The Deadly Dentist Who Thought He Could Get Away With Murder…Again

At 7:30 a.m. on December 4, 2004, a 911 call came into the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department. The caller, Kelly Comeau, informed the dispatcher that her neighbor’s seven-year-old son woke them up frantically knocking on their door. When Kelly arrived at the door, she listened to her neighbor’s son Dalton explain through his tears that something was wrong with his mom.

“My mom isn’t breathing,” Dalton said, “My daddy shot my mommy. I need you to call 911.”

As unbelievable as what Dalton was saying was, Kelly immediately ran next door to check on her best friend Jennifer. As Kelly entered the master bedroom, she became witness to a horrifying scene, one that Jennifer’s oldest son had already seen. She found Jennifer lying on the bed with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She was dead.

When first responders arrived on the scene, they located a .38 caliber pistol underneath the blanket, an almost empty glass of wine sitting beside its bottle on the nightstand, and a stack of papers underneath Jennifer’s body containing divorce papers. The papers were filed by her husband of eight years, Bart Corbin, who was not at home at the time that Jennifer’s body was discovered.

The original conclusion was that Jennifer was upset over her pending divorce and committed suicide by shooting herself in the head. While there were inconsistencies with the physical evidence at the scene to support this theory, the most improbable factor was the disbelief that she would take her own life with her two children in the home.

The Corbins

On the outside, the Corbins appeared to have it all. Jennifer (Barber) Corbin was the 33-year-old wife of local dentist, Dr. Bart Corbin, and the stay-at-home mom of their two boys, Dalton & Dillon. They lived in a beautiful four-bedroom home in an opulent neighborhood in Buford, GA, and even owned a houseboat. Jennifer was kind, outgoing, and friendly. Bart was witty and charming but was also known for his temper.

As the boys grew older, they became very active in sports, including football, baseball, basketball, and martial arts. All parents wish for their children to excel in their activities, but Bart became almost relentless. When his sons did not perform as well as he thought they should, he often had temper tantrums and resorted to name-calling. The boys’ fear of their father grew, as well as his insulting vocabulary which included “idiot,” “cry-baby,” and “whiner.”

In 2004, Bart began having an affair with his receptionist. Around that same time, Jennifer bought a home gaming system and began playing an online, multi-player game called Everquest. She became almost obsessed with the game and played for many hours a day.

The Beginning of the End

Bart and Jennifer began arguing more frequently, with Bart complaining that Jennifer was spending too much time on the internet. This eventually escalated to Jennifer telling Bart that she wanted a divorce. Once they both calmed down, they came to an agreement that Jennifer and the boys would remain at the house and Bart would move out. In order to help pay for the house, Jennifer was hired as a teacher at the Sugar Hill Methodist Church preschool.

Shortly afterward, Jennifer came across a player named Chris from Missouri while playing Everquest. It wasn’t long before their friendship turned into an erotic virtual affair. As their relationship became more serious, Bart, who was still having his own affair, became convinced that Jennifer was also being unfaithful. He searched their home and Jennifer’s car frequently for proof.

In November 2004, Jennifer’s world temporarily turned upside down when “Chris” came to her with a confession. “Chris” was actually a woman named Anita Hearn. Initially shocked and confused, Jennifer realized that regardless of her internet lover’s gender, she was in love. They made plans to meet in person in the near future.

The Last Holiday for the Corbin Family

Thanksgiving of 2004 was held at Jennifer’s sister Heather’s home in Dawsonville, GA. It wasn’t exactly a Hallmark version of Thanksgiving as Bart sulked in the basement while his family celebrated upstairs. Bart insisted that his family leave the festivities early. On the way home, the Corbins stopped by a grocery store and Jennifer went inside to grab a few items. She left her purse in the car and Bart took an opportunity to plunder through it. Inside, he located a printed email that contained a love poem.

As Jennifer drove home, Bart confronted her about the email. He began screaming at her and at one point, punched her in the face. The boys in the backseat were enveloped in fear as they witnessed their father hit their mother.

As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, Bart hopped out of her car took off on his own. This left Jennifer to call her father and tell him what happened. They decided that she and the boys would be the safest at her sister’s home until they made further plans.

