Netflix’s new documentary about Jason Corbett’s death has shot to the worldwide top ten list. The case shocked the world when it was first reported in 2015, but even after new interviews and appeals, questions still remain.
How could the story of a seemingly happy family end in death?
Jason Corbett’s ‘deadly marriage’
Originally from Ireland, Jason Corbett moved to the United States after the death of his first wife. There, he married the American au pair he had hired to take care of his children, Molly Martens.
Already, tensions were brewing. Martens allegedly wanted to formally adopt Corbett’s children, granting them American citizenship, but Corbett refused. He processed their US residency status through his job, rather than Martens’ family, and spoke of plans to return to Ireland in the near future.
Martens became increasingly erratic and possessive over the children. She also had a history of mental illness, and was observed by Corbett’s sister to be a pathological liar. Martens allegedly claimed to have been an Olympic swimmer, a qualified Monstessori teacher, and – most shockingly – a pen pal of Corbett’s now-deceased wife.
Testimony from Corbett’s sister later revealed that Martens told the children that Corbett had murdered their mother, punished the children for not calling her mum, and was emotionally and physically abusive.
Corbett was also allegedly targeted by Martens’ abuse. Just a few days before his death, he left a social event early after Martens repeatedly made jokes about his weight, which was an insecurity of his.
The beginning of the end
Jason Corbett’s desire to return to Ireland only intensified with Martens’ unstable behaviour. Finally, on August 2nd 2015, it reached a boiling point.
Corbett was killed by trauma to the head. Martens and her father, who had been present at their house that night, claimed that following a ‘domestic dispute’ in which Corbett was also violent, they had hit him in the head with a paving stone and a baseball bat.
But forensic teams found Corbett’s blood inside his bed, suggesting he may have been hit while sleeping. And despite Martens’ claims that Corbett had strangled her, there were no visible injuries on her neck.
Martens and her father went to trial for Corbett’s murder, but the story doesn’t end there. Go beyond the documentary and find out more on this two-part series from True Crime Garage
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