A former counterintelligence officer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been indicted on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges in the death of his son-in-law last August in North Carolina.
Thomas Martens, a retired FBI agent, was indicted by the Davidson County, N.C., Grand Jury, along with his daughter, Molly Martens Corbett, for the death of her Irish-born husband. Both face the same charges.
Jason Corbett was reportedly beaten to death on Aug. 2 at his home in Wallburg, N.C., while Martens was visiting.
According to Davidson County Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown, the indictment was unsealed last week by Superior Court Judge Theodore Royster. Martens, who lives in Knoxville, Tenn., and his daughter both appeared before Royster for their first court appearance in which they were advised of the charges. A secure bond of $200,000 was set for each of them.
Corbett’s two children by a previous marriage are now living with his relatives in Ireland, and Martens and Molly Martens Corbett are prohibited by a judge’s order from contacting them. Molly Corbett was the au pair for the children, a boy and a girl, after the death of Corbett’s first wife, and later became their stepmother.
Martens joined the Department of Energy’s counterintelligence office at ORNL about eight years ago. He was placed on administrative leave with pay following the death of Corbett and Martens’ involvement at the scene, and a lab spokesman said his employment at ORNL ended late last year.
David Keim, public affairs chief at ORNL, declined to provide details of Martens’ departure. “That’s a personnel matter,” Keim said. “We don’t talk about that stuff.”
Martens said he retired from ORNL on Dec. 1.
The next hearing in the case will be scheduled for the week of Feb. 8, according to Brown.
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