‘A Deadly American Marriage' - the real life story behind the hit Netflix film

Irish Daily Mirror

20-05-2025

The release of the new documentary 'A Deadly American Marriage' on Netflix has put the tragic killing of Limerick father-of-two Jason Corbett in the spotlight again.
The documentary, which began streaming on Netflix on Friday, May 9, has the co-operation of the Corbett family and includes interviews with Jason's orphaned children, Jack and Sarah, as well as his sister Tracey Corbett-Lynch and her husband, David Lynch.
Showing never-before-seen footage surrounding the circumstances of the killing of 30-year-old Jason in the bedroom of his home in North Carolina, USA, it's expected to be one of the most-watched for the streaming giant this year.
Jason was killed in his home in North Carolina in 2015, and his wife Molly Martens and father-in-law Tom Martens were found guilty of second-degree murder in 2017 after facing trial.
Their convictions were later overturned on appeal and, following plea bargains, the murder charges were dropped and Molly Martens pleaded no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while Tom Martens pleaded guilty to the same charge.
Here we take a look back on how Irish Mirror prevented the early release from prison of both evil Molly and Thomas Martens by exposing the release date blunder which would have seen the pair freed early.
Award winning reporter for Irish Mirror Nicola Donnelly exclusively revealed in early December 2023, that prison records showed the pair were set to walk in that month - after only serving a month behind bars- as our front page on Monday, December 4, 2023 showed.
On seeing both their prison records showed Thomas was to be released on Tuesday, December 5, 2023 and Molly on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, we contacted the Department of Adult Correction in North Carolina who confirmed the release dates were correct.
But hours later, red-faced prison officials admitted to a mix up due to 'human error' and reversed their embarrassing error on their release dates which then prevented the pair from walking free.
And following our revelations Jason Corbett's heartbroken family said had we not discovered and exposed the early release date blunder, the pair would have walked from prison last December.
Jason's sister Tracey Corbett Lynch said she and her family are convinced the pair would have been released if we had not broke the story.
She also said the blunder caused 'further hurt and upset' to Jason's two children Jack and Sarah after the sentencing hearing last November.
'The events of the sentencing hearing and the confusion over incorrect early prison release dates in North Carolina caused further hurt and upset to Jason's two children, Jack (20) and Sarah (18) who have already suffered far too much.'
Tracey said the blunder has been a 'nightmare' and revealed nobody from the North Carolina justice system has been in touch with them.
She continued: 'We find it incredible that it was only on a second check of the early release sentence calculations that the error was spotted. We also remain convinced that, but for the actions of the Irish media and the Justice For Jason supporters in highlighting this injustice, the two killers who cruelly took Jason's life and tried to attack his good name would be released after the shocking period of just four weeks behind bars.'
Following exposing the early release dates and blunder, there was widespread acclaim from supporters of the Jason Corbett family in both the US and Ireland journalist Nicola Donnelly – whose diligent and dogged reporting uncovered the error which has left US officials red-faced.
Supporters of the family praised Donnelly for her tenacity telling her they were 'forever grateful'.
Sarah, who released her memoir 'A Time for Truth' earlier this year about her dad Jason and her search for justice and healing, also praised journalist Nicola Donnelly in her book.
Sarah wrote how she and Tracey had been enjoying an overnight trip to Dublin when she wrote about the horror of seeing the front page of Irish Mirror that morning stating prison records showed the pair were to be released within days.
'An Irish newspaper's front page story reported the pair were about to be released. The journalist had tried to contact Tracey the previous night, but we were at a show and missed the calls.
'When we got home and checked, the records office of Raleigh confirmed Tom and Molly were about to be released. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction also released a formal statement with more information. Tom would be released the following day and Molly the day after.'
Sarah wrote about how the prison then admitted 'human error' and that the pair were moved to the North Carolina state prison system to serve the remainder of their sentences.
'Whoever caused this debacle, it created another nightmare day for us. If the Irish media and Justice for Jason supporters hadn't reacted forcibly to highlight this injustice [of their early release], I believe the Martens would have been out in plenty of time for Christmas that year.'