The Downward Spiral

The next day, Bart filed for divorce. He requested that he be awarded custody of the couple’s children, as well as all of their assets, including the family home.

On November 30, 2004, Bart drove to Troy, AL, and met his lifelong friend Richard Wilson. He told Richard that Jennifer was having an affair and he needed to borrow a gun for protection, as he feared for his life. Richard let Bart take a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson back to Georgia with him.

When Bart returned home, several intense fights occurred between Bart and Jennifer. One night after finding the contents of her purse scattered on the floor and her cell phone and credit card missing, she confronted Bart as he was getting out of the shower. Dressed in only a towel, Bart rushed out of the house, jumped into his car, and peeled out of the driveway, running over Jennifer’s foot in the process.

Jennifer was on the phone with 911 when this occurred and the dispatcher could hear the sound of children screaming and crying in the background. When officers arrived at the residence, Jennifer refused to press charges and insisted that she wasn’t hurt, so no arrest was made.

Jennifer’s Last Night

On December 3, 2004, Bart left home around 10 p.m. to meet two of his friends for dinner and drinks at a local bar. He stated that afterward, he got coffee and then drove the 20 minutes to his brother’s house, where he stayed the night.

Jennifer spent almost four hours that night talking to her internet lover Anita. They talked on the phone until around 12:30 a.m. and emails were sent between the two until 1:40 a.m.

Around 1:45 a.m., the Corbin’s neighbor Steve Comeau was just arriving home and had parked his car in their garage. As he was getting ready to go inside, he noticed Bart’s truck pulling into the driveway. Bart exited the vehicle and went inside his home. Steve went inside and got ready for bed. However, about 20 minutes later, he heard Bart’s truck start again.

The next morning is when Dalton, the couple’s oldest son discovered his mother’s body and ran next door for help. During the investigation, even though he did not witness the murder, Dalton was insistent that his father killed his mother.

The Investigation Begins

That morning, Jennifer’s family was notified of her death. They immediately rushed to the Corbin residence, all the while trying to get ahold of Bart to break the news to him. Kelly Comeau, Jennifer’s friend and neighbor, found the phone number of Connie Corbin, Bart’s mother. Kelly told Connie that Jennifer had been shot and she was trying to find Bart. Connie called her son Bobby, whose home Bart was currently at. When Heather, Jennifer’s sister called Bobby, he kept saying that Bart was very upset, but would never give an answer as to whether or not they would be going to Bart’s home to get his sons.

Family and detectives on scene at the Corbin home expected Bart to show up any minute to console his boys on the worst day of their lives. He never showed.

It took Bart eight hours before he even spoke with detectives. When he showed up at the police station to have his hands tested for gunshot residue, he had his lawyer in tow and refused to answer any questions pertaining to Jennifer.

In addition to Bart’s suspicious behavior, there were several issues with the evidence that didn’t point to a suicide. First, even though there was an almost empty wine glass and a bottle of wine on the table next to Jennifer’s bed, the toxicology report showed no signs of alcohol in her system. Secondly, had Jennifer shot herself, the gun would not have been able to fall underneath the comforter where it was found. Plus, there was no way that Jennifer could have shot herself in the back of the head behind her ear.

Once a gunshot residue test on Jennifer’s hand came back negative and it was obvious that any fingerprints that had been on the gun had been wiped away, the forensic pathologist deemed her death a homicide and her husband became the number one suspect.

The Bombshell

While detectives were still gathering evidence and statements to build their case against Bart Corbin for Jennifer’s death, they received a call from a woman whose daughter attended the same dental school as Bart. She informed the investigator, Marcus Head, that while in college in Augusta, GA in June 1990, Bart’s girlfriend at the time had died and it was ruled a suicide. However, there were very unusual circumstances surrounding the case, circumstances that were oddly similar to that of Jennifer Corbin’s. The girlfriend’s name was Dolly Hearn.

When investigators looked at the two cases, there were so many similarities that Augusta, GA detectives reopened the Dolly Hearn case. Upon reopening Dolly’s case, a prior witness provided the detectives with a substantial lead. The witness stated that he saw a man, whose description matched Bart Corbin, shirtless in Dolly’s bathroom the day she died. 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.

