The family of Jason Corbett's first wife have said that suggestions that he had anything to do with her death are "wildly inaccurate and untrue".
They family of Mags Fitzpatrick were responding to claims during a sentence hearing in the US this week that Mr Corbett's first wife did not die of an asthma attack.
In a statement on social media, the Fitzpatrick family maintained her death in 2006 was caused by her asthma, that her sister was present on the night she died and that Mr Corbett had tried to save her life.
"Mags suffered with asthma all her life. She would always have to keep her inhalers close by. She also had an nebuliser in her home and had to use it when feeling unwell," the statement read.
"On the night she died, she used both her inhalers and the nebuliser, but they weren’t helping.
"Mags' sister Catherine was living with Jason and Mags at the time of her death and was present the night she passed. Jason woke Catherine and he also rang an ambulance.
"Jason put Mags in the car and rushed to meet the ambulance on the way. Jason revived Mags before he met the ambulance.
"He did everything he could to save the person he absolutely adored and our family have always been grateful for how he tried to save her."
The statement, which is signed by Mags Fitzpatrick's mother Marian and her siblings, Michael Jr, Catherine, Sean, Thomas and Sarah, said Mr Corbett remained a part of their family after the death of his first wife and that he was a warm, and kind person who loved his first wife.
"We were heartbroken when Mags died, she was the rock in our family, the one we all turned to. She was a great daughter, wonderful sister, loyal friend and a loving wife and mother," the statement added.
"We will always miss her but we are extremely grateful to have so many great memories with Mags.
"We also miss Jason dearly who was a part of our family for a long time even after we all lost Mags and he was always welcomed into our home.
"Jason was a warm and kind person who loved Mags more than anything else in life.
"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."
Ms Fitzpatrick's family were responding to a medical expert, who told the manslaughter hearing that she did not die from asthma in Limerick in 2006.
Dr George Nichols, a veteran forensic pathologist and former chief pathologist of the State of Kentucky, said he had received and reviewed a post-mortem examination report, a coroner's report and medical records from Limerick over the summer, to give evidence for the prosecution.
He said fatal asthma attacks are marked by over inflation of the lungs due to an inability of gas to escape.
Dr Nichols said the two-page pathology report from Limerick made no mention of the state of the lungs, nor was the upper respiratory tract removed and manually assessed by the pathologist.
Because of that he rejected the claim that Ms Corbett died from an asthma attack.
Mr Corbett, a 39-year-old business manager from Limerick, was found beaten to death in the main bedroom of his house in Lexington in North Carolina in 2015.
His wife Molly Martens Corbett and her father, former FBI agent Tom Martens, were tried and convicted on charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter and were sentenced to 20 and 25 years respectively.
They never denied killing Mr Corbett, but insisted they had acted in self-defence.
In 2020, an appeal court quashed the convictions and ordered a retrial, stating that some evidence that had been excluded from the original trial should have been presented to the jury.
That decision was upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2021.
Earlier this week, Molly Martens Corbett and Tom Martens agreed plea deals in the case.
They have both entered guilty pleas to manslaughter charges, in return for the District Attorney dropping murder charges.
Their sentencing hearing has been taking place in Davidson County Superior Court and has heard a number of witnesses, watched interviews conducted with Mr Corbett’s children shortly after his death and heard recordings made at the family home by Martens Corbett who has accused Mr Corbett of domestic violence and abuse.
