The father of Molly Martens admitted to North Carolina Police that he struck her husband Jason Corbett with a baseball bat in 2015, resulting in the Limerick man's death.
However, the former FBI agent, Tom Martens, claimed Mr Corbett was 'cruel, abusive and controlling' of his daughter, Molly.
The manslaughter sentencing hearing continues in North Carolina, after prosecutors accepted a plea deal with Tom and Molly Martens - over the killing of Jason Corbett in August 2015.
Southern Correspondent with the Irish Independent, Ralph Riegel, is in North Carolina covering the case, and says the court heard recordings of police interviews with Tom Martens, in which he claimed self-defence for hitting Mr Corbett with a baseball bat:
"Just a couple of hours after Jason Corbett was beaten to death with a metal baseball bat and a heavy concrete paving slab, Mr Martens was quite outspoken - derogatory at times - of Mr. Corbett. He said that Mr Corbett had been drinking all day. He alleged that he had attempted to strangle his daughter Molly, that he had gone up and when he confronted him, Mr. Corbett then said that he was going to kill his American second wife".
