playing]

[Molly] I have not spoken...

spoken to them since my
visitation with them...

...um, under which we were
all under the impression

that it was a visitation,
not a goodbye.

[crying] I want someone to
tell them that I love them.

And happy birthday, kiddos,
with all of my heart.

They tried to fly a
plane over our school.

And Molly was asking people
on social media websites

to just tell us
that she loved us.

[pensive music continues]

[David] It was just
a constant barrage.

We were trying to build a
safe environment for them,

and they were attempting
to undo everything.

We don't want them
contacting these children.

These are the people that
have killed their father.

[music continues]

[Wanda] We were waiting for the
results of the toxicology report

because we had been told in the
initial stages of the investigation

that Jason was quite drunk.

I know he'd been drinking.

I mean, he was wild.

[Wanda] Would you say that
you thought he was drunk?

Yes, he was drunk.

It wasn't just sloppy drunk.

Now we have definitive
scientific evidence

that this was not true.

The number is .02.

It's legal to drive in
North Carolina to .08.

At the time he died,
he was not drunk.

In addition to a
little bit of alcohol,

Jason has some of Molly's
sleep medication tranquilizer

in his system.

[Wanda] Did he take
it voluntarily,

or was it given to him
without his knowledge?

That's a question that we probably
will never be able to answer.

But it's setting off flags for me
as to what really happened here.

[suspenseful music playing]

Reviewing Tom's interview

about where this fight
happened and how it happened,

it didn't make any sense.

It turned out to be defensive
to have her in front,

to have her between us.

He's holding her
in front of him.

I'm afraid I'm going to hit her.

I kept trying to get
around and distract him,

and get him to let her go.

Most of Jason's injuries were to
the back and side of his head.

How do you swing a baseball bat

and hit somebody in the back of the head
if you're standing in front of them?

It makes more sense that they
were either running from you

or you came up behind them.

[camera clicking]

[Alan] At the crime scene, there was
blood spatter in more than one room.

The master bedroom.

[camera clicking]

In the hallway.

In the bathroom.

There's defects in the walls
from weapons being swung.

The blood spatter
expert points out

there are places that
appear to be consistent

with Jason being
hit as he goes down.

[camera clicking]

There's one place in particular

where Jason was hit when his
head was inches from the floor.

Clearly, Jason was still being
struck in the head after he was down.

[camera clicks]

Also, he points out that there is
blood on the back of the bedroom door.

[camera clicking]

That means there's a possibility there
was deadly violence going on in that room

before Tom got there,
and the door was closed.

Did Molly start something
that Tom got pulled into?

Even if it started
as self-defense,

at the point that Jason is no
longer aggressive toward them,

they have to stop beating him,

and they didn't.

And they beat him to death.

[music fades]

[Alan] As a result of
all that examination,

we decide that it is appropriate
to charge second-degree murder.

This isn't just excessive force.

This is murder with malice.

[cameras clicking]

The case of a former model and
her father, an ex-FBI agent,

both now charged with murder
for the killing of her husband.

[newsreader] They're due back
in court later on this month

and are expected to
plead not guilty.

If convicted, they could
face up to life in prison.

[reporter] A $200,000 security
must be paid for each of them.

They must surrender
their passports,

and they must agree to cease all
contact with the Corbett family,

specifically Jason Corbett's
two young children.

[pensive music playing]

[Jack] In the first few
months I was back in Ireland,

I just felt I was
very out of place.

I just felt very alone.

I didn't trust anyone.

I didn't have a lot of
friends at the time,

and I missed my friends
over in America.

We miss everyone in Meadowlands.

And to tell everyone
that we miss them.

Bye. Love you.

Me and Sarah had really
different experiences,

even though we came
from the same situation.

She fit in a lot better. She
was a lot more chatty than me.

She was more outgoing.

[girl] Now, let's go over
and see what Sarah's doing.

[Sarah] Hi, guys. I call
this the baby swing.

[speaking indistinctly]

[girls giggling]

Okay, let me try that again.

She was able to find friends a lot
quicker than I would have been.

And she kind of was
able to open up easier.

So, you see her nails. They
haven't been painted, have they?

[Tracey] Not for a while.

No, they're not really
working out very well.

And I missed my life, I missed
all the sports that I did,

I missed, um, school,

and I did miss Molly.

[line ringing]

Hi, Mom, this is Jack.
This cannot go public.

I miss you, and I love you.

Keep fighting really hard.
I want to know how you are.

I love you so much.

Call me, pretty please.

And then it was just
released to the press,

which was just a huge betrayal.

And that was kind of when
my perspective changed,

and I started to look things up,

and I started to find
out what really happened

and gain my own opinions and
see what the truth really was.

[tense music playing]

[siren blaring]

[Alan] As we are
preparing for trial,

we get word from Ireland that Jack
needs to come forward with the truth.

So we set up a live
video-conference interview

between our office
and Jack in Ireland.

Molly made me lie, uh, to the
people who were interviewing me.

[Ina] And how did
Molly make you lie?

[Jack] Um...

She made up a lot of
stories about my dad.

Um, that he was...

She said that he was very
abusive, and she wasn't lying.

Then she started crying, and she
said, "I'd never see you again."

I didn't know what was going on.

[contemplative music playing]

There has been this weight on my
shoulders for so long, of guilt.

Molly told me,

"You need to say that your dad hit
me, or they're gonna take you away."

