Naman Shrestha
Before Jason Corbett was killed, he suffered a tragic loss of his own when his first wife, Margaret “Mags” Corbett, passed away in 2006. Although the primary focus of Netflix’s ‘A Deadly American Marriage’ is Jason’s complicated murder case, the true-crime documentary film also touches upon the demise of Mags and how it impacted her family, including her children. During the trial of Molly and Thomas Martens, the defense tried to uncover some allegedly mysterious circumstances surrounding her demise.
Margaret “Mags” Corbett Led a Fairy Tale Life With Her Husband and Kids
Margaret “Mags” Fitzpatrick Corbett entered the world of Marian and Michael “Mickey” Fitzpatrick in 1975 in the form of a little bundle of joy. While growing up, she formed a close-knit bond with her sister, Catherine, with whom she used to share and do everything. Thanks to one of her best friends, she crossed paths with the love of her life, Jason Paul Corbett. They fell head over heels in love with each other from the moment they met, igniting a romantic relationship.
As their bond intensified with time, they tied the knot surrounded by their loved ones and made their relationship official. In the following years, the couple built a house and found success. Moreover, they completed their family by welcoming two lovely children of their own — Jack and Sarah Corbett. Not only was she a devoted wife and doting mother, but Mags was also considered the rock of the entire family. With so much to look forward to and live for, Mags and her family were not expecting fate to intervene in a way that it did.
Margaret Corbett Succumbed to an Ailment She Had Been Dealing With All Her Life
The happiness of the Corbett family was upended on November 21, 2006, when an unannounced tragedy struck, just a few months after the birth of their second child, Sarah. On the fateful night, Margaret “Mags” Corbett woke her devoted husband, Jason Corbett, and told him that she was feeling wheezy. Not realizing that it was something serious, he gave her the nebulizer, which didn’t seem to do any good for her. As her health progressively deteriorated, he informed her sister, Catherine, about the situation and also called an ambulance. In order not to waste any time, Jason reportedly drove his soulmate in the car and met the ambulance on the way, before which he did everything he could to revive her.
Unfortunately, Mags passed away in the ambulance before she could reach the hospital. It turned out that she died of a sudden asthma attack, devastating all her loved ones, including her husband. According to reports, her grave was visited multiple times each day by Jason, who read the newspaper to her, brought cards, flowers, and notes, and updated her on how their two children were doing after her passing. Within a decade, Jason also met his demise as his second wife, Molly, and her father, Thomas Martens, killed him in his North Carolina house in 2015. During the trial of the two killers, their defense claimed that they had acted in self-defense. Amidst it all, they also tried to prove that Jason was allegedly responsible for Mags’ death.
Jason Corbett’s Killers Tried to Blame Him For Margaret’s Death
At the sentence hearing for Molly and Thomas in November 2023, a couple of medical experts testified that the cause of Mags’ death could be strangulation, and not an asthma attack. One of them claimed that the medical professional failed to examine the upper neck area of Mags after her death in 2006. He elaborated, “But there is blushing around the nose and mouth in page two of the autopsy report, it says ‘very pale, and blush around the mouth and nose.’ That is a physical finding that is consistent with strangulation. Certainly, but not with certainty, but with probability, Mags Corbett died of an asphyxiated death. The most common cause we are left with is strangulation. If that were the case, it would be homicide.” Meanwhile, the second medical expert claimed that the Irish medical professionals formed a judgment based on her medical history and family testimony.
Believing that her autopsy was incomplete, he stated that it “has opened the door to another injury by another person that caused her death,” insinuating that Jason might be involved in her death. However, Mags’ family released a joint statement and denied these claims. The statement read, “Mags suffered with asthma all her life. She would always have to keep her inhalers close by. She also had a nebuliser in her home and had to use it when feeling unwell…We want to set the record straight and let the world know what the truth is. We know how much Jason loved and adored our Mags. We hope the facts and truth will speak for themselves, and no amount of lies will tarnish the love Jason and Mags had for one another.”
Read More: Sarah and Jack Corbett: Where Are Jason Corbett’s Kids Now?
