THE family of a Limerick man who died in the US earlier this month have won custody of his two children, three weeks after his death.
Jason Corbett died in a "domestic incident" on August 2 and his children Jack, 10, and Sarah, 8, were in the custody of their stepmother Molly Martens in North Carolina until yesterday.
The Corbett family claimed Jason's will explicitly states his children, whose biological mother died in 2006, should be left in the care of his sister and brother-in-law in Ireland in the event of his death.
But the Corbetts were angered when the children remained with Ms Martens after police confirmed that they were investigating a "person of interest" within the family in relation to Jason's death.
Tracey and David Lynch (Jason Corbett's sister and her husband) flew to North Carolina from France, where they were on holiday, as news broke of his death - determined to bring their nephew and niece home.
The family attended a custody hearing yesterday in North Carolina with Ms Martens and news broke early this morning that they had been successful in their bid to bring the children back to Ireland.
Sarah and Jack Corbett will be reunited with their family in Ireland. Picture: Corbett familyJohn Corbett, the eldest brother of 39-year-old the deceased Jason Corbett, told The Irish Post as they geared up for a legal battle that the family’s primary focus in their grief was getting Jack and Sarah back to Ireland.
“The main person of interest to the police is Jason’s wife who still holds custody of Jason’s two children, which we find so wrong on all levels of decency and normality,” said Mr Corbett, who works with the NHS in East Anglia.
Jason, Jack and Sarah were left devastated in late 2006 by the sudden death of their wife and mother Mags Corbett (nee Fitzpatrick) – who the Corbett family have described as “the love of Jason’s life”.
As Jason struggled to juggle his work life as a lone parent after Mags’ death from an asthma attack, he looked to hire a nanny – and eventually decided on Molly Martens.
“She took up the role and after a year or two a relationship formed,” said Mr Corbett.
Jason applied for a transfer within his company, Multi Packing Solutions, and was posted to Ms Martens' native North Carolina.
In the early hours of Sunday, August 2, Jason was found by police officers unconscious in his home in Wallburg, North Carolina. He had suffered injuries to the back of his head.
Officers came to the house after receiving a call following what they describe as a “domestic incident”.
He later died, leaving his two children orphaned.
But the circumstances of his death remain a mystery, as local police investigate his death.
Jason's family grew concerned after "clashing stories" from Ms Martens' family, Mr Corbett claims.
“Molly Martens said she pushed Jason and he fell and hit his head and died,” his brother said. “But her father Thomas Martens, who is a retired FBI officer, said he hit Jason with a baseball bat and that’s recorded on the 911 call.”
A spokesperson for Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina confirmed to The Irish Post that there remains “a person of interest” within the family in relation to Jason’s death.
Meanwhile, the community in the Corbetts’ native area of Janesboro in Limerick City, rallied together in support of the family.
A candlelit vigil took place outside Limerick City Hall last night as the family waited for the result of the custody battle.
"My elderly parents can't even say goodbye to Jason with all this going on," Mr Corbett told The Irish Post yesterday, as his sister and brother-in-law went to court.