"And you're never
going to see me again."

Tell me why you're here.

My aunt and uncle from my dad's side
are trying to take me away from my mom.

[Alan] The judge hears the
Dragonfly House recordings,

he also is given the information
about Jack's recantation,

and at this point, the
judge agreed with us

that Jack and Sarah's statements
at the Dragonfly House

are inadmissible hearsay,

and now the jury
will not hear them.

[Sarah] I said what
Molly told me to say.

I had just lost my dad,

I had already lost my mom, I
didn't want to lose anybody else,

um, so I lied.

I never saw my... my dad ever lay
hands on Molly, not once in my life.

I was scared and afraid,
and I was so young,

and I had no one
else in the world,

and I was afraid
of losing Molly.

I have so much guilt

because, in a way, I felt
like I let my dad down.

I described someone that was
the complete opposite of my dad.

[toy plane whirring]

Boom!

I want people to know the truth,

and I want people to
know my dad as a person.

Um, my dad was a
really amazing person,

and what happened to him
shouldn't have happened to him.

[pensive music playing]

[Jack] My dad was killed the
way no person should be killed.

He was beaten to death with a
cinder block and a baseball bat,

and no... no person should ever have to
go through that... that sort of pain.

And, like, in the evidence,

you see that he tries
to get away from them,

and they keep hitting him.

They... They won't stop.

And it's just really hard
to... to even think about.

[Tracey] I'm trying to
establish why Jason was killed.

There's a lot of email exchanges
between Jason and Molly

that are concerning.

[suspenseful music playing]

[mouse clicking]

[Tracey] There seems to be
red flags in the relationship.

I'm also getting messages from
members of the Meadowlands community.

This one in particular
came on Facebook Messenger.

It says, "Jason and Molly were at a
party the Friday before his death,

and she was belittling
him, calling him a fat ass,

saying that he must have taken
all the nutrition from his twin

because he looked like
he had eaten for two."

Jason actually left the party early
and seemed down, not like himself.

He had spoken to me about
coming back to Ireland

because the marriage
wasn't in a good place.

And he had sent a
text to his friend.

[chiming]

Putting the pieces of
the jigsaw together,

I believe the relationship was
over, and he wanted to move home,

and it was going to
happen really quickly.

And Molly couldn't let Jason
leave with the children,

because if she does,
she's lost everything.

[music fades]

[reporter] Developing tonight,

a murder mystery getting
national attention now

as a former model and her
father, a former FBI agent,

find themselves facing life behind bars
for the death of the woman's husband.

I did not commit a crime.

I had one moment in this altercation
where I protected my father,

and if I hadn't done that, I
believe that he would be dead,

and then I would also
have been killed.

I don't know if a father
can see something worse

than watching his child
die in front of him.

I was going to save
her life or die trying.

And I have no regrets.

Tom's number one priority
is to protect Molly.

He wants to save Molly, so he
has to say that he killed him.

But he leaves Molly
completely out of it.

[pensive music playing]

Molly is guilty of murder
too, the state contends.

She was angry that she'd not been
allowed to adopt the children.

Situation has been described
where he bought the house.

He makes all the money.

She's stuck.

Malice feels like, when delivered
with the bat from Tom Marten...

- [bat slams]
- ..."I hate him!"

That's what malice feels like.

You know what malice feels like

when it comes from the
brick that Molly had?

It feels like...

- [brick slams]
- ..."I hate him! And I want those kids!"

That's what malice feels like.

You know what malice looks like?

Malice looks like all of those
pictures of what they did to his skull.

The wife and father-in-law
of Limerick man Jason Corbett

have been sentenced to between
20 and 25 years in jail

after being found guilty
of second degree murder.

[Molly] I was in a
state of complete shock.

I believed in the system,

and I believed that
the truth would matter.

And I felt like if I hadn't
screamed that night, if I...

You know, maybe he
would've just strangled me,

and maybe I would've been okay.

And I felt like...

that after my dad, you know, lived
this life serving his country

and being a wonderful father,

now the rest of
his life was over,

and it was my fault.

We worried the jury might not
find the two accused guilty,

but they did, and we
thank them for it.

For us, it's the beginning of
healing, of rebuilding our lives.

Life has possibility
for us again.

[joyful music playing]

It's the first time
where I just felt so free

and so just empty,
but in a good way.

How dare you disapprove?

- [Tracey laughing]
- There. You still lose.

I started to settle
into my family properly.

♪ Happy birthday Dear
Sarah and Grandad... ♪

This is my mum, this is my
dad, and these are my brothers.

Show us how it's done!

- No, Jack.
- [Jack] You're just moving your arm.

Come on, show us how it's done.

[Sarah humming]

[Tracey] Sarah!

[indistinct conversation]

I can remember the first
time Jack called me "Dad."

He was going up the stairs one day,
and he just answered, "Okay, Dad."

And you know, it was very...

It was a very emotional
moment for me.

[joyful music continues]

[Sarah shouts joyfully]

[Tracey chuckling]

[Tracey] It was very much a coming
together of our little tribe,

our blended family.

[Jack] Everything was going well,
but then it took a turn for the worst

and everything went wrong again.

[foreboding music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

We know how Jason Corbett died.

Now we're gonna tell
you why he died.

[man] We are gonna
tell this story.

It did not get told
at the first trial.

