The Deadly Dentist Who Almost Got Away With Murder

Dorothy (Dolly) Hearn was described as having a magnetism like no other. She was beautiful, smart, generous, athletic, and wanted nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps by becoming a dentist.

Family friend Sheila Epps Wilkes remembered Dolly in such an amazing way,

“I remember that in our school newspaper, Raider Ramblings, students were often asked to answer a particular question. It was always interesting to read the remarks from various students. In one issue, the question was “What do you think of Farrah Fawcett?” One of the male students replied, “I don’t know; let me look at Dolly first.” That was the essence of Dolly. She was so beautiful and sweet that even a gorgeous movie star paled in comparison.”

However, the city of Washington, GA would lose their all-star girl on June 6, 1990, from what would be ruled a suicide. The ruling immediately did not sit well with anyone who knew Dolly and the type of person she was. All of her loved ones were convinced that she did not kill herself. The bizarre series of events that occurred in Dolly’s life just prior to her death only intensified the speculation that she was murdered and her body posed to make it appear as though she committed suicide.

Dorothy (Dolly) Carlisle Hearn

Dolly was born on July 6, 1962, to Carlton and Barbara Hearn, and was named after her grandmother Dolly. She had two younger brothers, Carlton Jr. and Gilmer. Dolly attended Wilkes County Academy, one of the oldest public schools in the nation, and was incredibly beautiful, popular, athletic, smart, and creative. She was also a fantastic cook and very skilled in calligraphy. Dolly’s fellow students loved her and she made a lasting impression everywhere she went.

In the summer of 1981, Dolly left home to begin her pre-med degree at North Georgia College & State University, located in Dahlonega, GA. She decorated her apartment with her favorite muppet, Miss Piggy, and loved watching Saturday Night Live as she was a big Steve Martin fan. She graduated in 1985 and was accepted into the prestigious Medical College of Georgia’s School of Dentistry.

In 1987, Dolly moved to Augusta, GA to begin her four-year training to become a dentist, like her father. She became a straight-A student, flawlessly balancing her classes and a part-time job as a bookkeeper for a contractor. She became good friends with her boss Dennis Stanfield, who she consistently impressed with her organizational skills and efficiency. Dolly even rented an apartment from Stanfield in a building that he owned on Parrish Road. She signed a lease with physician’s assistant trainee, Angela Garnto, and the pair immediately moved in. Dolly even got a cat named Tabitha that she completely adored.

1989 was when Dolly met a remarkably handsome fellow dental student named Bart Corbin. The two were immediately inseparable and completely infatuated with one another. After dating for only a few months, Bart proposed to Dolly. Dolly was taken aback as she was not expecting this so soon into their relationship. This caused Dolly to start slowly distancing herself from Bart, which in turn caused him to always want to know where she was and who she was with. Dolly eventually broke up with Bart due to his increasing obsession with her and how uncomfortable it made her. Bart did not take the break up well, begging her to stay.

The couple did reconcile for a while, but by November 1989, Dolly had had enough and told Bart that it was over for good. This is when the strange events began.

No Reconciliation Equals Retaliation

After Dolly and Bart’s final break-up, the next several months became very tough for Dolly. One night, Dolly came home and found one of her rear windows open, even though she knew she closed it before leaving. Some of her personal items were missing as well. A few days later, she discovered that her car had been vandalized in her apartment parking lot.

On November 13, 1989, Dolly had become so spooked by the occurrences that she filed a police report with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

Even after reporting the incidents to the police, unexplained events continued to happen. Dolly mentioned to friends that he suspected Bart was behind them all, but couldn’t prove it. One afternoon, she left class to find that two tires on her vehicle had been deflated. A witness came forward to say that he saw Bart Corbin in the parking lot near Dolly’s car around the time the crime happened. A few weeks later, Dolly filed a police report for theft after her mailbox had been broken into and a box of newly printed business cards had been taken.

