FILE 665 / 15 January 2026 / 183 MIN / full

Deadly Deeds With Dad

Wallburg, North CarolinaListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Here we're going to Walberg, North Carolina, not Durham. This is central North Carolina... This is in Davidson County. about 0:04:31

History, in brief

Town note

The town is named for Samuel W. Wall; the name means the berg of Walls.

about 0:05:25

1860

Samuel W. Wall was in the area by 1860, and the second generation of the family ran a coachmaking business.

about 0:05:37

Town note

The coachmaking business had $600 of capital investment, three employees and produced ten buggies and carriages worth $1,100 a year.

about 0:05:50

Town note

Wall's sons Charles and George founded a lumber company with a saw planing mill, making planks, wooden boxes and finished products such as couch frames.

about 0:06:14
All 6 history facts

Town note

The town is named for Samuel W. Wall; the name means the berg of Walls.

about 0:05:25

1860

Samuel W. Wall was in the area by 1860, and the second generation of the family ran a coachmaking business.

about 0:05:37

Town note

The coachmaking business had $600 of capital investment, three employees and produced ten buggies and carriages worth $1,100 a year.

about 0:05:50

Town note

Wall's sons Charles and George founded a lumber company with a saw planing mill, making planks, wooden boxes and finished products such as couch frames.

about 0:06:14

1888

George Wall made a land purchase in 1888, and relatives lived in the family house until the late 1970s.

about 0:06:40

The figures, as told

Religious

40%

about 0:09:35

Who lives here

White 92.4% · Black 0.3% · Asian 1.1% · Hispanic 5.8%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ about one quarter above

about 0:18:59

Violent crime
▼ about one quarter beneath

about 0:19:10

Money

Median home value$277,500
Two-bedroom rent$950
Median household income$83,011

For sale

$279,900

Four-bedroom, two-bath house, 1,910 square feet

about 0:11:34

For sale

$381,990

Three-bedroom, three-bath house, 2,340 square feet

about 0:11:46

For sale

$989,900

Four-bedroom, four-bath house on 14.61 acres, 3,481 square feet

about 0:12:40
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2026

Population

"3,050"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:08:38

Women

"50.8%"

Comparison: "49.2% men". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:08:56

Median age

"38.3"

Comparison: "38.4 national average". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:01

Married residents

"67%"

Comparison: "one of the highest the hosts have seen". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:13

Married with children

"36%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:19

Single with children

"4%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:22

White residents

"92.4%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:27

Black residents

"0.3%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:27

Asian residents

"1.1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:27

Hispanic residents

"5.8%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:27

Religious residents

"40%"

Comparison: "50-50 is the normal nationally". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:35

Largest denomination

"Methodist"

Comparison: "Baptist a close second". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:09:47

Median household income

"$83,011"

Comparison: "$69,000 average". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:10:05

Median home cost

"$277,500"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:10:11

Average two-bedroom rent

"$950"

Comparison: "$1,250 to $1,280 nationally". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:10:43

Four-bedroom, two-bath house, 1,910 square feet

"$279,900"

Comparison: "recently cut by $20,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:11:34

Three-bedroom, three-bath house, 2,340 square feet

"$381,990"

Comparison: "newly built". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:11:46

Four-bedroom, four-bath house on 14.61 acres, 3,481 square feet

"$989,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:12:40

Property crime

"about one quarter above"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2026 about 0:18:59

Violent crime

"about one quarter beneath"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:19:10

The reviews

4.3 / 5 · average of 4

5 stars

“A beautiful town where many longtime residents know each other well; some residents are obnoxious and the safety of the roads is subpar, but it is more pleasant than a large city.”
about 0:07:03

4 stars

“A small town full of great people where pretty much everyone knows each other and residents love to support the local community.”
about 0:07:46

4 stars

“I like where I live; most of the people are nice.”
about 0:07:59

4 stars

“Break-ins have been more frequent lately.”
about 0:08:08

In North Carolina

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The story

Jason Corbett was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 12 February 1976, one of eight children of John and Rita Corbett. He had a twin brother, Wayne, and the family was close and hard-working. Jason became a plant manager for an international packaging company. In 2003 he married Margaret Fitzpatrick, known as Mags, and they had a son, Jack, in September 2004 and a daughter, Sarah, in August 2006. On 21 November 2006, with Sarah eleven weeks old, Margaret had a severe asthma attack while feeding her in the middle of the night. Her nebuliser gave no relief.

Jason was thirty, a widower with two small children. After about eighteen months he decided to look for a live-in nanny and placed an advertisement describing himself as a widowed father of two. She told Jason she had graduated from Clemson, had been an approved foster parent and had extensive experience with children. None of that was true; her only childcare experience was babysitting as a teenager.

Cuss officers initially refused her entry because she had a one-way ticket and no work visa, but she talked her way in. She became the children's nanny and within the first month she and Jason were involved. Jason worried that they were moving too fast and that the children might lose another mother if the relationship failed, and they discussed it in emails. They stayed together.

