Molly bid to block interview given by son of Jason
‘Video evidence inadmissible’
LAWYERS for Molly Martens have moved to prevent prosecutors using a video interview with Jason Corbett’s orphaned son as evidence in her trial for the murder of the father of two.
Jack Corbett was interviewed by prosecutors in May via video link from the Limerick home he now shares with his aunt and uncle.
The 11-year-old and his eightyear-old sister Sarah are now living in Ireland with their father’s sister, Tracey Lynch, and her husband David, following their lengthy custody battle with Ms Martens.
Ms Martens, 31, and her father Tom, 65, were charged with the second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter of Jason Corbett earlier this year. They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In documents filed in North Carolina this week, Ms Martens’s legal representatives allege that the May interview is ‘not trustworthy’ and is ‘inadmissible’ under the North Carolina rules of evidence.
In outlining the case to have the evidence ruled out, it is alleged that separately, both Jack and Sarah were interviewed on several occasions in August 2015 in North Carolina. Ms Martens is not contesting the admissibility of these particular interviews.
The document opposing the use of the May interview as evidence sets out a timeline, dating back to the days immediately after Mr Corbett’s death, during which both children gave statements.
On Monday, August 3, 2015, personnel from the Union County Department of Social Services travelled to Ms Martens’s brother’s home, where Jack and Sarah were staying. Each child was interviewed separately in the home, in the absence of Molly Martens, who was in Winston Salem at the time with her father.
On Thursday, August 6, 2015, immediately after a funeral service for their father, Jack and Sarah attended a child medical evaluation at Dragonfly House. This was arranged by the Davidson County Sheriff’s office. The child medical examination included individual, videotaped, forensic interviews with each child, followed by a physical examination by a paediatrician. The interviews were observed by two detectives from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and a social services worker from behind a mirrored glass wall.
On Thursday, August 13, the Union County Department of Social Services again travelled to Munroe to question Jack, Sarah and Molly separately.
Ms Martens’s lawyers allege that ‘ten months after the death of Mr Corbett’, the State obtained a video interview with Jack. It is alleged the statement was given in Limerick ‘in the home of the brother-in-law of Jason Corbett’.
The document claims the statement ‘attempts to contradict the prior statements of Jack Corbett’ and contains ‘factual inaccuracies.’
In contrast, Ms Martens’s lawyers have no objections to the interviews of August 2015 being used in evidence.
David and Tracey Lynch declined to comment on the allegations made in the latest court filings.
It is understood that the interview did take place in their home, but neither Mrs Lynch nor her husband were present.
The interview was arranged at the request of the District Attorney’s office in North Carolina. A child psychologist was present in the room with Jack while he was questioned by the assistant district attorney.
An administrative court date has been set for August 8 but a trial date has not yet been decided.
Mr Corbett was found dead in his luxury North Carolina home in the early hours of Sunday, August 2, 2015. Jack and Sarah are Mr Corbett’s children from his first marriage and were orphaned after his death, as their biological mother, Mags, died in 2006 from an asthma attack. In an online posting last month, Tracey Lynch said the children are doing well in Ireland.
She wrote: ‘Jack and Sarah are content, safe, protected and loved in a way that has their best interest, safety and needs met with expert support.
‘We pray and hope they are allowed to heal in time.’
She added: ‘We appreciate your respect and kind words about Jason on the support page.
‘He was a positive, fun, loving and kind person and would take comfort from your kindness and empathy along with the shared memories as do we.’
Jason Corbett’s death led to Molly Martens, 32, and her father Tom, 65, a retired FBI agent, being charged with one count each of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter by Davidson County District Attorney’s Office in January.
The description of the ‘means of death’ is a ‘ball bat and landscaping stone’.
Ms Martens, a former model, and her father have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and claim they acted in self-defence.
‘Factual inaccuracies’