A new documentary about the killing of Limerick man Jason Corbett by his American wife Molly Martens and her father 10 years ago is due to be streamed on Netflix next month.
A Deadly American Marriage premieres on May 9th with interviews with Martens, her father Tom and Mr Corbett’s children Jack and Sarah.
The streaming network has described the documentary as “a chilling exploration of love and betrayal featuring interviews with those closest to the case”.
It also promises to shed “a bright light on the many questions that have lingered since the shocking events of that night”.
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Molly Martens (40) and her father Tom (73), who is a retired FBI agent, were released from prisons in North Carolina last June after serving four years and three months behind bars for the killing of Mr Corbett in 2015.
In their original 2017 trial, the Martens were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in prison.
The court heard that in the early hours of August 2nd, 2015, paramedics were called to the home Mr Corbett (39) shared with Martens and his two young children from a previous marriage in Ireland, at Panther Creek Court in a suburb of North Carolina city of Winston-Salem.
State prosecutors argued that the victim had been beaten to death with a baseball bat and a paving brick by the Martens as they feared that if Mr Corbett returned to Ireland, the children would be taken from Molly Martens.
The prosecution also made the case that Molly Martens would benefit from a $600,000 life insurance policy. In their defence, the Martens argued the killing was in self-defence against what they claimed was an abusive spouse.
Their 2017 second-degree murder conviction was overturned on appeal in 2020 and the retrial was moved to Forsyth County due to the intensity of the media and public interest in the story.
Before the retrial began, the Martens accepted a plea deal for voluntary manslaughter in October 2023 and were released from prison last year.
Mr Corbett’s daughter Sarah Corbett Lynch has described, in recently-released memoir ‘A Time For Truth’, the volatile atmosphere her stepmother created within their home.
“My dad was abused, he was a victim,” she told The Irish Times Women’s Podcast last month.
By writing the book, Ms Corbett Lynch said she wanted to highlight that men could be victims of domestic violence too. “It’s an important message that anyone can be a victim. Anyone could be abused. It doesn’t have to be someone who is quiet or who is vulnerable. Sometimes it’s the guy who is the bright ray of sunshine”.
The Netflix documentary is produced and directed by Jessica Burgess (Rich & Shameless, American Monster) and Jenny Popplewell (What Jennifer Did, American Murder: The Family Next Door).
