Jason Corbett's children were told to close their eyes as they were taken away from the scene of his death.
The Limerick man's murder trial in the US has heard graphic evidence of the case - with one juror forced to leave the courtroom after becoming physically sick.
The court in North Carolina heard that Mr Corbett suffered at least 12 blows to the head, his nose was broken and he had other injuries on his body.
Corporal Clayton Dagenhardt who was the first to arrive at the scene on August 2, 2015 said he discovered Mr Corbett's naked and blood-stained body lying on the floor - describing it as a “horrible scene.”
The court also heard that he went upstairs where he found Mr Corbett's two children – 10-year-old's Jack and Sarah - who were asleep in separate bedrooms.
Chief Correspondent with the Irish Daily Mail Catherine Fegan was in court for the hearing:
Day two trial coverage #JasonCorbett pic.twitter.com/OI9WYIqXif
— Catherine Fegan (@kittyf21) July 27, 2017
Corporal Dagenhardt went into Sarah’s room where she was asleep,” he said. “He said she was undisturbed, so he woke her.”
“He explained to her that there had been an incident, that he was an officer and that he was going to take her out of the room and down the stairs.”
“He said he would lift her and he told her to close her eyes as he took her down the stairs in his arms because he knew that there was a trail of blood leading from the hallway to the door where her father’s body had been taken to the ambulance.”
The pathologist who carried out the autopsy on Mr Corbett's body also took the stand - describing Mr Corbett's death as a prolonged attack.
Catherine Fegan says he also displayed a number of pictures as part of his evidence:
“Some of these images were particularly gruesome,” she said. “There was a lot of blood and they demonstrated severe injuries to Mr Corbett’s head.”
“The graphic nature was so extreme that one juror had to leave the courtroom for a time and we understand was sick into a bin.”
Both Molly Martens and her father Thomas Martens deny the charge of second degree murder.
The trial continues ...
