Sometimes, a true crime documentary shakes you in a way you didn't expect. That was my experience with A Deadly American Marriage on Netflix. What started as a random weekend watch turned into a full-on emotional spiral. I'm still processing everything I saw—and felt.
How They Met… and How It Fell Apart
It starts like a fairytale. Jason Corbett, a widower in Ireland, trying to raise two young kids after the tragic death of his wife Mags. Enter Molly Martens, a 20-something American who answers his ad for an au pair.
What is an au pair? An au pair is a young person from overseas who lives with a host family and helps with childcare and light housework in exchange for room, board, and a cultural exchange experience. Unlike a nanny, an au pair is considered part of the family and typically works fewer hours for less pay, focusing more on cultural immersion.
Molly was hired specifically as an au pair in Ireland to care for Jason's children. She flies in, helps take care of the children, and eventually, their relationship evolves from professional to romantic. Only after their relationship became romantic they married and settled back in North Carolina, leaving Ireland behind.
But what seemed like a healing second chance quickly turned ugly, Molly claims self defense against 'abusive' Jason who apparently tried to choke her. And it ended in Jason's brutal death, beaten to death with a baseball bat and a brick by Molly and her father, Tom Martens, a former FBI agent.
That's not a typo. A brick.
Watching the Documentary: My Emotions Were All Over the Place
From the moment the documentary started, there wasnt something right about Molly. There's this calm in the way Molly recounts things, and then there's Jason's family—raw, broken, still trying to make sense of what happened. I couldn't look away.
The so-called self-defense story didn't sit right with me. Jason's injuries were extensive—far beyond what anyone could call "necessary force." His skull was fractured so badly, his family wasn't allowed to view the body. What really shook me was that neither Molly nor her father had so much as a scratch on them. That's not what you'd expect if they were "fighting for their lives" This all conveniently takes place after Jason had plans to divorce Molly and return back to Ireland with his two kids.
Then there's the brick. Supposedly kept in the bedroom for a 'painting project' as claimed by Molly, Come on...
The Secret Recordings
One of the most disturbing elements was Molly's secret recordings of Jason. At first, they seemed to paint him as angry, controlling. But the more I listened, the more they sounded like a man pushed to his breaking point—emotionally frayed, yes, but not abusive. I kept wondering: if she had all these devices planted throughout the house, why isn't there any recording of the actual night of the murder?
I'll tell you why. Because it didn't support her version of events.
The recordings we do hear are carefully curated. She's calm, soft-spoken, almost baiting him. He's frustrated, reactive. It felt more like a setup than evidence.
Lies Upon Lies
The deeper the documentary dug, the more tangled Molly's web became. She lied to friends about being the children's biological mother. She removed photos of their real mom. She told people she was close to Mags, Jason's late wife—which wasn't true. She even lied at her own wedding about their relationship history. All of it felt so… calculated.
And then there was her father. A retired FBI agent with that old-school, I know better than you confidence. The man who claims he walked in on Jason strangling his daughter, yet somehow Jason's injuries were all to the back of the head. Nothing about that made sense. His story was as hollow as it was convenient.
The Children—The Ones Who Suffered the Most
But the real heartbreak in all this is what Jason's children endured. They were young, impressionable, and caught in a nightmare. It's clear they were manipulated—first by Molly, then dragged through legal and emotional chaos. Hearing them speak now, older and more aware, was gut-wrenching.
They remember. And what they remember speaks volumes.
What devastated me most was realizing that these kids had to publicly undo lies they were taught to believe. That's trauma layered on trauma. No child should have to go through that.
What I Believe
I believe Molly wasn't just trying to be a stepmother. I think she saw Jason's kids as the family she couldn't have—especially after her miscarriage—and she became obsessed. When Jason refused to let her adopt them, she snapped. I believe she manipulated her parents, especially her father, into thinking she was in danger. I believe they planned the confrontation that led to Jason's death.
And I believe they beat him even after he was down.
I also believe she thought the world would side with her. That her image, her tears, and her recordings would convince us. But truth has a way of clawing its way to the surface.
Final Thoughts
This documentary isn't just a brutal crime, It's a study in manipulation, control, and the limits of justice. Molly and Tom just served four years, for what I personally see as cold-blooded murder.
They got out.
Jason never will.
I'm still haunted by the way Molly called those children "hers," even after everything. Still shaken by how easily lies were weaponized. Still furious at how the system failed those kids—twice.
If you're going to watch A Deadly American Marriage, be prepared. You won't come out of it with peace.
You can watch A Deadly American Marriage on Netflix.