The lawyer representing Jason Corbett’s wife has said his client and her father would plead not guilty if charged in relation to his death.
Mr Corbett, who was 39 and originally from the Janesboro area of Limerick, was found dead at his home in Wallburg, North Carolina, on August 2.
Molly Martens Corbett and her father Thomas Martens, a retired FBI agent, have been named by police as “persons of interest” in their investigation into the domestic incident.
David Freedman, the attorney for Ms Martens, said there were other unnamed people in the house on the night of Mr Corbett’s death.
“I believe neither Molly Martens or Thomas Martens have committed any criminal acts in all this. If they were [charged], I would be hard pressed to see why they would do anything else other than plead not guilty,” Mr Freedman told the RTÉ Radio 1 This Week programme yesterday.
Advertisement
“There were more people present in the house that night. More adults,” he added.
Mr Corbett’s body was found with severe head injuries in the bedroom of his family home. Mr Martens has been questioned by police about the killing but no arrests have been made.
“They have both given complete statements to law enforcement. They have both continued to remain co-operative to law enforcement investigating the case. Mr Martens is a retired FBI agent and a great family person,” said Mr Freedman.
Mr Corbett’s children returned to Limerick this weekend with Tracey Lynch, Mr Corbett’s sister, and her husband David, who were nominated as the childrens’ guardians by the Superior Court in Davidson County, North Carolina. Tracey and David Lynch had been named in Mr Corbett’s will as the children’s legal guardians.
Ms Martens had tried to keep the children in America, but her application for guardianship was dismissed last Thursday.
Advertisement
“We are just delighted to be back home with the kids, to bring them back to Ireland. I’d just like some peace so we can bury Jason,” said Mrs Lynch, on arrival at Shannon airport on Saturday.
Mags Corbett, Mr Corbett’s first wife and the mother of Jack and Sarah, died in 2006 from an asthma attack. Mr Corbett then moved to America. The two children are Irish citizens.
Mr Freedman said that many of the family’s neighbours in America thought that Ms Martens was Jack and Sarah’s birth mother and that both children had been made permanent residents of the US by their father.
“Molly is distraught at the moment, it’s very difficult for her to deal with what’s going on. Her whole world revolved around their children, and now that world has been ripped apart,” he said.
“Molly had been the mother of those children for the past eight years,” he added.
Advertisement
More than €16,000 has been raised so far to assist the Corbett family with the costs of bringing Jack and Sarah home. Catherine Fitzpatrick, the children’s aunt, said the fundraising will continue because the legal fees are now in “20s and 20s of thousands”.
Last Monday, Brian Shipwash, the Clerk of Superior Court for Davidson County decided that the children should return to Ireland.
“The parents of Sarah and Jack, I am almost certain, would want their children raised in the land of their origin, where the culture, religion, customs and their extended family on both sides are prepared to nurture them in a manner that would be in the children’s best interest,” he said.
Mr and Mrs Lynch had to wait for the result of Ms Martens’ case for custody on Thursday to be heard before they could take the children back to Ireland.
During the legal proceedings, it emerged that Ms Martens had sought advice two years ago regarding custody of Jason’s children in the event of a divorce.
Advertisement
“She never actually instituted any legal activity. That consultation involved whether the relationship should continue or not,” Mr Freedman said yesterday.
Findings of fact from the case also showed Mr Corbett had been resisting Ms Martens’ attempts to adopt the children. Mr Corbett’s family had been waiting for Jack and Sarah to come home before organising his funeral. He will be buried beside his first wife on Wednesday.