'They beat him to death:' Netflix production gets to the heart of Limerick man's killing

A BASEBALL bat, a cinder block, and secret recordings lie at the heart of the story of the killing of Janesboro man Jason Corbett, which is gripping viewers around the world.

‘A Deadly American Marriage,’ the Netflix documentary chronicling the 2015 killing of Limerick man Jason Corbett, reveals shocking new details — including harrowing commentary from the assistant district attorney in Davidson County, North Carolina.

The production - which is one hour and 42 minutes in length and was trending at No. 1 in ‘Films Today’ on Netflix over the weekend - tells the story of the Limerick man’s chilling death, from both sides. It has seen huge interest internationally with Forbes, People magazine and Time magazine all covering the story. Both Molly and Thomas Martens are interviewed on the true crime documentary as well as Mr Corbett’s two grown up children, Jack and Sarah.

Leafing through photographs of Mr Corbett’s battered body, attorney Alan Martin remarks that “Jason has abrasions on his forehead, under his eye, his shoulder blades and then we get to his head.” With his voice trembling, the assistant district attorney says: “In 30 years of prosecuting I've never seen photographs like these”.

READ MORE: ‘I’ve never seen pictures like these ’- attorney on Limerick man Jason Corbett’s injuries

“He had so many blows to his head that the pathologist couldn’t count them because they overlapped and a chunk of Jason’s skull fell out onto the table,” the assistant district attorney continues. “It takes an incredible amount of force to cause that kind of injury.”

LT. Wanda Thompson of Davidson County Sheriff’s Dept adds that it was “one of the bloodiest crime scenes” she has seen. “Even if it started as self-defence, at the point that Jason is no longer aggressive toward them, they have to stop beating him, and they didn’t. They beat him to death.”

It also came to light that Molly planted voice activated recording devices around the family home in an effort to make Jason appear like the aggressor. Mr Martin says: “Anyone who’s making secret recordings in a personal relationship can manipulate the context and make Jason look bad.” He added that Molly was preparing for divorce and custody proceedings.

He says they don't believe that Tom went to North Carolina to beat Jason to death. “If Molly could get Jason to blow up while her parents were there as witnesses she could apply for a domestic violence protective order, which would remove him from the house. And then she can file for emergency custody of the children and take his children away from him.”

Mr Martin continues: “But when the plan went awry, and it got violent, it appears she quit caring whether or not he lived or died.”

“My dad was killed the way no person should be killed,” says Jason's son Jack on screen. “He was beaten to death with a cinder block and a baseball bat. And no person should ever have to go through that, that sort of pain.

“In the evidence, you see that he tries to get away from them and they keep hitting him. They won’t stop... and it’s just really hard to even think about,” says Jack.

He also says that Molly took Sarah away from their Dad constantly. “She never got the relationship that she wanted with him. That’s Molly’s fault.” Jack explains that Molly made him lie to the people interviewing him when he was a child. “She made up a lot of stories about my Dad.

“Myself and Sarah used to have pictures of our biological mother in our rooms, and she took the picture off me and hid it. I feel that Molly wanted to be the only mother that existed.”

Produced and directed by Jessica Burgess and Jenny Popplewell, the documentary explores the mystery behind Mr Corbett’s death.