By gosh, it is going
to get told this time.

Molly Corbett's family come to me
and asked me to review the record

to convince the North Carolina Court
of Appeals to award a new trial.

One of the first things I
come across is an interview

that Molly gave the
morning that this happened.

[Wanda] How many times before tonight
have you guys had physical altercations?

I don't know. [exhales]

[Wanda] Too many to count?

A lot.

And the next thing I see

is that the authorities
interviewed the children,

starting the very next day with a visit
by the Department of Social Services,

and they both describe their
father as controlling and abusive.

And then three days later,
at the Dragonfly House,

they repeat the
initial statements.

He just got very mad
about simple things.

It's gotten worse over
the past two months.

Now he's been cussing and screaming
a lot more, getting a lot angrier.

[Doug] Unbeknownst to anybody,

two weeks earlier, Jason
has gone to his doctor,

and he complained that he
found himself getting angry

for no reason.

Almost Jack's identical words.

So, now I'm thinking, "Wow,
maybe there's something to this."

[Jack] I just came
up with a keyword.

Tell me about that.

Um, "galaxy," that's mine,
and my sister's is "peacock."

And who told you to
set up these keywords?

My grandma.

I could just say, "peacock,"
and then I hang up the phone,

and she would come
over to our house.

- From Tennessee?
- Yeah.

Do you remember when
she came up with that?

A few weeks before my dad died,
the peacock thing happened.

[Brandy] What about their phone numbers?
Did you have those written down?

[Jack] Yeah, we have
one under a doll.

[Jay] Their grandmother,
Sharon Martens, was concerned

'cause of things she knew about
what's going on in the house,

that she had the kids
create a code word

and gave the kids her phone
number and hid it from Jason

because they knew
how he would react.

Tell me about this cinder block
that you're talking about,

or the brick that your mom used.

[Jack] Um, we just got flowers
that we were going to plant

in our front yard or backyard.

And we were gonna paint
it so it looked pretty.

And it was in my mom's room
because it was raining earlier.

[Wanda] You have a
brick on the nightstand?

The kids and I
were gonna paint...

[sniffles]

Paint these bricks and
flowers around the mailbox.

It's not a coincidence

that all the physical evidence
and the circumstantial evidence

all corroborate what Tom and Molly told
law enforcement from the beginning.

I was stunned to
read that the state

had successfully persuaded
the trial judge to exclude

everything that the
children had said.

How could there have
been a fair trial

when the jury never heard the
very evidence that supports

what Molly said
happened that night?

One of the arguments
the state made

was that the children were now
recanting their original statements.

And is it true that your
father was abusive, or false?

[Jack] Um, false.

I believe that this is just a
gross miscarriage of justice.

When I watched the interview of
Jack, it looks very rehearsed.

They appear to be brainwashed.

I know the truth.

I know that what they
state is not the truth.

What's going on
inside their heads?

I don't know.

[Mike] One is conducted by
a trained child interviewer

in a sterile environment.

One is not.

She told us that that's how my
dad died, and to tell the DA...

Uh, you're gone.

[Ina exclaims]

It's okay. Are
you... Are you back?

[Dr. Hayes] I'm going
to have to call David.

If this is such an
important interview,

uh, why can't Davidson County
fly somebody to Ireland

and conduct a proper interview?

- Hi.
- [man] Okay. Is that better?

[David] I'm gonna go ahead and
back out. You guys carry on.

Molly Corbett is sitting
in the women's prison

with a sentence
of 20 to 25 years.

[pensive music playing]

And I don't think she did this.

[music fades]

[bailiff announcing
start of session]

Good morning, everyone,

and welcome to the North
Carolina Court of Appeals.

I've got to convince these three
judges that an injustice was done.

Your Honor, I wanted
to address the decision

to exclude the
children's statements.

The trial court in its conclusions, in
my judgment, were clearly erroneous.

I got the decision from the
Court of Appeals that we had won.

And the judge ruled that Jason
Corbett was the aggressor that night.

But the state is
appealing the decision

to the full Supreme
Court of North Carolina.

And so, I begin again.

The children were uniquely
positioned to know the truth

of whether their father had
an irrational anger problem.

And therein lies the problem with
excluding the children's statements.

The Supreme Court of North
Carolina is in recess.

God save the state and
this honorable court.

[gavel bangs]

The Supreme Court has
ruled, and we won.

They have awarded a new trial.

And this time, the children's statements
are going to be heard by the jury.

The murder convictions of Molly
Corbett and Thomas Martens

have been overturned on appeal.

[reporter] North Carolina Supreme Court
upheld an appellate court's ruling,

granting Tom and
Molly a new trial.

There had been serious
problems with the trial,

and it was going
to be rectified.

It was exhilarating.
I was going home.

[tense music playing]

[reporter 1] Well, tonight, Molly
Corbett and her father, Tom Martens,

are free on bail.

[reporter 2] Mr. Martens,
how does it feel to be out?

[Tom] I'm glad to be
back with my family.

[reporter 3] The father-daughter
pair left the Davidson County Jail

just an hour apart.

[Doug] For the first time in
over three and a half years,

Molly walked out
of that jail free.

It's not fair...

[inhales deeply]

...that they're out and walking.

[sniffles]

I can't focus.

[sobbing] And there's
no trial date set.

There's no...

[sniffling]

There's nothing to say, "Okay,
this is when it's gonna be over."

