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calm demeanour
'Surprisingly calm': The 911 call testimony about Thomas Martens that was disallowed
Evidence from a number of witnesses was disallowed during the North Carolina trial.
EVIDENCE FROM A number of witnesses was disallowed by the judge presiding over the trial of Molly Corbett and her father Thomas Martens in the course of the North Carolina proceedings.
The pair were convicted on Wednesday of the second-degree murder of Corbett’s Irish husband Jason Corbett in August 2015, and are beginning lengthy sentences – although lawyers for both have said they will appeal.
The issue of the call placed to emergency services and whether CPR was faked by the two accused arose at several points in the trial, which began in the middle of last month.
Just over a week into proceedings, 911 operator Karen Capps, who took the call from Martens, testified for the prosecution that the former FBI agent had been “surprisingly calm” and that it was unusual that he hadn’t been out of breath while administering CPR.
Capps, who was speaking after the jury had been sent out of the room, also characterised Molly Corbett as being “cheerful” and “excited”. The operator claimed to the judge that Corbett had been shouting her CPR cadences so loud, that it seemed like she was trying to make sure she could be heard.
Judge David Lee eventually ruled that the jury would not hear Capps’ characterisations as evidence. Instead, the judge said the jury to listen to the entire 911 tape, and make their own judgments on the demeanour of the two accused.
Call transcript
During the call, the transcript of which was released by authorities last year, Martens can be heard saying he had hit Jason Corbett on the head with a baseball bat.
The responder tells Martens to start chest compressions and a distressed Molly Corbett can be heard in the background crying and counting.
The 911 responder tells them to “keep going”. The paramedics then arrive at the scene and the two accused are asked to back away so the medical staff can do their jobs.
Testifying in the trial, Martens told the jury he did not know how effective the CPR had been.
Davidson County Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown, making his closing arguments, insisted to the jury that the crime scene had been staged and that the CPR given by the two accused had been faked.
The 911 operator, he reminded the court, had instructed Martens to tilt Jason Corbett’s head during CPR – but the victim’s head, at that point, was covered in blood.
Martens hands, in the aftermath, were “spotless,” Brown said.
He did not (tilt the head).
Sentences of 20- to 25-years were handed down to the pair on Wednesday. They had claimed throughout the trial that Jason Corbett had been choking Molly Corbett and that they had intervened, acting in self defence.
Lawyers for the two said it could take a year before there’s any substantial progress on their appeals. It’s believed it could take that long for lawyers to receive an opinion from the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
For processing into the prison system, Molly Corbett was initially transported to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, while Martens was taken to Central Prison, also in Raleigh.
- Includes reporting from Ben Coley in North Carolina
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