The pre-sentencing hearing in the Jason Corbett manslaughter case has been told by defence lawyers acting for Molly Martens Corbett said they will present evidence and witnesses to the court that will call into question the cause of death of Mr Corbett's first wife.
Molly Martens Corbett had come to believe that her husband Jason Corbett had killed his first wife and was fearful that the same fate would befall her, the Lexington County Superior Court was told.
Defence Counsel for Tom Martens, Molly’s father, said that his client did not deny hitting Jason Corbett with a baseball bat, nor did he deny causing his death. He said his client did not deny anything, but said the question the court had to answer was"Why"? Why would a law graduate, a 30-year veteran of the FBI, and someone with top level security clearance do such a thing?
The hearing then moved to review evidence, starting with a 14-minute recording of the emergency call placed by Tom Martens on the night of Jason Corbets killing. Earlier on Monday morning, the special sitting of the Davidson Country Superior Court was told that Molly Martens Corbett and Thomas Martens had agreed a plea deal with prosecutors to accept a lesser manslaughter charge over the killing of Limerick man Jason Corbett. In return for the guilty plea, prosecutors from the District Attorney’s office dropped second degree murder charges against Tom Martens and Molly Martens Corbett.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that there was an aggravating factor in the manslaughter in that Jason Corbett's children were present in the house on the night he was killed. This is now a statutory aggravating factor in North Carolina, but that was not the case at the time of the killing.
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