I just have to sit here

and let my life pass me
by again because of them.

[Jack] Very hard to see the
people that took so much from you

and took your dad's life,

that are able to walk free and be
able to hug their dads and their moms

when we have to go down to a little patch
of grass with a headstone to see my dad.

[Doug] Now we have to prepare for
a new trial in front of a new jury.

All of the evidence is gonna be presented,
and the whole story will finally get told.

Domestic abuse was going
to come into the light.

I mean, my domestic abuse,

the abuse that I suffered and endured,
it was... it was going to come out.

[birds chirping]

I think we appeared as
a pretty perfect family,

but things were not great in
regard to Jason's treatment of me.

[somber music playing]

Just every day, there would
be kind of an interrogation

of what I did that day, who I
talked to, and what I was wearing.

And if I wore my hair a
different way, there would be,

"Why did you wear
your hair that way?"

"Were you hoping to talk
to someone specific?"

Everything was just
fraught with peril.

Sometimes he would just be
kind of seething and angry

because I hadn't
abided by something

or I'd been somewhere
I shouldn't have been.

And sometimes that
would lead, uh,

to a violent situation.

[camera clicks]

Molly was becoming a shell
of what she had been.

She was definitely not as happy.

She was definitely
not as confident.

She was acting beaten down.

I did not realize the extent or the
seriousness of the domestic abuse

that I do now.

Not letting me adopt the
children was a method of control.

And it was something that I
didn't recognize early on.

He would always say, "Why does it
matter? It's just a piece of paper."

He knew that a
divorce and custody

was just in the realm of
possibility if I adopted the kids.

And so, he wanted to make
sure that didn't happen.

If I had left at that time,

the kids were not old enough
to have a say in court

and I would most
likely lose the kids.

And I... I wasn't willing to
lose the kids, and he knew that.

He knew I couldn't
ever leave the kids.

And so, my friend in the neighborhood
who was the family attorney,

she recommended that I keep a
record of not only the abuse

but also just
general motherhood.

You know, so if there was a
divorce when the kids were older,

that there would be a
record that I was their mom.

And she recommended
that I make recordings.

[Jason] I was trying to have
a conversation with Jack.

Could you just give me two
minutes to talk to my kids

when you're with
them all the time?

- Could you do that?
- [Molly] Yeah, I'm sorry.

[Jason] You should be.

They were little recording
devices that were voice activated,

and I put them around the house.

Underneath the coffee table.

Underneath the counter.

One on the nightstand.

My plan had been to
control the situation

until they were old enough
to have a say in court.

And there were
times when I thought

that I'm gonna die
before that happens.

Um, but there was never a time

where I thought that Jason
might die before that happens.

[Dr. Hampton] I get a
call from Doug Kingsbery

saying that he has a case that he
thinks I might be able to help with.

We have a man who is a very
successful businessman.

He gets along with everybody.

Does not have an angry
bone in his body.

The thing is, abusers can
appear one way n public

but very different in private.

And so, Doug sent me an audio recording
of the family during dinnertime.

[Jason] Could I have dinner with the kids?
That's what I asked, but you ignored it

and went and fed them anyway.

[Molly] I was on the phone
with you ten minutes ago,

I said, "I'm gonna make some soup.
Do you want some?" And you said no.

[Jason] I said no because I
thought we'd have family dinner.

But you ignored it, honey,
because you just do,

because it's not what
you wanted to do.

[Molly] I said, "I'm
making soup for the kids."

"Do you want some?"

[Jason] The reason I said no is
because you ignored what I asked.

[Molly] I didn't
ignore anything.

[Jason] You forgot what I
asked. You couldn't care less.

One of the characteristics of abusers
is they like to take on the victim role.

And no matter how much Molly tries
to appease him or reassure him

that she was offering
to do something for him,

he does not want to be pleased.

He doesn't want a
solution to the problem.

He wants a problem
to complain about.

[Jason] I said, "I'd like to
have dinner with my family."

That's what I said to
you. You decided...

[Molly] Jack, stop hanging off
the banister. Go to your room.

[Jason] No, don't go up to your
room, Jack, come down here, please.

Don't tell them to go
when I'm talking to them.

- [Sarah] I gotta go to the bathroom.
- [Jason] You can stay there, please.

Can you look at me?
Have some respect?

Asked you to have dinner with my family.
You said you were feeding the kids.

That's why I said no, because you ignored
what I said about dinner with my family.

- [Molly] Sit down, finish your food.
- Who cares what he says.

Don't send them out when I'm
talking. You don't have the right.

"You don't have the right."

I mean, yeah, she's not...
she's not their adoptive mother.

According to Jason, this
is further ammunition

to letting Molly know
where she stands.

[Molly] It's Pancake Tuesday.
Why don't I make some pancakes?

[Jason] I don't want anything from
you. I asked you over and over again.

You made it clear you want to
try to separate me from my kids.

[Molly] No, I don't, J.

[Jason] I'm gonna
do the same to you.

The difference is, I
will be able to do it.

That's a very clear
threat from Jason.

"If you try to take the kids from me,
I'll just take the kids from you."

[Jason] I shouldn't have
to say it over and over...

[Molly] Can you guys get
out the stuff for pancakes?

- [Jason] There you go again!
- [chair slams]

I'm talking to you, and you're
talking about something else!

