A man who murdered Irish man Jason Corbett in the US is appealing to temporarily get out of jail because of the coronavirus.

Former FBI agent Thomas Martens and his daughter, Molly, were found guilty of the second-degree murder of Mr Corbett in 2017.

They admitted to beating the Irish man to death at his home in North Carolina in August 2015 - however, they claimed they were acting in self-defence.

They killed him with a paving stone and a baseball bat while he was sleeping.

Molly Martens | File photo

Mr Corbett’s two children were asleep upstairs during the attack.

The father and daughter were sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in prison, but won an appeal against the conviction.

They are in prison awaiting a re-trial.

Tom Martens

Mr Martens is just over two and a half years into his sentence.

The North Carolina Supreme Court expects to call a re-trial early next year.

Ralph Riegel is southern correspondent with the Irish Independent.

He says Thomas Martens will ask judges to release him immediately due to COVID-19.

"Mr Martens is now looking for temporary release on bond from Alexander Correctional Institute - the prison in North Carolina where he has been serving his sentence.

"And this is on the basis that his lawyers argue that he is at heightened risk from the COVID-19 pandemic, which of course is hitting the United States, and a number of cases of the virus have been detected in North Carolina prisons.

"Mr Martens has been in special measures because he is a former FBI agent and effectively to protect him from threats from other inmates.

"But he's also 69-years-old and his lawyers have argued that given the virus situation within the prisons in the state, he should be entitled to temporary release on bond."

An outcome is expected shortly, after various submissions by prosecutors.

North Carolina has said non-violent offenders would qualify for release to ease congestion pressures - something prosecutors say is not the case here.

While the family of Mr Corbett has also written a detailed objection against his release, arguing he has shown no remorse for his actions.

Main image: Jason Corbett was killed in 2015 | File photo