Where is Molly Martens now? Update on Netflix’s A Deadly American Marriage

With A Deadly American Marriage on Netflix now, here’s where Molly Martens is now after killing husband Justin Corbett.

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Molly Martens, who was convicted alongside her father, Tom Martens, for the 2015 killing of her husband, Jason Corbett, is living free. Here’s where she is now after the release of A Deadly American Marriage. Warning: some may find this content distressing. 

The new Netflix documentary reexamines a deeply upsetting true crime case that began in 2008, when Irish widower and father-of-two Jason Corbett hired American Molly Martens as an au pair to help care for his children, Jack and Sarah.

Over time, Jason and Molly developed a relationship, eventually marrying and relocating the family to North Carolina. A Deadly American Marriage presents evidence of escalating tension between the couple, particularly around Molly’s desire for custody of the children.

According to the new documentary, Jason was planning to return to Ireland with his kids, but before he could, he was beaten to death by a baseball bat and brick. Molly and her father, a former FBI agent, admitted to the crime but claimed it was self-defense, despite showing no injuries. 

Where is Molly Martens now?Netflix

Molly was released from prison in North Carolina in June 2024, and is reportedly now living in her hometown of Knoxville in Tennessee. She is 41 years old and is one of many of those involved in the case who appears in A Deadly American Marriage. 

As is explored in the new doc, she and her former FBI agent father admitted to killing Jason shortly after it happened. But when their interrogation began, detectives noticed red flags. 

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One of the most significant was that they claimed Jason was strangling them both, and so they had to beat him to a pulp. However, neither of them had any injuries whatsoever, and Jason had no history of abusive behavior. 

Netflix

Additionally, first responders suspected parts of the 911 call were staged, Molly had a history of telling significant lies, and Jason’s children, Jack and Sarah, both recanted their initial statements, accusing Molly of coaching them on what to say when they were just 10 and eight years old. 

Jack and Sarah, now adults, also appear in A Deadly American Marriage, where they accuse Molly of trying to erase the memory of their biological mother, Margaret “Mags” Fitzpatrick, who died of an asthma attack. 

Shortly after Jason was killed, Molly entered a legal battle with the children’s legal guardians – Jason’s sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David – in a bid to gain custody.

The children went to Ireland where they remain with their aunt, uncle, and extended family, while the criminal case against Molly and her father began. Both were found guilty of second-degree murder in 2017 and sentenced to 20-25 years in prison each. 

However, with new lawyers, the pair successfully appealed, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals later overturned the conviction. They accepted a plea bargain to voluntary manslaughter in 2023, and both were released from prison in 2024 due to time already served. 

Long before Jason’s death, just months after the wedding, Molly started exploring options for her to adopt Jack and Sarah. “I wanted to adopt them because they were my children,” she says in the Netflix doc. 

“Jason and I had spoken previously of an adoption ceremony being part of the wedding ceremony. There were a lot of promises that were broken, but that was a big one.” Her father, meanwhile, expresses similar frustrations.

However, as David Lynch points out, “Looking back on the correspondence that we got access to after Jason’s death, we realized that Jason was trying to follow through on his promise to allow Molly to adopt the children.”

But after speaking with an attorney, he knew he couldn’t take the risk of her having full custody of his children if she were to divorce him. 

Elsewhere in the documentary, Molly maintains her side of the story, accusing Jason’s children of being “brainwashed,” saying she was their “mother,” and even alluding to the idea that Jason murdered his first wife – despite an autopsy showing she died of an asthma attack. 

What Jack and Sarah said about Molly during trial

During the 2023 court case, Sarah and Jack were invited to give victim impact statements, during which they discussed the love for their father, as well as their experiences living with Molly.

Sarah described the truth as “being twisted” by the Martens’ defense team, stating, “When Ms Shannon Grubb testified about the park incident where I had no shoes going to school, there was no fight with my dad. My dad had already gone to work well before we got up for school.

“Molly had beaten Jack again and that is why I was hysterical. Molly had left Jack at home instead of bringing Jack to school too, she left in such anger she forgot my shoes. I didn’t want Molly to go home on her own as I was afraid of what she would do to Jack if I wasn’t there to stand up for him.

“This is an example of how the true situations of my life have been manipulated. You can take any story the defense have created, and I can tell you the true horror of what actually happened.

“Your Honor, her betrayal and infliction of pain continued for years. I was used by her. All I have ever been was a piece on her chess board. When I got home to Ireland, Molly posted all my images over Facebook and went on the radio to tell people to find me.

“Molly Martens took notes I wrote for her when I was younger, and pictures of me as a child, and shared them all publicly on social media for everyone to see. She betrayed me again and again – and even shared a note I left with her, the last time I saw her. And she did all this to get publicity for her lies about my father.

“There was nothing I could do to stop her. I was eight years old. Day eight, I was trying to start a new life in Ireland, but she stalked me. She tried to hire a plane to fly a banner over my school in Limerick.

“The gardaí – the Irish police – were called to the school. Detectives watched over us and our home for a while until her passport was taken away, but it didn’t stop her trying to contact me.

“I was an orphan, eight years old, and totally lost. I said what I was instructed to say. Now those words have helped the Martens escape a murder charge, and helped Molly pretend she’s the victim.”

“Not once did I say I didn’t love Molly Martens, but after her weaponizing my love for her and being able to express the abuse I endured because of her, I can stand here today and say I do not love Molly and she is not my mother,” Sarah added.

In a segment of Jack’s victim impact statements, he said, “Your honor, don’t be fooled by this mask of civility of Molly Martens. There is a monster lurking underneath the exterior.

“She systematically broke me down and drip fed me untruths. I want to be clear: I had never witnessed my Dad hit Molly Martens, ever. I am not under duress now; I want you to look at me standing here today and know the truth.

“The fact that my father’s phone, laptops, computers, and hard drives were in Bobby Martens’ house in evidence baggies and not found or admitted to evidence just shows that the entire Martens family is complicit in the cover up of the killing of my father.

“It is a travesty of justice that Molly Martens wasn’t charged with first degree murder as was considered by the District Attorney. Molly Martens needs to be locked away for as long as possible so she cannot do this to another family, another child. It is my biggest fear and gives me nightmares. She will do it again if she finds the opportunity.”

Earlier this year, Sarah, now 18 years old, published a book on the case, her experiences, and the Corbett-Lynch family’s quest for justice. It’s titled A Time For Truth, and can be bought on sites like Amazon or via Sarah’s website.

Could she go back to prison?Netflix

Despite public opinion leaning more towards the belief Jason was murdered rather than a victim of manslaughter, the case has already been through the court process. Since they have served their time, it’s almost certain that they won’t be going to prison again for this crime.   

As Ben Michael, Attorney, M & A Criminal Defense Attorneys, told Dexerto, “As far as whether or not Molly and Thomas Martens are guilty, they have been found that way in the eyes of the law. 

“The court found them both guilty of voluntary manslaughter – Thomas pleaded guilty and Molly pleaded no contest. They both claimed that they acted in self-defense. 

“Both spent time in prison and were released last year, so unless they break the terms of their release, or new evidence is found that takes the case back to the courts, they will probably not be spending any more time in prison.”

Molly Martens’ ex speaks out

Alongside A Deadly American Marriage, the Instagram page Jason Corbett Journey continues to share resources and updates about the case. In a recent post, it points viewers to Molly’s ex-fiancé Keith Maginn, who wrote a book about their relationship years before Jason’s death. 

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A post shared by Jasonsjourney (@jasoncorbettjourney)

In an interview with Extra, Keith spoke about the second trial, saying he wished he could have given evidence against Molly. 

“Throughout all of it I’ve felt so horrible for all of them: the kids, Jason’s siblings and parents, everyone involved,” he said. “Then when [the defence] start dragging Mags’s family into it as well, it’s ludicrous and cruel.”

Keith went on to describe some of the lies Molly allegedly told him, including saying she was on birth control pills when she wasn’t. At the time, they had only been together a few weeks, and Molly was on strong medication to treat bipolar. 

“She was unstable, and there was no way it was fair or safe to have a child. But she ended up getting pregnant and having a miscarriage. I later found her birth control, which she hadn’t been taking,” he continued. 

“If a baby had been born, they probably would have had a tremendous amount of difficulties to overcome, just because she wanted to be a mom and thought kids would make her happy…

“What she did to those kids was unbelievably cruel. I was kind of blinded by love and loyalty, and I was an adult. These were small children who’d already lost their mom. To do that and tell the lies that she did and to drag Mags’s family and make those outlandish and cruel accusations, it’s unbelievable.”

A Deadly American Marriage is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime news, find out whether Natalia Grace’s age was restored, how to watch Louis Theroux’s The Settlers, and what happened to the Oklahoma City bomber.

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