DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — The sentencing hearing in the Molly Corbett and her father Tom Martens case continues Wednesday in Davidson County.
A judge is deciding how long they should go to prison for the killing of Corbett's husband, Jason Corbett, in 2015. The two accepted pleas Monday, preventing the case from going to retrial.
The defense has insisted the killing happened in self-defense, alleging Jason Corbett had attacked his wife during an argument.
The state is taking the stand testifying Jason Corbett no longer was a threat after being hit in the head the night he died, and the fatal blows that followed were an excessive use of force.
Martens' attorneys argue Martens has been transparent about what happened the entire time and taken responsibility by pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
In Wednesday's hearing, a near hour-and-a-half-long video of Molly Corbett's interview with law enforcement just hours after Jason's killing was played. In the video, Molly could be heard saying, "We were fighting," and "I was screaming help and he was screaming, 'I am going to kill her.'" Molly told investigators she never told anyone about the abuse she received from her husband. She said she was scared if she did, the children would be taken away from her because they weren't biologically hers.
The state also read through an interview with the Corbetts' next-door neighbor at the time. The neighbor at the time told investigators that Jason was a loving father, nice, and never raised a hand at the children. He also said he never observed Jason being rude to Molly.
Interviews with both children were also played during Wednesday's proceedings. Sara, then 8 years old, recounted what happened the night of her dad's murder. She's now 17 years old. She became visibly upset in court as the interviews were being played.
19-year-old Jack's interview played as well. In the videos, both children said their dad was abusive to Molly Corbett. They also said Molly told them about multiple instances where Jason wasn't "the best" father.
These interviews took place shortly before a custody battle between Jason Corbett's family and Molly Corbett.
Jason's family won the custody battle so the interviews were recanted.
In Tuesday's hearing, the court said the murder weapons used to kill Jason Corbett. A 90-minute video of Tom Martens was also played. Martens talked to investigators hours after the killing in 2015. In the recording, Martens admitted he killed Corbett with the baseball bat, saying he was scared Jason Corbett was going to kill his daughter.
Molly Corbett pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter.
They both face more than a decade in prison depending on what the judge decides in their sentencings.
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