Why Molly Martens' parents pulled her from top university amid new ‘disturbing picture' case notes on killer wife
Deranged Molly, 41, and her ex-FBI agent dad Tom Martens, 75, were caged for battering Limerick businessman Jason Corbett, 39, to death as he slept at his home in North Carolina in 2015.
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Detective case notes lay bare 'a disturbing picture' of Molly Martens at university
Credit: Scott Muthersbaugh
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Molly's parents pulled her from a top university, a book has claimed
But the twisted duo were recently freed after a 2023 appeal saw a murder conviction overturned, and they accepted a plea deal of voluntary manslaughter.
Now a new book about the shocking slaying, A Deadly Marriage, by investigative journalist, author and documentary maker Brian Carroll, lifts the lid on the mind of a monster.
Detectives who investigated Molly over the infamous 2015 killing of husband Jason discovered that the Tennessee woman had a reputation for erratic behaviour at Clemson, a prestigious South Carolina university, charging $7,200 per semester.
Carroll reveals: 'Molly Martens' parents withdrew her from Clemson University after she was found sitting underneath a running shower, fully clothed, consuming soup and chips, at her student residence.
'The college authorities were alerted after the residence, shared with about a dozen other students, all living in two-bed apartments off a central corridor, had filled with steam. Martens had been sitting in the shower for more than two and a half hours.'
Evil Molly and her father Tom were both convicted for Limerick dad Jason's murder and initially sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2017.
But they were released on appeal in 2021, then entered a plea bargain in 2023, under which they accepted manslaughter charges in return for prosecutors dropping murder charges.
The killers served just seven months and were released in June 2024.
Victim Jason was savagely battered to death with a baseball bat and a concrete brick while asleep at his and Molly's home in North Carolina, US.
The dad-of-two had moved to the US after meeting Martens in Ireland, where she worked as an au pair for his kids.
Watch first trailer for explosive Netflix show on Jason Corbett killing
In the new book on the killing, detective case notes lay bare 'a disturbing picture' of Molly at university, with former college students highlighting her 'unnerving' mood swings.
Carroll said: 'When North Carolina detective Michael Hurd interviewed some of Martens' former college associates, he was told that she was a party girl who regularly missed classes and had dropped out before the end of the first semester in 2003.
'Detective case notes reveal a disturbing picture of Martens' time at Clemson.
'Classmates found her mood swings unnerving. Martens was either morose or manic. When Martens, then 20, was manic, her roommate, Jessica Thompson, would have to bunk in with other students because Martens liked to 'stay up all night making collages that she pinned to the wall'.'
WEB OF LIES
Molly's web of lies are also spotlighted in the book, including her fictional sister's cancer diagnosis.
Carroll explains: 'When morose, Martens would fixate on a framed photograph she kept by her bed.
'She told Thompson it was a photograph of her baby sister, who had died of cancer.
'Molly's roommate told detective Hurd that she had visited the Martens' $525,000 home at 12500 Comblain Road, in Knoxville, Tennessee, one weekend.
HISTORY OF PROBLEMS
'Martens took her on a tour of the 5,000-square-foot home, which came with a large backyard swimming pool. Thompson found it strange that there were no photos of Martens' deceased sister anywhere in Tom and (his wife) Sharons' home.
'When she returned to Clemson, Thompson took a closer look at the framed photograph by Martens' bed and her suspicions were confirmed - Martens' dead baby sister wasn't real.
'The girl in the photo frame was just a model, the photo a stock shot used for illustrative purposes to sell the frame.'
The book documents how Molly had a history of mental health problems.
BOOK AND SHOW
'A Deadly Marriage' by Brian Carroll is published by Sandycove, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and is available online and in stores from August 21.
'Classmates found her mood swings unnerving. Martens was either morose or manic. When Martens, then 20, was manic, her roommate, Jessica Thompson, would have to bunk in with other students because Martens liked to 'stay up all night making collages that she pinned to the wall'.'
Brian Carroll
Twisted Tom and Molly recently appeared in a Netflix show on the infamous killing.
In A Deadly American Marriage, which airs on the streaming giant, Tom shows no remorse for battering Jason to death with a baseball bat and a concrete brick.
Instead the beast, who claimed self-defence, declares: 'I have no regrets.'
'CALLOUS' SLAM
In June this year, Jason's cousin Nuala Galvin branded Martens as 'callous' as supporters of the Corbett family joined her in slamming unrepentant Tom.
One blasted: 'He's a scumbag. Hopefully karma will creep up on him when he least expects it and both he and that witch get what's coming to them.'
Dad-of-two Jason moved to the US after meeting au pair Molly in Ireland.
Before meeting Martens, Jason lived in Limerick with his wife Margaret 'Mags' and their two children, Jack and Sarah.
HISTORY OF FAMILY
In 2006, Mags sadly died unexpectedly after suffering an asthma attack.
Two years later, Jason hired a then-31-year-old Molly Martens to be an au pair to his two children.
However, Jason and Martens quickly began a relationship and married just three years after meeting.
They decided to move to the United States and settled in Lexington, North Carolina, which neighboured Martens' home state of Tennessee.
NIGHT OF INCIDENT
On August 2, 2015, Thomas Martens - Molly Martens' father - phoned the emergency services and said that Jason was badly injured.
Both Thomas and Molly Martens said that Jason had died during a 'domestic disturbance'.
'Detective case notes reveal a disturbing picture of Martens' time at Clemson."
Brian Carroll
Molly Martens had the house industrially cleaned just hours after being released from police custody, making it difficult for the police to properly investigate Jason's death.
Martens applied for custody of Jack and Sarah, despite Tracey Lynch being named as their guardian in Jason's will.
CLAIMS OF ATTACK
Thomas Martens claimed that he saw Jason strangling Molly, prompting him to wrestle his son-in-law to the ground.
He alleged that Molly Martens then struck Jason with a paving stone, before he also hit Jason with a baseball bat.
Authorities discovered that Jason had been planning to move back to Ireland on August 21, 2015, and also found that there was no evidence of a struggle between Jason and Thomas Martens.
Molly Martens and her father were arrested and charged with second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in relation to Jason's death.
SECOND TRIAL
The pair were found guilty of the second-degree murder charge and were sentenced to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison.
On March 12, 2021, the Martens were granted a second trial due to Sarah and Jack's statements being excluded from being used by defence lawyers.
Thomas and Molly Martens accepted plea bargains, which offered them the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.
They were sentenced in November 2023 to between 51 and 74 months in prison.
On June 6, 2024, they were released upon completing their sentences.
With the one-year parole period officially over, as of June 6 this year they can now move freely about the US.
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The twisted father-daughter duo were recently freed after an appeal
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