For nearly a decade Sarah Corbett Lynch was forced into silence, unable to talk about the night her father Jason Corbett was killed and the events leading up to it. But now, following the release of her father’s killers, the young woman is finally speaking out.
“My dad was abused, he was a victim,” Corbett Lynch tells Róisín Ingle on The Irish Times Women’s Podcast. In 2015, she was just eight years-old when her father was killed at their home in Winston Salem, North Carolina by her stepmother Molly Martens and her father Tom Martens.
In the years that followed, the Martens were put on trial for murder, eventually had their convictions quashed and later took a plea bargain for voluntary manslaughter which saw each of them spend less than five years in prison in total.
Throughout the legal process, the Martens claimed they acted in self defence and portrayed Jason Corbett as the aggressor on the night he was killed. For all of that time, Corbett Lynch and her older brother Jack were denied the chance to speak in court.
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But now, in her new memoir ‘A Time For Truth’, Corbett Lynch tells her story for the very first time. It’s an insight into what her life was like growing up in their picture-perfect American home, with the woman who would eventually kill her father.
Throughout the book, Corbett Lynch describes the volatile atmosphere that her stepmother created within their home, explaining how the smallest of things could set her off.
“Molly’s moods changed very drastically, very quickly… I remember my dad came home from work with flowers for Molly…and put them in a lovely vase, and put them on the dinner table and when we were having dinner my dad moved them…and Molly started screaming, saying he had ruined it and that he had ruined dinner and took all of our plates and put them in the bin”.
By writing the book, Corbett Lynch wants to highlight that men can 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”.
In this wide-ranging discussion, the young woman who completed her Leaving Certificate last year talks about the impact her father’s death has had on her life. She shares her earliest memories of him and the legacy he leaves behind.
She also talks about her “hypervigilant” childhood where “every thought was dictated by Molly” and what she hopes people will understand about the case by reading the book.
“The book does piece together a lot of it and people can read between the lines,” she explains.
You can listen back to this conversation in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