- [Jack] Stop slamming your chair!
- [Sarah] Stop fighting!

- [Jason] Go up to bed.
- [Sarah crying]

- [Jason] Up to bed. Go.
- [Molly] She just got scared, J.

- [Jason] Up to bed.
- [Jack] She did, Dad. She got scared.

[Jason] Go to bed.
Go to bed. Go to bed.

[pensive music playing]

[Mike] If a jury hears this
evidence of domestic abuse,

they will find Tom
and Molly innocent.

Because Molly told a story five
years ago, or maybe two stories,

does that mean that she
was not abused by Jason?

My daughter's not a liar.

I'm not a liar.

And if you think
we are, go for it.

Prove it.

[music continues]

[Alan] We learn that there
are secret recordings

that Molly has made of Jason.

Molly was the only person who
knew the recording was being made,

which creates a scenario where
she can control the narrative.

Molly was preparing for divorce
and custody proceedings.

[Jason] I'll be able to do
what you're trying to do.

- [Molly] I'm not trying to do anything, J.
- [Jason] You are.

She clearly is trying
to do something.

Anyone who's making secret
recordings in a personal relationship

can manipulate the context
and make Jason look bad.

[dog barking]

[Jack] In the last months
before my father was killed,

the mood was kinda
different in the house.

There wasn't as much activities
with us as a family going on.

When I kinda really
started to notice it was

when I found the recording device in
my dad's car, and I showed it to him.

And he was absolutely
shocked to see it in there.

And he said, "How do you feel
about moving back to Ireland?"

And Sarah said, "Without
Mommy?" And my dad said, "Yes."

And I knew Molly
would not like that.

She knew he'd be able to take us away,
and she'd be able to do nothing about it.

It appears from everything
we learned about Molly

that things are coming to a head
as it relates to the marriage

and to, most importantly, to
her custody of the children.

[Alan] We look back at Tom's
statement the night Jason was killed,

and the reason for the
visit from Tom and Sharon.

I mean, we're fairly
social people.

And we didn't really have
anything going on this weekend.

That Saturday morning, we decided, "Hey,
why don't we go on over to Molly's?"

It's a four-hour drive,
and it's a beautiful day.

[Alan] But we learned
from people in Tennessee,

where Tom and Sharon live,

that Tom and Sharon had plans
that night with his boss,

which they canceled
at the last minute.

[pensive music playing]

We do not believe that
Tom came to North Carolina

to beat Jason to death
with a baseball bat.

Our theory is that Molly had
devised some explosive event.

If Molly could get
Jason to blow up

while her parents were
there as witnesses,

she could apply for a domestic
violence protective order,

which would remove
him from the house.

And then she can file for
emergency custody of the children

and take his children
away from him.

But when the plan went
awry, and it got violent,

it appears she quit caring
whether or not he lived or died.

[melancholy music playing]

[reporter] Now, everyone's talking
about Tom and Molly Martens.

This case has
caused a big divide

between the US and
Ireland for a long time.

[reporter 2] The situation now is that
they are expected to go for a retrial

on the same charges in 2022.

[radio host] How difficult is
it to listen to all the things

that you know have been
said about your dead brother

to make him look as
if he deserved it?

I think that's one of the
reasons why I wrote the book,

because we weren't
able to defend Jason.

I've been fighting for justice
for Jason for seven years.

Now I face a retrial,

and I expect that the
defense will call me.

I believe they're going to try and
claim that I brainwashed Jack and Sarah,

which is utterly... untrue.

[David] Telling a child what to
say, or telling a child to lie,

would go against every
fiber of my being.

That is never going to happen.

[seagulls squawking]

[Sarah] I'm just packing, getting ready,
'cause we're leaving in the morning

for the pre-trial hearing.

It will be the first time we
see the Martens since 2015.

So, that's going
to be very hard.

[Jack] The reason they
were granted a retrial

is a lot to do with my
Dragonfly interview,

where I said that
my dad hit Molly.

It's always in the
back of my mind.

We all just hope that the retrial
is set as soon as possible.

These people have been
out for over a year,

and that I think it's time
for this book to be closed

and that justice to be served.

I just want to be there to
support my father and my family.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter] The family of Jason Corbett,
the Irishman found beaten to death

in his North Carolina
home in 2015,

have said they hope a date for
Molly and Tom Martens's retrial

will be set at a hearing today.

[Sarah] They walked into the courtroom
and I saw Molly, and I saw Tom.

They had their heads down.
They wouldn't look at me.

And I thought, "I'm
not afraid anymore."

I'm not the one who
should be afraid.

I... I did nothing wrong.

I lied, that's true.

Um...

But I was eight.

And I do believe that justice
will be delivered for my dad.

[reporter 1] We're going to some
breaking news in the last while

as the killers of Irish businessman
Jason Corbett will face a retrial

on murder charges next summer.

[reporter 2] The
family had been hoping

that the retrial would take
place before Christmas.

Unfortunately,
that is not to be.

[Jack] Right now, it's
really just a waiting game.

It's stressful having to deal
with this hanging over us.

But if I get to testify,
which I hope I do,

I feel confident I'll be able to portray
what really happened inside the house,

and tell people and the jury
what Molly was really like,

and the real version
of events, the truth.

I've been waiting a long
time to say everything,

and I didn't have the words to
explain what happened to me,

and my brother,
and my dad before.

