An expert in domestic violence at the Jason Corbett manslaughter hearing provoked outrage from the Corbett family after describing mortuary photographs of Mr Corbett as showing a "measure of the amount of fear" Molly Martens Corbett was living in.
Martens Corbett, the wife of the late Mr Corbett, and her father Tom Martens, a former FBI agent, have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Corbett in 2015, but are arguing there were mitigating factors.
Dr Scott Hampton was called by Ms Martens Corbett's defence lawyer to give expert opinion on her behalf.
He is a New Hampshire psychiatrist employed as a domestic violence counsellor and a director of an organistion called Ending the Violence. He works with perpetrators and victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Dr Hampton told the hearing in the US state of North Carolina that he had reviewed a file of evidence supplied by Doug Kingsberry, Ms Martens Corbett's lawyer, notably the secret audio recording known as the "pancake fight" as it was recorded on Shrove Tuesday.
He told the court that the evidence he had reviewed was consistent with the behaviours he had seen in dealing with thousands of domestic abuse cases, notably controlling behaviours and a power imbalance in their relationship.
Dr Hampton told the court that Martens Corbett was "all about the children" and keeping her relationship with Jack and Sarah Corbett was her main focus in her marriage.
He said the power imbalance between Mr Corbett and Martens Corbett was apparent from the circumstances of them meeting - it was not through a dating site, but arose because she answered a job ad, so their relationship began as employer and employee.
He then told the court that Mr Corbett acted in ways that were typical of domestic abusers, particularly threatening to move the children back to Ireland and reneging on promises to sign adoption papers so that Martens Corbett would have legal rights to custody of the children, as she wanted.
Dr Hampton said Martens Corbett had consulted a family law expert who had told her she needed to stay in her marriage until either the children were old enough to decide to stay with her of their own volition, or get them legally adopted, or stay in the relationship "until she got injured".
He said that the death of Mr Corbett on 2 August 2015 went completely against the interests of Martens Corbett and her father, who was acting to protect her.
Dr Hampton told the court it was absolutely in Martens Corbett’s interest to stay married and to keep Mr Corbett alive in order to realise her wish to legally adopt and get custody of the children.
Alan Martin, assistant district attorney, cross-examined Dr Hampton, asking if he had reviewed the statements of Jack and Sarah in which they recanted their original statements to social workers stating their father had been abusive.
Dr Hampton said he had not.
Asked if he had made contact with the Corbett family to seek their side of the story, he said he had not, and said he had only reviewed the file sent to him by defence lawyers.
He outlined a whole series of actions by Martens Corbett in which she had lied or spread utter falsehoods and asked his opinion on this behaviour.
Mr Martin showed Dr Hampton a number of photographs of Mr Corbett, taken at the crime scene, in the ambulance, and in the mortuary during the post-mortem examination, as well as police photographs showing Martens and Martens Corbett immediately after the killing, showing no signs of injury.
Mr Martin asked if those photographs looked like a reasonable act of force in line with what was in Martens Corbett’s best interests.
Dr Hampton replied: "It looks like a measure of the amount of fear Molly and Tom were in on that night."
This answer provoked comments of incredulity and gasps from the Corbett family, including the two children, 17-year-old Sarah and 19-year-old Jack, who were sitting together in the front row of the court.
It was the first time there was any audible reaction from anyone in the court during the hearing.
Judge David Hall warned them against making comments in response to evidence in the court and said if they could not comply they should leave the court.
He adjourned a short time later.
The Corbett family left the court in visible distress.
Yesterday, the case heard from three medical expert witnesses about the death of Margaret Corbett, Mr Corbett's first wife.
