The wife of murdered Jason Corbett has made the shocking claim that the dad-of-two was “responsible” for his own death.
Molly Martens Corbett, 33, and her father, former FBI agent Thomas Martens, 67, were found guilty of second-degree murder after Jason, 39, was found beaten to death on August 2, 2015.
They have each been sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.
Molly and Thomas claimed they acted in self-defence, and that Jason had been choking Molly and tried to kill both of them.
In response to a wrongful death lawsuit, their lawyer said: "Jason Corbett's death was the sole proximate result of his own deliberate attempt to kill Molly Corbett and kill or seriously injure Mr Martens.”
"In order to save his daughter from imminent bodily injury or death, Mr Martens struck Jason Corbett with the baseball bat," one court filing added.
"Jason Corbett then wrestled the bat away from Mr Martens and came after him with the bat without releasing Molly Corbett.”
The statements were filed in court in North Carolina, and quoted in The Winston Salem Journal.
Both Molly and her father are seeking to have their convictions overturned by the North Carolina Court of Appeal.
They have also lodged submissions to Davidson County Superior Court asking for the conviction to be quashed, and for a retrial alleging juror misconduct took place.
A post-mortem found that Jason had been struck a minimum of 12 times with a baseball bat.
Traces of Trazodone, a strong sedative, were also found in his system. The sedative had been prescribed to Molly three days before his death, according to The Irish Independent.
Jason and Molly met after she moved to Ireland and became a nanny to his children, Jack and Sarah, following the death of their mum.
A victim impact statement from 12-year-old Jack was read out in court prior to sentencing.
Lamenting the time and memories lost, Jack wrote: “I will never be able to give him a hug, to give him a present, to help me up when I’m down.
“He will never watch me grow into a teenager, see me get married, or catch a ball.
“She (Molly) has put this burden on this family, and it will not be done until she is put away.”