During Christmas Break, Dolly returned home to Washington, and even with the events that had taken place over the past couple of months, she tried to celebrate the holiday as usual with her family. It was short-lived, however, as one night, a pink substance was poured into her car’s gas tank. She became so scared that she finally told her father about Bart and his harassment.

Before heading back to Augusta after New Year’s, Dolly’s father gave her a .38 Rossi revolver to take with her for her protection. He and her brother also gave her shooting lessons. It was said that Dr. Hearn even drove to Augusta and warned Bart to leave his daughter alone. His efforts were in vain as the harassment continued as soon as Dolly returned to school.

Same Stuff, Different Year

In January of 1990, two of Dolly’s patient schedules went missing from her office cubicle. Witnesses reported that Bart was seen tampering with the office lock. A few days later, Dolly made another theft report, this time with the campus police for almost $1500 work of dental tools that she needed for her class. A month later a set of class dentures and a prosthodontic articulator also went missing. Dolly was distraught, as she needed the tools in order to complete her classwork to be eligible to graduate. The day after she reported the items missing, the articulator showed up on the third floor of the school building. The dentures were never found.

Dolly was so fed up with the harassment, that she went to the Dean and explained the situation to him. Although the dean empathized with her, he informed her that nothing could be done to Bart without proof.

In February, Dolly began dating again. After hearing that she had taken a man into her apartment, Bart began banging on her apartment door. He later called his friend and threatened to commit suicide, because he “did not want to live with Dolly dating other men.”

In the spring, Dolly came to class with bloodshot eyes and asked her friend, Dr. Travis Hampton to smell her contact solution, as she feared it had been tampered with. They both came to the conclusion that it smelled like hairspray. Then, her beloved cat, Tabitha, went missing. Hampton called Bart to tell him that even though they couldn’t prove that he had taken the cat that Dolly would hate him forever if he did not return it. Ten minutes later, the cat showed up near Dolly’s apartment.

The next three months were constant hell for Dolly. She couldn’t concentrate, her grades were falling, and was even placed on academic probation. She took her father’s gun with her everywhere she went. She was in a constant state of fear and was understandably excited to be going on vacations over the summer that would get her far away from Augusta and Bart.

It Began Like Any Other Day

On July 6, 1990, Dolly stayed at her apartment to refinish a piece of patio furniture. She had taken some frozen food out of the freezer to thaw for dinner and was warming up leftover spaghetti for lunch. Investigators believe that around 1:00 p.m., Bart rang the doorbell and Dolly let him in. They both went into the living room and sat on the couch, as Bart begged for the two to get back together. Dolly rejected him again and they began arguing.

The doorbell rang again and as Dolly answered the door, Bart went into the bathroom. The apartment complex’s manager’s assistant had come by to pick up a key. She would later testify to seeing Bart’s car in the parking lot and the silhouette of a man without a shirt hiding behind the bathroom door.

After the assistant left, Bart emerged from the bathroom and the two continued their argument, which is speculated to have gotten very heated. Somehow, Bart had gotten the .38 Rossi that Dolly’s father had given her. He raised the gun and shot Dolly point-blank in the head. She fell onto the couch, as her cat Tabitha, scurried out of the room.

The Stage is Set

Bart then positioned Dolly’s body on the couch in a relaxed position with her legs crossed in front of her and placed the revolver in her hand. Around 1:30 p.m., Bart left the apartment, ensuring all of the doors were locked behind him.

Bart then stopped at a payphone on his way to a lecture at the school. He called Dolly’s number and left a message saying that something had come up and he would be unable to take her to the party that night as they planned. He even went so far as to say that he loved her and would see her tomorrow. Bart was establishing his alibi.

Dolly’s body was discovered around 5:15 p.m. when her roommate, Angela, returned home. Upon seeing Dolly with the gun in her lap and blood covering her face, Angela checked her pulse and then ran across the hall to a neighbor’s apartment for help. Dr. Steinhouse, a physician, happened to be at home. He rushed to Dolly’s apartment to see if there was anything that could be done to save her, but she was already gone. He then called 911. Dr. Steinhouse did mention his observation to his wife that people who commit suicide generally don’t sit in a relaxed position with their legs crossed in front of them.

