Allegedly Desperate to Adopt Stepkids, She Killed Husband

Molly Corbett, Thomas Martens face up to 25 years for death of Jason Corbett
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 10, 2017 9:04 AM CDT
Ex-FBI Agent, Daughter Guilty of Bashing Her Husband's Skull
Molly Corbett and Thomas Martens.   (Davidson County)

"I'm sorry, Mom. I wish he had killed me." So said Molly Corbett after learning her fate Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom. The 33-year-old and her father, former FBI agent Thomas Martens, 67, were convicted of second-degree murder in the Aug. 2, 2015, death of her husband, Jason Corbett. The defense argued Jason Corbett frequently beat his wife, and that the pair bludgeoned him to death in his Davidson County home in an act of self-defense after Martens says he saw Jason Corbett choking his daughter. Prosecutors alleged a cover-up, saying Molly Corbett and her father faked CPR and delayed calling 911 for so long dried blood was found on the victim, reports the Winston-Salem Journal. He was killed with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and concrete paving brick; the latter had apparently been on Molly Corbett's nightstand.

The BBC reports the beating Jason Corbett received was so severe that parts of his skull broke off during a post-mortem exam. Prosecutors argued the motive related in part to Jason Corbett 's children. Molly Corbett met the native Irishman in 2008 after she traveled to Ireland from Tennessee to be an au pair for his children following his wife's fatal asthma attack. Jack was 2 and Sarah only 12 weeks, reports the Washington Post. Molly and Jason Corbett married in 2011 and moved to the States. She was reportedly desperate to adopt the children, but the Irish Independent reports the marriage became strained, and Jason Corbett wouldn't sign the necessary legal papers. Molly Corbett attempted to gain custody of the kids after his death, but his sister was made guardian. Molly Corbett and her father face 20 to 25 years in prison. (This wife's murder-for-hire plot backfired after a major oversight.)

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