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Netflix to release documentary on killing of Jason Corbett by wife and father-in-law

The documentary is due to be released on 9 May.

NETFLIX IS RELEASING a documentary next month about the killing of Irish man Jason Corbett in the US.

Jason Corbett was killed in North Carolina in 2015 at the age of 39 by his wife Molly Martens and her father Thomas Martens.

The case garnered attention on both sides of the Atlantic during the Martens’s murder trial and subsequent appeal, which ended with a plea deal to manslaughter that allowed them to walk free last year.

Streaming giant Netflix has announced that the case will be spotlighted next month in ‘A Deadly American Marriage’.

“A Deadly American Marriage explores the mystery behind Jason Corbett’s death,” a statement from Netflix today says.

“The documentary features exclusive interviews with Molly, Thomas, Jack, and Sarah, offering a rare glimpse into the conflicting perspectives of those closest to the case.”

Jack and Sarah Corbett are Jason Corbett’s two children with Margaret Fitzpatrick, who died of an asthma attack when Sarah was an infant. 

The documentary is produced and directed by Jessica Burgess (Rich & Shameless, American Monster) and Jenny Popplewell (What Jennifer Did, American Murder: The Family Next Door).

It is due to be released on 9 May.

In a trial in 2017, Molly and Thomas Martens were convicted of second-degree murder and each sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison for the death of Jason Corbett.

However, the North Carolina Court of Appeals later overturned the conviction on the basis that it found the trial judge made prejudicial decisions that prevented the two from mounting a defence.

During a second trial, Thomas Martens pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and Molly Martens pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. Superior Court Judge David Hall said that a no contest plea is treated as a form of a guilty plea.

They were each sentenced to seven to 30 months of remaining prison time with credit given for 44 months served after their 2017 convictions.

They were released from prison in June 2024.

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