When first responders arrived on the scene, law enforcement immediately removed the gun from Dolly’s lap, moving it to a safe location. Typically photos would be taken of the deceased prior to removing anything, but it was obvious that they did not expect any further investigation, as it appeared to be a suicide. Officers worked the scene, taking photographs, gathering evidence, and swabbing Dolly’s hands for gunshot residue. There were no signs of forced entry and all doors and windows were secure. Dolly’s death was ruled a suicide and the apartment manager was given the go-ahead to begin the clean-up process of the apartment.

The Investigation, or Lack Thereof

When Bart’s friend Tony “informed” Bart of Dolly’s death, his reaction was described as “appropriate.” He broke down in tears and appeared highly distraught. When they began discussing aspects of Dolly’s death, it was noted by Bart’s friend, Eric Radar, that Bart became increasingly concerned about the possibility of a police investigation, as well as the fact that Bart’s friends were aware that he knew that Dolly owned a gun.

That night, detectives traveled to Washington, GA to talk to Dolly’s parents. Dr. Carlton Hearn insisted that Dolly had not been depressed, would never take her own life, and mentioned the harassment by Bart Corbin. Detectives decided to interview Bart as soon as they arrived back in Augusta, and later deemed him a person of interest.

Bart eventually got a lawyer, and it appeared as if the investigation just fizzled out. It seemed that the detectives on the case were convinced that Dolly was depressed over school and her former relationship with Bart and could no longer handle the pressure. Her death remained listed as a suicide for the next 14 years.

New Revelations in the Case

On December 4, 2004, the body of Jennifer Corbin was discovered in her bedroom in Buford, GA. She appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Underneath her were divorce papers that had been drawn up by her husband of eight years, Bart Corbin.

As with Dolly, no one who knew Jennifer believed that she had killed herself. As the investigation into Jennifer’s death continued, detectives on her case received a phone call from a woman whose daughter had attended dental school in Augusta, GA with Jennifer’s husband, Bart. She went on to say how while in school, Bart’s then ex-girlfriend had died and her death had been ruled a suicide. Since the two cases had similarities, detectives from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s office contacted detectives in Augusta, GA. After comparing notes, the similarities were so eerily similar that Augusta decided to re-open the Dolly Hearn case.

Augusta detectives re-interviewed witnesses and reviewed previous statements made during the original investigation. A re-examination of the scene by a blood pattern analysis expert showed that Dolly was not shot in the position that she was found in.

After facts were reviewed and Dolly’s case reopened, her cause of death was changed to homicide and Bart Corbin became their prime suspect.

It All Comes Out in the Wash

As Gwinnett County detectives worked on proving Bart’s guilt in the murder of his wife, Augusta detectives had enough to request an arrest warrant. On December 22, 2004, Bart Corbin was arrested and charged with the murder of Dolly Hearn. Police served the warrant as he was leaving his dental office. On January 5, 2005, he was formally charged with the murder of his wife, Jennifer Corbin. For Jennifer’s story, see “The Deadly Dentist Who Thought He Could Get Away With Murder…Again.”

During the trial, Bart pled guilty to the malicious murders of both Dolly Hearn and Jennifer Corbin. He publicly admitted to shooting both women in the head and then staging the scene to make it look like suicide.

Bart Corbin was sentenced to two life terms in prison but would be eligible to petition for parole in 14 years, the same number of years that it took for Dolly Hearn’s murderer to be brought to justice. The only reason that Bart pled guilty was due to a plea deal that would give him life in prison for his crimes, otherwise, if he had been found guilty, he could have been sentenced to death.

Sources:

Glatt, J. (2007) The Doctor’s Wife. St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

www.kudcom.com

***Note: This story was previously published on Medium by the author.