She told her book club that she had given birth to Sarah. She kept a framed photograph of a girl by her bed at college and told her roommate it was her sister who had died of cancer, although she had no sister. She claimed to have been an Olympic swimmer and a Montessori teacher.

Jason proposed at Freddy's Bistro in Limerick on Valentine's Day 2010, and they married in Knoxville on 4 June 2011. They bought a five-bedroom, 3,400 square foot house in the Meadowlands Golf community in Wallburg.

The marriage deteriorated. Jason refused, partly because of her lies and erratic behaviour, and partly because he did not want to take away the only mother the children remembered. He had made a will after Margaret's death naming his sister Tracy and her husband as the children's guardians, and he never changed it. By the summer of 2015 Jason was planning to divorce her and return to Ireland with the children. He was transferring money and looking at flights. On 30 July 2015 she filled a prescription for trazodone.

He brought a tennis racket for Sarah and an aluminium Louisville Slugger baseball bat for Jack.

She said that when she returned Jason was awake and furious at being woken, and that he jumped on her, put his hands round her neck and choked her. First responders found Jason naked on the floor of the master bedroom with his skull crushed. Blood covered the walls, both sides of the door, the hallway and the bathroom. His body was cold and the blood was already congealed.

The autopsy found at least twelve blows to the head, four of them potentially fatal on their own and eight enough to render him unconscious, with at least one blow delivered after death. There were no defensive wounds. The children were taken to the Dragonfly House the next day.

A judge returned the children to Ireland in Tracy's care.

The case

Murder of Jason Corbett

Victims

Jason Corbett (39). Irish plant manager and widower, father of Jack and Sarah; born February 12, 1976

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 15 January 2026.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Jack Corbett. Jason's son, in fifth grade at the time
Sarah Corbett. Jason's daughter, who had the nightmare before the killing and later wrote a book
Margaret 'Mags' Fitzpatrick Corbett. Jason's first wife, who died of an asthma attack in 2006
Tracy. Jason's sister, named in his will as the children's guardian
Lynn. Jason's friend who met at the airport and disliked her at once
Keith McKinnon. former fiancé, who described her mental health problems
Michael. uncle, who campaigned for her release
Connor. brother, who spoke to 48 Hours
Joanne Lowry. co-worker at Oak Ridge, who testified that he hated Jason
Corporal Clay Dagenhart. first police officer on the scene
Mikey Fitzpatrick. Margaret's father, whom claimed blamed Jason for her death

The timeline

  1. February 12, 1976 Jason Corbett is born in Limerick (Limerick)about 0:21:08
  2. 1984 is born in Knoxville (Knoxville)about 0:44:32
  3. 2003 Jason marries Margaret Fitzpatrick (Limerick)about 0:30:16
  4. September 2004 Son Jack is bornabout 0:30:19
  5. August 2006 Daughter Sarah is bornabout 0:30:19
  6. February 2008 Jason receives an email from applying to be the nannyabout 0:44:23
  7. March 10, 2008 flies to Ireland and is initially denied entry at cuss for having a one-way ticket and no work visa (Ireland)about 0:48:19
  8. 2008 becomes the children's nanny and she and Jason begin a relationship within the first month (Limerick)about 0:53:23
  9. 2009 Jason and exchange emails about whether they are moving too fastabout 0:56:41
  10. February 14, 2010 Jason proposes to (Freddy's Bistro)about 1:09:40
  11. June 4, 2011 Jason and marry in Knoxville (Knoxville)about 0:20:25
  12. 2011 Jason takes a job transfer to the Multi-Packaging Solutions plant (Multi-Packaging Solutions plant)about 1:25:05
  13. 2011 They buy a five-bedroom house in the Meadowlands Golf community (Meadowlands Golf community)about 1:25:52
  14. 2011 Tension grows over wish to adopt Jack and Sarahabout 1:28:47
  15. the summer of 2015 Jason decides to divorce and return to Ireland with the childrenabout 1:34:42
  16. July 30, 2015 fills a prescription for trazodoneabout 1:41:37
  17. late July 2015 Jason visits his doctor complaining of dizziness and unexplained anger; he weighs about 260 poundsabout 1:43:17
  18. July 2015 At a party belittles Jason in front of other people, calling him a fat assabout 1:43:59
  19. August 1, 2015 and Sharon drive from Knoxville to North Carolina after cancels plans with his boss ( house)about 1:44:41
  20. August 1, 2015 They arrive about 8.30 p.m. with a tennis racket for Sarah and an aluminium Louisville Slugger for Jack (Corbett house)about 1:45:19
  21. August 1, 2015 Jack gets home from a party about 11 p.m., so keeps the bat for the morning (Corbett house)about 1:45:25
  22. August 2, 2015 Shortly before 3 a.m. Sarah comes into the master bedroom after a nightmare and takes her back to bed (Corbett house)about 1:45:57
  23. August 2, 2015 At 3.02 a.m. calls 911 and says he intervened in a fight and may have killed his son-in-law (Corbett house)about 1:46:44
  24. August 2, 2015 First responders find Jason naked and dead with his skull crushed, the blood congealed and the body cold (Corbett house)about 1:49:36

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode