LEXINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — Molly Corbett’s defense claims she wasn’t the first victim Jason Corbett strangled almost to death.
Three different medical experts took the stand on Monday to analyze the circumstances surrounding Jason’s first wife’s death and evidence Molly was strangled the night Jason was killed in 2015.
Thomas Martens’ defense team says he walked in on Jason choking Molly with his hands then with his arm and that led him to attack him with a baseball bat.
One expert believes the scratch behind Molly’s ear, the redness on her neck and complaints of trouble swallowing and a scratchy throat are evidence of strangulation. Molly’s defense has also asserted she urinated on herself during the encounter, which experts testified can happen if a person passes out from lack of oxygen.
The state fired back by calling Molly’s credibility into question, saying most of the information about her physical statement from that night came from statements to investigators and not from copious amounts of physical evidence.
The state’s expert testified the redness on her neck could be from rubbing and pulling on it throughout the night, which multiple first responders saw.
The second part of the day centered around Jason’s first wife Margaret who is Jack and Sarah Corbett’s mother.
She died a short time after giving birth to Sarah.
This is the first time the court has heard speculation surrounding her death.
The autopsy performed in Ireland says she died from an asthma attack, but every expert to testify in this sentencing hearing says there is no physical evidence to support those findings.
The signs to look for would be large swollen lungs and mucus plugs, and the report does not mention the abnormalities.
Molly’s legal team tried to push the possibility Margaret was strangled.
One expert said redness around her mouth and nose were compelling along with her complaining about shortness of breath and saying she felt like she was “going to die” an hour before.
The expert said if she was strangled, it’s possible the swelling didn’t start negatively impacting her until later.
All three experts stated the autopsy left out a critical piece of information: an analysis of Margaret’s upper throat. Without that information, they wouldn’t be able to definitively say what caused her death.
The state pushed the sentiment that there was no evidence pointing to one cause of death last week during testimony from a different medical expert. They also said she experienced pain in her chest and arm.
On Tuesday, we are expecting to hear from character witnesses for Martens about his time in law enforcement.
