The father and daughter who killed Limerick man Jason Corbett in North Carolina in 2015 have been released from prison.
Tom and Molly Martens served four years and three months following a plea agreement.
Molly Martens (40), who was married to Mr Corbett at the time of his death, was released from North Carolina Correctional Institution in Raleigh at about 1.40pm Irish time.
Her father Tom Martens (73) left the Caldwell Correctional Centre in Lenoir, about three hours from Raleigh, just under two hours later.
Both admitted manslaughter of Mr Corbett in a plea agreement last year after their initial conviction for second degree murder was quashed.
Jason CorbettMr Corbett's family say they are 'very disappointed' the pair have been released.
"After a nine-year battle for justice, we are deeply disappointed by the impending release of Tom and Molly Martens, the individuals responsible for the senseless and brutal murder of Jason, leaving his two children orphaned,” a family statement said.
"Jason was drugged and they beat him with a brick and a baseball bat while he was unable to defend himself. They left the room without a mark on either of them.
"The heinous actions of Tom and Molly Martens not only took Jason's life in a malevolent, cruel and vicious manner, but they set out to tarnish his reputation and use his children in a self-serving attempt to evade accountability."
Molly Martens at the sentence hearing after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter of Jason Corbett, 30-10-23. Image: Associated Press / AlamyThe family accuse Molly Martens of "relentlessly" putting Mr Corbett's children Jack and Sarah "into the centre of her bid to evade justice with a web of lies while refusing to take the stand to give evidence herself."
The statement added: "While they may have completed the court-mandated sentence, they now carry the enduring burden of their actions – forever knowing they extinguished a noble life.
"We know the truth, they know the truth. Soon the world will know the entire truth."
The Corbett family say they will "tirelessly uphold his honourable legacy and seek justice to preserve his memory."
Reporting by: Andrew Lowth and Jack Quann