[contemplative music playing]

On the outside of the house,

the house looks like
sunshines and rainbows.

And on the inside,
it's dark and heavy.

[Jack] My relationship with
Molly got progressively worse

as we moved over to America.

Myself and Sarah used to have pictures
of our biological mother in our rooms,

and she took the picture
off me and hid it.

I feel that Molly wanted to be
the only mother that existed,

that there was no
one else before her.

Sarah had a lot closer
relationship with Molly than I did.

They did everything together.

She was like the...
the star child.

I was closer with my dad.

I remember when my father
was on a work trip,

and I said, "Goodbye,
I love you."

She chased me up to my room,

she destroyed my whole room, pulled
all my clothes out, flipped my bed,

turned over my dresser.

[somber music playing]

I was in the car with
Molly, and I asked her,

"Could I start tee-ball? Dad's
the coach, so he can bring me."

And Molly turned around and
said, "Do you not love me?"

"Do you not care about me? You
don't want to spend time with me."

"Why do you want to spend
time with your dad?"

I felt awful because I
thought I really hurt her.

I couldn't even tell my
dad things that happened,

and that made it really hard for me to
know what was right and what was wrong,

because I only had one person
whispering in my ear the whole time.

[Jack] I was constantly
fighting to be loved by her.

[inhales deeply]

I did everything I could to
just feel attention off her,

not even love,

and I loved her.

[Sarah] Me and Jack
both loved her.

But I think that she pitted
me and Jack against each other

to fight for her love.

I think if it had
gotten to a case

where we had been brought
before a judge at 13,

I would have chose my dad
every day of the week.

But Sarah would
have picked Molly.

Molly took Sarah away
from my dad constantly.

She never got...

She never got the relationship
that she wanted with him.

That's Molly's fault.

In my opinion,
that's Molly's fault.

[pensive music playing]

[Doug] As we are
preparing for a retrial,

I find out that Molly has
a handful of close friends

that heard Jason
in fits of anger,

threaten her,

or who witnessed Jason's
controlling behavior,

supporting what Molly
has described to me.

One of the women says,

"Molly has told me Jason has
strangled me before in the bedroom."

And she said,

"Molly was afraid that Jason
had strangled his first wife,

and she was growing concerned
that it could happen to her."

And I'm... I'm thinking, "What?"

It's been there all along,

since the first interview
with law enforcement.

His first wife died in
mysterious circumstances.

Um, the finding was that
she had an asthma attack.

This didn't just come up.

Tom had concerns from when he
talked to Mikey Fitzpatrick.

[tense music playing]

[Tom] We had the maternal
grandparents over.

They're at our house.

I have occasion to
have a conversation

with the father of the
deceased first wife.

His name is Mikey Fitzpatrick.

He's not a well-educated man.
He's very hard to understand.

Got a heavy Irish accent.

I asked him what he
thought of Jason.

He said, "I think he
killed my daughter."

I found that pretty shocking.

I didn't know if it
was just a bitter man

who... needed somebody to
blame for his daughter's death,

or if he had a basis for this.

He was deadly serious.

He wasn't joking around.

Nobody investigated any
further into Mags' death

and the circumstances
surrounding Mags' death.

Everybody accepted
the autopsy findings

until Doug started
digging further.

I obtained a copy of the
official autopsy report

of Jason's first wife.

I have a medical
expert look at this.

He says, "Jason Corbett's first wife
did not die from an asthma attack."

"The evidence to me shows

that she succumbed to injuries
from manual strangulation."

We had learned that Mags'
sister was there that night.

And she reported, "Mags kept saying,
'I'm going to die. I'm going to die.'"

That's what happens to victims
of manual strangulation

that survive the event

but dies from those
injuries within the hour.

But according to Mags
Corbett's autopsy report,

there were not visible marks
on the outside of her neck.

My expert says, "You don't die from
what's on the external part of the neck."

"You die from the injury
that can't be seen

on the inside of the neck."

This is important.

The state is making an argument

that Molly couldn't have
been strangled that night

because there's a lack
of injuries to her neck.

And he says to me, "Take a look
at the photograph of Molly Corbett

taken in the early morning hours right
outside the house by the police."

"Do you see that linear mark

on the left side of Molly's
neck below her ear?"

I hadn't noticed it before.

He says, "That's a nail dig."

It's what happens during
manual strangulation

when either the
assailant's nails

dig into the side of the neck,

or sometimes the victim is
trying to pry the hand away.

[camera clicking]

And he says to me,

"Have you examined her pajamas
that she was wearing that night?"

"No. What am I looking for?"

"If the victim
loses consciousness,

uh, they lose control
of their bladder."

"I'll bet you dollars to donuts,

you're gonna go down there
and find a urine stain

in the crotch area
of her pajamas."

And there it is.

I believe the only reason wife
number two was not victim number two

was because that night
her 65-year-old father

was there to
intervene and stop it.

[music fades]

[Alan] There are numerous expert witnesses
for the state and for the defense.

Every expert who looks
at the autopsy of Mags

agree that she did not
die of an asthma attack.

[pensive music playing]

But our experts said that you
could not extrapolate from that

that Jason or anybody
else had killed her.

That is a reckless conclusion and
is not supported by the evidence.

There is a long list of
possible health conditions

which would have looked like an
asthma attack in a known asthmatic.

