THE American wife and father-in-law of Limerick man Jason Corbett have been found guilty of his murder.
Molly Martens Corbett (33) and her father Thomas Martens (67) were charged with second-degree murder after father-of-two Mr Corbett (39) was found beaten to death inside his home in Wallburg, North Carolina, on August 2, 2015.
They had both pleaded not guilty at Davidson County Court in Lexington to murder, claiming self-defence.
But the pair were found guilty yesterday afternoon and have been handed prison sentences of between 20 and 25 years.
Both families and Martens Corbett sobbed as the verdict was announced.
As she was handcuffed, an emotional Martens Corbett said: "I'm really sorry mom, I wish they'd just kill me".
Martens Corbett and her father had claimed that Mr Corbett was choking his wife and threatening to kill her and that they acted in self-defence.
But the prosecution argued that Mr Corbett's wish to return to Ireland with his two children from his first marriage, Jack and Sarah, gave his second wife a motive for murder.
His first wife, Margaret Fitzpatrick, died from an asthma attack in 2006 when the children were both aged under two.
Mr Corbett met Molly Martens when she began working as a nanny for the children in 2008. The pair married in 2011 and moved to Wallburg, North Carolina the following year.
However, Mr Corbett repeatedly refused to sign adoption papers that would give Martens Corbett equal rights to the children.
