Molly Martens’ tears at murder trial hearing
Murder accused breaks down during counsellor’s evidence
‘Victims of child abuse’ ‘Inflammatory and inadmissible’
MOLLY Martens broke down in a US court yesterday when a counsellor revealed her stepson said he had ‘negative feelings toward her’.
During evidence given by counsellor Andrea Huckabee, it emerged Jack Corbett told her he had witnessed abuse taking place in the home.
Ms Huckabee had a 45-minute ‘therapeutic therapy session’ with Jack and Sarah Corbett – the children of Ms Martens’s late husband, Limerick man Jason Corbett, from a previous relationship – in August 2015.
She said that in that session, Mr Corbett’s only son made a point of telling her that Ms Martens was his ‘step-mom’ and that his first mother had passed away.
During her session with Jack, he said that he had some negative feelings towards his step-mother.
She added: ‘He said, “I don’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings”.’
Ms Huckabee said Sarah had not disclosed witnessing abuse, but that Jack had. Yesterday’s hearing also heard from a paediatrician who examined Jack and Sarah after their father’s death – who revealed that she had diagnosed them ‘as victims of child abuse’.
Ms Martens, 33, and her father Tom Martens, 66, are charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter of Jason Corbett, 39. The pair will go on trial on July 17.
Mr Corbett was found dead at his home in Wallburg, North Carolina, in August 2015.
Both defendants were present in court yesterday in Davidson County, North Carolina, as were Jason Corbett’s sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David.
The couple travelled to the US from Ireland on Tuesday ahead of the planned two days of hearings.
Paediatrician Dr Amy Suttel gave evidence yesterday at the hearing relating to the admissibility of evidence in the case – and said she gave a diagnosis that both of Mr Corbett’s children were ‘victims of child abuse due to exposure to domestic violence’.
The defence for Ms Martens and her father argue interviews by both children at a children’s advocacy centre known as Dragonfly House should be put before a jury. Dr Suttel carried out a medical evaluation at the facility in the days after Mr Corbett’s death.
She added that she did not make any determination on who was responsible for the abuse. ‘That’s not my job,’ she said.
Dr Suttel recommended that both children receive mental health treatment.
In later evidence, Detective Nathan Riggs told the court that he had arranged the appointment for the children to attend Dragonfly House. He said that another colleague on the case had been told by the children that they had a ‘secret phone number’ to call their grandparents in Tennessee in case of emergency.
The court also heard from Ms Martens’s ‘closest friend’, who said her statements to police were fabricated by detectives investigating Mr Corbett’s death.
Shannon Grubb, who has only known Ms Martens since they became neighbours in 2011, claims she did not actually say what investigators recorded her as saying when she was interviewed.
‘It [the statement] said I didn’t believe her [Ms Martens],’ she told the court yesterday. ‘It was not what I had said.’
She added: ‘I went to the DA [district attorney] to correct my statement. I want the truth to be my words.’
Ms Grubb said she was Ms Martens’s ‘closest and best friend’. She gave her evidence during a defence motion for a change of venue for the trial next month.
Ms Grubb claimed that the case had been the subject of ‘word of mouth’ publicity in the county and that, as such, her friend ‘could not get a fair trial’.
‘We had incidents where I had my children with me,’ she told the court. ‘My daughter was getting her hair cut and a little old lady was talking about the case.’
Ms Grubb said that on another occasion, she was in a restaurant when a ‘random person’ started talking about the ‘murder house’.
She also claimed she had been harassed, via social media, by supporters of the late Mr Corbett.
She said: ‘In the filtered section [of comments] it said, “Do not speak for Molly”. It was very threatening.’ She added that commenters had ‘contacted her employer, reported me for child endangerment and reported me to Homeland Security’.
When asked by prosecutor Greg Brown if she was aware that such social media posts can be seen ‘in other counties, in other states, and across the world’, she said it was ‘more the investigation’ that led her to believe Ms Martens would not be treated fairly.
She said: ‘My opinion on the sheriff’s office is that my statements were incorrect. Not written down, not processed...’
David Freedman, representing Ms Martens, claimed that the sheriff’s office had disseminated information that was ‘inflammatory and inadmissible at trial’.
Responding, prosecutor Alan Martin said that the defence had failed to show that the jury pool would be any different in ‘this county or another’. Judge David Lee said he was ‘having a hard time seeing the prejudice’.
Earlier, the court heard from Detective Wanda Thompson, one of the investigators attached to the Corbett case.
Detective Thompson was asked about details from a 911 call that appeared in the Irish media in the days after Mr Corbett’s death.
Walter Holton, lawyer for Ms Martens, referred to a report that appeared in the Irish Daily Mail on August 18, 2015.
Mr Holton claimed that according to the article, the paper was in possession of a police report that had been sealed by order of the court on August 3.
‘If the media was up at the sheriff’s office that morning [August 3], before it was sealed, then the media would have it,’ replied Detective Thompson.
She told the court that police reports, once written, are a matter of public record in the county.
In further evidence, Detective Thompson was asked what evidence she had to support a claim she made in a search warrant that Jason Corbett had moved a large amount of money from a US account to an account in Ireland before his death.
‘Interviews with people connected in this case,’ replied Detective Thompson.
Tracey Lynch will today give evidence in relation to further statements that were made by both of Mr Corbett’s children upon their return to Ireland.