However, the claims that
Jason must have strangled her

is not the kind of testimony we
want to get in front of a jury.

We're concerned that a jury hears
that, they may stop listening.

Jack and Sarah are
absolutely convinced

that their testimony
will fix everything.

But even if they
testify brilliantly

and carry their
share of the load,

and more,

it could still go sideways.

And so, we are willing to
consider plea negotiations.

[music continues]

[music fades]

[newsreader] Today, Molly
Corbett and Thomas Martens

appeared in a Davidson
County courtroom

to plead for a reduced charge
of voluntary manslaughter.

Molly Corbett, she pled no contest to
that charge of voluntary manslaughter.

And Thomas Martens, he pled guilty to
the charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Now, they also say his exemplary
career in the FBI in upholding the law

should warrant an
easier sentence.

I had no interest
in taking a plea.

I was ready to go to trial.

I was ready for the truth to prevail,
and I was ready to fight back.

But the possibility
of us losing at trial

and my father being incarcerated for
what would be the rest of his life,

I couldn't handle
that responsibility.

[Madison] The state and defense
teams, they're gonna go through

all of the evidence from a case
that this area knows very well

and present that to a judge.

And then he'll make the determination
of how long their sentences should be.

My whole world has just been
flipped upside down again

for I don't know how many times
over the last eight years.

They could walk out at the end of the
sentencing hearing for time served.

It's just a complete injustice.

This is not what my dad deserves.
This isn't what I deserve.

It's not right. It's not fair.

[newsreader] The court has been hearing
testimony from friends and neighbors

of Molly Martens Corbett

who said they were aware of arguments,
physical violence and controlling behavior

in the Corbetts' marriage.

[reporter] Questions were raised about
the cause of death of his previous wife,

Margaret Corbett.

The defense brought in
pathologists who say it's possible

that someone
could've killed her.

[Sarah] I feel like
my dad's on trial.

And I feel like all the focus
is on my dad's character.

Molly's lawyers say that
there's one common denominator

in my birth mother's
death and my dad's death.

My birth mother was feeding me

'cause I woke up crying the
night that she died. [sniffles]

And the night that my dad died,
I woke up and went downstairs.

How could you blame me for the
reason both of my parents are dead?

[melancholy music playing]

That's when I realized that

this is just a case
for the defense.

They don't know my da... my dad,
and they don't want to know him.

[Molly] As painful as that news
could have been for them to hear

that Mags didn't die
of an asthma attack,

which is the story that they
have been fed their entire lives,

um, I guess I did have some hope that
this would, you know, cause a break

in... in their brainwashing.

But, um...

they continue to
believe she did,

and maybe that's what
they have to believe.

I'm angry because I know
my dad didn't kill my mom.

[gentle music playing]

My Auntie Catherine was
in the house that night.

[Catherine] I do wish that I had
been asked to come over and testify,

because I'm the only one who
was there the night Mags passed.

Just after two o'clock,
I'd say, in the morning,

there was a knock on the
bedroom door, and it was Jason.

And he said, "Mags isn't well.
She's having a bad asthma attack."

Mags is in the kitchen
holding her chest.

She had her inhaler in her hand.

I watched Jason frantically
do everything to save her.

Tom Marten was saying that
Mike and him had a conversation

about how Mag died
on Jason's hands.

When we heard this, all my family
were enraged, my father especially.

[Marian] He said, "No
such thing happened."

"Until the day I die, how
would I ever believe Jason

had killed my daughter?"

[Catherine] They had a
beautiful relationship.

They were a very loving couple.

[Marian] And
Michael loved Jason.

He was our son.

We decided Michael would make
a statement to the solicitor.

[Catherine] My father
passed away from cancer,

so we're speaking
on behalf of my dad.

"Statement of
Michael Fitzpatrick."

"I wish to put it on record that I
only ever met Thomas Martens once."

"I can also state categorically

that we never discussed
my daughter Margaret,

nor did I inform Thomas Martens

that Jason had killed
my daughter Margaret."

"Such statements by Thomas Martens
are totally and utterly untrue."

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter] The Davidson County
judge will hear closing arguments

from both the state and defense,

which could lead to a final
decision on sentencing.

The last thing that happens before
the judge enters his sentence

is victim impact statements
from Jason's family members,

and Jack and Sarah are the most
important of who are gonna speak.

[Jack] I've written this,

not just for my dad,
but for myself as well.

I'm 19 years of age.

I haven't been able to
speak out for so long,

and I've had to listen to lies
over the last eight years,

and this is my opportunity
to say the truth.

[Sarah] I am old enough,
and I am brave enough now.

I've always had someone
else tell my story,

and it's important to me that
I can tell my story myself.

I'm going to start listening
to "Chicken Fried."

Do, yeah. Oh, we put it on?

- We put it on?
- Yeah, do. Yeah, do.

[Jack] We used to
always play it together.

It felt like he was beside me.

["Chicken Fried" by
Zac Brown Band playing]

♪ You know I like
my chicken fried ♪

♪ A cold beer on
a Friday night ♪

♪ A pair of jeans
that fit just right ♪

♪ And the radio up ♪

♪ Well, I was raised up Beneath
the shade of a Georgia Pine ♪

♪ And that's home you know ♪

♪ Sweet tea, pecan pie ♪

And homemade wine ♪

♪ Where the peaches grow ♪

♪ And my house It's not
much to talk about ♪

♪ But it's filled with love
That's grown in southern ground ♪

♪ And a little bit
of chicken fried ♪

♪ A cold beer on
a Friday night ♪

♪ A pair of jeans
that fit just right ♪

♪ And the radio up ♪

♪ I love to see the sun... ♪

We are the strongest,
most united together.

