The Violent True Story Behind Netflix’s A Deadly American Marriage

When Jason Corbett fell in love with Molly Martens, it felt like an answer to the widower’s prayers and a dream come true. Instead, their relationship—and Corbett’s life— ended in what one investigator dubbed “one of the bloodiest crime scenes” she had seen “in a long time.” How the happy couple ended up in that gruesome situation is the subject of the new Netflix documentary, A Deadly American Marriage, now streaming. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

When Corbett’s wife, Margaret “Mags” Fitzpatrick, died of an asthma attack in 2006, the 30-year old Irish businessman was left with his grief and two small children to raise alone. He hired 25-year old Molly Martens, an American originally from Knoxville, Tenn., as an au pair. She came to Limerick, Ireland, in 2008 to work as a nanny caring for Corbett’s kids, the then 3-year-old Jack and 1-year-old Sarah. Shortly after she was hired, Corbett and Martens started a relationship and were eventually engaged. Corbett was able to transfer his work to the States, so he and his fiancée and his two children moved from Ireland to North Carolina to start a new life. There Corbett and Martens were married with Corbett’s family and friends in attendance. It was in North Carolina that Corbett’s life ended a few years later, on Aug. 2, 2015.

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What happened that night

The details of that night have been argued about in court, in books, on episodes of 20/20 and 48 Hours, and, now, in the new documentary produced and directed by Jessica Burgess (Rich & Shameless, American Monster) and Jenny Popplewell (What Jennifer Did, American Murder: The Family Next Door). What is clear is that Corbett, then 39, and Martens got into a fight. Martens claims that the two fought often and that Corbett could be violent, however it has not been proven either way whether that claim was true or a defense strategy.

Molly’s father, Tom Martens, a former FBI Agent, was staying at his daughter and son-in-law’s Wallburg, N.C., home when he heard a ruckus. He grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and rushed to his daughter’s aid. A little while later, Tom Martens called 911 and told the dispatcher that his son-in-law needed help. “He’s bleeding all over, and I, I may have killed him,” Tom said in a 911 call, heard in the documentary. Later, Tom and Molly Martens admitted to killing Corbett, insisting they beat him with a brick and a baseball bat in self-defense. Prosecutors, however, said Corbett’s death was murder.

According to transcripts of police interviews shared by by CBS, Tom Martens claimed that when he and his wife arrived at their daughter’s house that evening, Corbett was drunk. While the family all went to bed without incident, things went downhill when Corbett’s daughter Sarah woke up from a nightmare and Molly went to check on her. Corbett was reportedly upset about being woken up and a fight ensued, which Molly said was not uncommon, claiming Corbett was frequently violent and abusive. Molly claims Corbett was choking her and she was scared for her life. When her father arrived on the scene, Corbett turned on him. She claims that her father fell during the scuffle and when Corbett reportedly went after him, she grabbed a brick that happened to be on her nightstand and hit him on the head. Her father picked up the bat and hit him as well, worried that his daughter’s life—in addition to his own—was in danger. The district attorney on the case said the autopsy report was “horrific,” noting the force required to cause the kind of injuries the coroner found. Corbett’s sister was later told by police that her brother “suffered at least a dozen blows to the head,” per CBS News.

While police at first seemed to believe that Corbett’s death was an act of self-defense, the documentary shows the police and prosecutors building a case of murder or manslaughter. In the documentary, the investigator and district attorney noted that the 911 call sounded staged and that emergency responders on the scene thought Corbett’s body was too cold to align with the Martenses’ version of the incident. Tom Martens is also a trained FBI interrogator, posing a challenge to anyone trying to question him. Additionally, the children appear possibly coached with 10-year old Jack saying his father “physically and verbally hurt my mom” while 8-year old Sarah was told by her mom that her dad was “not a very good dad.” In January 2016, Molly and Tom Martens were both charged with second-degree murder.

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A trial delivers a verdict

In the 2017 trial that followed, the prosecution argued that Corbett planned to leave Molly and take Jack and Sarah back to Ireland with him. Molly, who had raised the children for most of their lives, had never formally adopted them and didn’t want to lose the kids she considered her own, which heightened tensions between the couple. Further supporting that claim was the fact that in his will, Corbett named his sister, Tracey, and her husband as the childrens’ guardian, not his wife. This tension may have added to what kicked off an argument with Corbett on his final night. The prosecution made the case that self-defense was a questionable explanation for Corbett’s death given that the autopsy revealed Corbett was hit at least a dozen times in the head, crushing his skull. The Martenses, however, were physically unharmed, which the prosecution argued seemed unlikely to be the case if they were truly fighting for their lives. Additionally, the toxicology report cast doubt on more of the Martenses’ stories. After hearing testimony, the jury deliberated for three hours before returning two unanimous guilty verdicts. Molly and Tom were each sentenced to 20-to-25 years in prison. 

That was not the end of the case, though. 

Soon after the verdict was in, the defense filed a motion to have the verdict thrown out based on jury misconduct. A juror had suggested that members of the jury had discussed the case together prior to hearing all the evidence, which can be grounds for an unfair trial. The trial judge denied that motion, but one year later, the defense went to the appellate court—this time arguing that there were numerous errors made during the trial, including potential jury misconduct, untested blood stains on Tom’s boxer shorts, and what they considered to be potentially exculpatory testimony from the children that was not allowed in the trial. The appellate court overturned the verdict. The prosecution, though, appealed that ruling to the full Supreme Court. 

In March 2021, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Molly and Tom Martens. The two were released on bond the following month. Both sides began to prepare for new trials. Molly’s lawyers were prepared to argue self-defense and build a case that Corbett had been a violent abuser who may even have killed his first wife. On the defense side, Jack and Sarah Corbett claimed that Molly had told them to lie to the police and that their father was not abusive or violent in anyway. The defense believed that would be damning evidence for the Martens.

In October 2023, Molly and Tom pleaded no contest to charges of voluntary manslaughter to avoid another trial and the risk of returning to prison. In the Martens’ hearings, both children gave victim impact statements that painted brutal portraits of Molly as having robbed them of their father, their childhoods, and their innocence. Both children, per the Associated Press, urged the judge to give Molly and Thomas Martens the maximum sentence of 25 years for the death of their father. In the documentary, Molly argues that the children have been brainwashed and used as “tools of evil” who have forgotten the reality of their time together. 

The Martens were each sentenced 51 to 70 months for Corbett’s death. However, because they had already served time in prison after the original trial, they would only spend another seven or eight months in prison, per a news report in the documentary. The two Martens spent roughly four years behind bars, off and on, before they were released from custody in June 2024, per Raleigh’s The News & Observer.

Questions remain

However, the mystery and intrigue surrounding the case continues. The Netflix doc revisits the big question the case hinges on: Was this actually self-defense, or a calculated killing? Was Molly a cold-hearted killer or a woman desperate to escape a controlling and abusive husband, aided by a father desperate to save his daughter? To help answer that question, the documentary features interviews with Molly Martens, Thomas Martens, Corbett’s sister, Tracey Corbett-Lynch, and Corbett’s two children, who were 8 and 10 years old at the time of their father’s death. After their father’s death, the children returned to Ireland to live with their aunt who has long advocated for justice for her brother, writing a book about the case, My Brother Jason.

The documentary also includes sit-down interviews with several investigators and prosecutors involved in Corbett’s 2015 murder investigation, Molly Martens’ lawyers who won the appeal, and others. The result is a portrait of a crime and a criminal trial that gives viewers “a rare glimpse into the conflicting perspectives of those closest to the case.”