Fund for Corbett children not yet released

MORE than €3,000 raised for the future education costs of Jason Corbett’s orphaned children by a friend of the woman who murdered him has not yet been released by her.

Jason Corbett, 39, originally from Limerick, was found with fatal head injuries at the home he shared in North Carolina with his second wife, Molly Martens, on August 2, 2015.

Ms Martens, 33, and her father, Thomas Martens, 67, a retired FBI officer and qualified attorney, were found guilty of seconddegree murder by a unanimous jury decision. Mr Corbett’s young son Jack, now 12, and daughter Sarah, now 10, were in the house at the time of their father’s death. They now live with their legal guardians, Mr Corbett’s sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David, in Limerick. A Facebook Page: ‘Bring Justice for Jason’, dedicated to the memory of the father of two, claimed on Wednesday that money raised by Melissa Sams, a friend of Ms Martens Corbett on behalf of her stepchildren, has not been given to the children in trust. However, a solicitor representing Ms Sams said: ‘Once final guardianship and custody have been determined, the funds will be released from GoFundMe directly to an educational fund of the financial Guardian/ Custodian’s choosing.The GoFundMe page entitled ‘Jack and Sarah educational fund’ raised $3,765 through 47 donations. It states: ‘The proceeds will be transferred to an educational account’ with the assistance of a law firm. However, the ‘Bring Justice for Jason’ Facebook page has criticised the delay in transferring the donations.

Rich Manger, an attorney writing on behalf of Ms Sams, said the claims on the Facebook page were inaccurate and a misleading characterisation.

Mr Manger told the Irish Daily Mail that an agreement could not be definitively reached between the two parties as to how the funds raised would be used. Mr Manger said Ms Sams was ‘ethically bound to honour the purpose of the fund.