- Yeah.
- [Tracey] You know?

- And we're gonna do this together.
- [Tracey] Yeah.

- The last word is yours.
- Look at me. All will be okay.

Time for crying is over.

Now it's time to get angry. In
there, head up, shoulders back.

- Fuck these people. They're nothing to us.
- [all] Yeah.

Come on, Sarah, give it to
us. What are we gonna do?

- Let's do this!
- [all chuckling]

- [Tracey breathes deeply]
- [David] So, yeah.

[cameras clicking]

[tense music playing]

[Jack] I used to pray at
night when I was a kid

that I would wake up and it
would all have been a bad dream.

I've had to experience
childhood, adolescence,

and the beginning of adulthood
without my dad there to guide me.

Your Honor, don't be fooled by this
mask of civility of Molly Martens.

She systematically broke me
down and drip-fed me un-truths.

I want to be clear.

I have never witnessed my
dad hit Molly Martens, ever.

[Sarah] Who is the victim here?

The Martens made my
pain so much worse

by trying to have the world
think my dad was a bad person.

What Molly and Tom Martens took
from me, I can never get back.

I've seen my father's bloody
handprint on the door of his bedroom.

[sobbing] There was nothing
voluntary about his death.

He did not choose to leave
us. He was taken from us.

He was the victim.

[Jack] Luckily, my dad
picked two wonderful parents

to guide me through life.

It hasn't been easy, but having
them made it a lot easier.

[Sarah] It was only when I went to
live with Tracey and David in Ireland

that I knew the true
meaning of family.

Molly Corbett and Thomas
Marten are going back to prison

for the death of Jason Corbett.

This afternoon, the judge sentenced
them to 51 to 74 months...

...when you factor in the amount
of time they already served

when they were previously found
guilty for second degree murder,

it only adds up to about
seven or eight months.

[reporter] The judge made it
clear it was difficult for him

to find the truth in this case,

but made very clear the
kids were blameless.

That's Jack and Sarah.

[Jay] I think Molly did the best job
she could do with raising those kids.

And it was just very
difficult for her

to have to listen to them saying
that she somehow hurt them,

um, which I just
don't believe is true.

I did not emotionally, or physically,
or in any way abuse my children.

The children have been
used as tools of evil.

Uh, they've been
weaponized against me.

And, uh... they wanted
to hurt me, and they did.

Do I think those
children know the truth?

I don't know. How do they
remember the times at the beach?

How do they remember Molly
as the school mother?

How do they remember
the meals that she made?

How do they remember
the birthday parties?

How do they remember her
teaching them how to swim?

How do they remember?

How can you remember
that and hate Molly?

Today, Molly Corbett and Thomas Martens
will walk out of their prisons free.

[cameras clicking]

[Molly] I am not allowed to attempt
to have any contact with the kids.

That's a court order.

When it comes to,
you know, my feelings

about whether I consider
myself their mother,

uh, that would cause them
immense pain right now.

I think that they hate the
person that they think that I am,

and they think of me
as an evil abuser,

and they think their
father was wonderful.

I certainly am not
their mother now.

Will I always think of myself
as having been their mother?

Yes, I was. I was their mother.

I was the mother to the Jack and Sarah
that existed in another lifetime.

Sarah, how old are you?

Two.

[Molly] Two and a half.

Yeah.

[Molly] How old are you?

- Four and a half.
- Are you sure you're not one and a half?

[Sarah] It is true
that I loved Molly.

But just because I loved Molly
doesn't make her a good mother.

- [Molly] Say, "Bye, camera."
- Bye, camera.

[Jack] I have no feelings
towards her anymore. I don't...

I don't hate her.

I just don't want to give her
any power over me anymore.

[softly] Thank you.

[uplifting music playing]

[Jack] I understand how
a lot of people could say

he's been around people
who loved his dad,

his dad's family, his dad's
friends for eight years,

that's why he's
saying these things.

[indistinct chatter]

But I was always left to come up with
my own decisions, my own opinions.

[indistinct conversation]

[Jack] My dad was my hero. He
was someone I looked up to.

He was my best friend.

[Jason] There's a gorgeous boy.

Jack, blow Daddy a kiss.

- [Mags chuckling]
- [Jason] Good boy.

Oh, another one.

[Jack] What are
you doing, Daddy?

Getting Sarah and Mum.

They're coming home
to Jack's house.

Hi, Bubba! Give Daddy a kiss?

- Did you miss Daddy?
- Hi!

- See what Daddy bought ya.
- [Mags] Oh, Daddy buy you presents?

My dad was an amazing
person. He was a good dad.

He was, like, my
biggest cheerleader.

[Jason] Go, Sarah!

[Sarah] I know my dad and my mom
would not want me to sit around upset.

[Jack] So, you just have to keep
going forward and make them proud,

and live the life that
they wanted you to live.

[Sarah] My dad
loved me and Jack.

We were his everything,
and I know that.

And I'm really proud to say that
I am Jason Corbett's daughter.

[music continues]

[music fades]

[melancholy music playing]

[music ends]