AN IRISH father-of-two killed in the US was 'homesick and lonely' before his death, a court has heard.
Limerick native Jason Corbett, 39, was found dead at his home in Lexington, North Carolina on August 2, 2015.
His wife, Molly Martens Corbett, 33, and his father-in-law Thomas Michael Martens, a 67-year-old retired FBI agent, were charged with second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in January 2016.
Both father and daughter deny the charges citing self defence and are currently on trial for the death of Irishman Mr Corbett at Davidson County Superior Court in Lexington, North Carolina.
Testifying at the court on August 3, Mr Corbett's sister Tracey Lynch said he had told her that he and the children were going to visit Ireland for their dad’s 80th birthday in September 2015, according to local news service The Dispatch.
Ms Lynch said Molly Martens-Corbett contacted her in March 2015, telling her about travel arrangements for the birthday party.
Ms Lynch stated that she found it odd that Molly Corbett would ask her about the birthday party, and not directly ask Jason Corbett.
Additionally, Ms Lynch testified that Jason Corbett never mentioned Ms Corbett coming along.
Mr Corbett's sister also testified that he had felt “homesick and lonely” while in the United States, but the Judge David Lee ruled that the jury would not hear this testimony because of its irrelevance to the case.
Molly Martens Corbett, and her father Thomas Michael Corbett, are on trial over the death of Irishman Jason Corbett. (Picture: RTÉ)A co-worker of Mr Corbett's, Melanie Crook, testified that just two days after the incident, Molly Martens-Corbett came to the job site to retrieve Jason Corbett’s belongings.
During this time, Ms Crook said she was able to observe Molly Corbett’s appearance and said that Molly Martens-Corbett had no visible injuries.
Superior Court Judge David Lee also rejected a motion by defense lawyers to dismiss the second-degree murder charges against Thomas Martens and Molly Martens-Corbett for the killing of Jason Corbett.
David Freedman, the lawyer for Martens, said all the evidence provided by the prosecution suggested that Martens and Molly Corbett acted in self defense.
“Nothing has contradicted that,” Freedman said. “…No evidence (the jury) has to infer malice.”
The father and daughter claim Jason Corbett was choking Molly Martens-Corbett and threatening to kill her, and they acted in self defense.
Authorities say Jason Corbett was planning to leave Molly Corbett - his second wife and former nanny to his children - and return to his home country of Ireland, the court heard.
Walter Holton, the lawyer for Molly Corbett, said the evidence is “so overwhelmingly self-defense” that the case should be dismissed.
Davidson County Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown argued that the prosecution has provided substantial evidence that leans toward the state’s right to have the case decided by a jury.
Mr Brown cited the testimony of the pathologist, who said Jason Corbett’s injuries were similar to a fall from great heights or a car crash.
Mr Brown also stated that several witnesses testified that neither Martens nor Molly Martens-Corbett had visible injuries, which is inconsistent with self defense.
He also said that Molly Corbett “did not try” to hit Jason Corbett with the cement paver. Instead she “succeeded” in hitting him.
The Corbetts' home in Lexington North Carolina. (Picture: RTÉ)Dr Craig Nelson, a licensed pathologist, said that Mr Corbett was struck at least 10 times, but he couldn’t say exactly how many times or how quickly.
Two spots on the Irishman’s body showed evidence of repeated blows, and one scrape on Mr Corbett’s head occurred after his heart had stopped.
According to the autopsy report, Mr Corbett was beaten to death with a baseball bat and a landscaping stone.
Dr Nelson said that when he pulled back the scalp to perform the autopsy, pieces of Jason Corbett’s skull fell away.
He also identified fracturing of the nose, bruising on the thigh and hand and scraping on the back and neck.
All of these injuries were a result of blunt force trauma, according to Dr Nelson.
Graphic photos of Mr Corbett’s head were shown while the pathologist explained the injuries, at which point one juror had to be briefly excused because an image made her ill.
A paramedic who responded to the incident testified that when he first arrived, Mrs Corbett was performing CPR on her husband in the master bedroom.
Since the master bedroom was dimly lit, the paramedic said he requested Mr Corbett be placed on a board and taken to the ambulance.
While in the ambulance, the paramedic stated, several emergency responders worked on the victim.
The paramedic said the injuries were so severe that his hand slipped into Mr Corbett’s scalp as he tried to insert a breathing tube.
After it became apparent that life-sustaining measures weren’t working, the 39-year-old was declared dead.
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