THE KILLERS of Limerick man Jason Corbett have succeeded in having their murder convictions overturned.
Molly Martens-Corbett and her father, Thomas Martens, have won their appeal against their convictions for the murder of father-of-two Jason Corbett and have been granted a retrial.
The pair, who were convicted of second-degree murder in 2017, had always indicated their intention to appeal, with their lawyers claiming that they did not have a fair trial.
RTÉ reports that lawyers for the Martens' argued that the excluded evidence may have explained Thomas Martens' state of mind on the night of the murder; that statements from Jason's children should have been included as evidence; and that the jury had had conversations amongst themselves regarding the case.
Molly Martens Corbett, and her father Thomas Michael Corbett, are on trial for Irishman Jason Corbett's murder. (Picture: RTÉ)The North Carolina Court of Appeal have now ruled that Molly and Thomas Martens were entitled to a new trial due to "a number of prejudicial errors apparent within the record".
Both second-degree murder convictions have been overturned, and the pair are set to face a fresh trial-- although prosecutors have indicated that they will appeal theCourt of Appeal ruling.
Jason Corbett was found dead in the bedroom of his North Carolina home in August 2015 after being beaten by a baseball bat and paving brick by the Martens at least ten times.
Jason Corbett was killed at his home in North Carolina in August 2015. (Picture: RTÉ)He met Molly Martens when she came to Limerick to work as a nanny for his young children after their mother had passed away from an asthma attack, and the pair later married and moved to the US where Martens was from.
Molly and Thomas Martens maintain that they were acting in self defence when they killed the 39-year old.
Jason's family say that he had been intending to leave Molly and move back to Limerick with his children, Jack and Sarah.
Molly Martens had fought for custody of the children after their father was killed.