Dr. Eric Rader, who was Bart’s office mate in dental school, also came forward with damning allegations. He said that around the spring of 1990, just months before Dolly’s death, Bart told him that he had “come close” to killing Dolly Hearn.

“He said he waited in the parking lot of Dolly’s apartment,” Rader recalled in a statement. “He had a gun. He told me he was planning to shoot her.”

Dolly’s death was reclassified as a homicide, and once again, Bart Corbin became the prime suspect.

To read more about Dolly’s story, see “The Deadly Dentist Who Almost Got Away With Murder.”

No Relation

It is speculation that Bart found the emails that Jennifer was sending to her internet lover and saw the name “Chris Hearn.” He possibly thought that the person that Jennifer was corresponding with was a family member of Dolly Hearn and would out him as a possible murderer, resulting in him killing Jennifer. In fact, Anita “Chris” Hearn was of no relation to Dolly and it was pure coincidence.

An Arrest is Made

On December 22, 2004, Bart Corbin was arrested and charged with murder; not Jennifer’s murder, but Dolly’s. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office arrested him at his office as it wasn’t a very public place and would catch him off-guard. Due to his violent temper, no one knew how Bart would react when advised of the warrant for his arrest. Officers moved in as the Chevy Suburban that he was riding in with his girlfriend stopped at a traffic light. Officers surrounded the SUV, removed Bart from the vehicle, and handcuffed him without incident.

Imagine Bart’s surprise when he was informed that he was (at that time) not being arrested for the murder of his wife, but for the murder of his former girlfriend, Dolly Hearn.

January 5, 2005, was when the grand jury indicted Bart for the murder of Jennifer. He was charged with one count of malice murder, one count of felony murder, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Corbin Goes to Trial

Gwinnett County investigators used forensic analysis of Bart’s cell phone to determine that his phone pinged on a tower near his home at 1:45 a.m. the morning of Jennifer’s death, the same time that neighbor Steve Comeau witnessed Bart pulling into his driveway. This thwarted Bart’s alibi of being at his brother’s home all night.

Investigator’s also located cell phone evidence showing that Bart drove to Troy, AL the weekend before the murder. They determined that Bart visited a family friend, Richard Wilson, who lived in Troy to borrow a gun.

It took a lot of coaxing as Mr. Wilson did not want to be involved in the case, nor betray his friend, but eventually, he decided to speak with detectives. He stated that Bart had called him and told him that Jenn “was fooling around on him” and that he was frightened he might be in danger.

Wilson said, “He asked me if I had a gun, and I did, so he came here to get it.”

After it was confirmed that the weapon that Wilson loaned to Bart was the gun that took Jennifer Corbin’s life, it seemed as the final nail had been placed in Bart’s guilty coffin. It was at this point that Bart’s attorney’s wanted to discuss a plea deal.

The Verdict

On September 15, 2006, almost two years since the death of Jennifer Corbin, Jennifer and Dolly’s families sat in the Gwinnett County Justice Center, nervous and anxious about what was to follow.

Bart Corbin walked in with his attorneys and faced D.A. Danny Porter, his eyes dark and emotionless.

Porter described the events that unfolded on December 4, 2004, including how Jennifer’s seven-year-old son walked into her bedroom to find her dead, bleeding from the back of her head. He then directed the most important question to Bart Corbin, “Did you, in fact, commit the offense of malice murder?”

Corbin’s reply was simple but was the most powerful word that Jennifer’s family had ever heard. “Yes,” he answered.

Danny Craig, the Richmond County D.A., then stood and addressed Corbin, “Do you further admit that you committed the murder of Dolly Hearn on June 6, 1990?”

Once again, Bart’s one-word answer sent chills down the spine of everyone in the courtroom. “Yes,” said Corbin.

Bart Corbin plead guilty to the murders of his wife Jennifer Corbin and his former girlfriend Dolly Hearn. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison and would be eligible for parole in 14 years. As part of the plea deal, the sentences would run concurrently, and he would receive credit for the 19 and a half months that he had already spent in jail while awaiting trial. His plea bargain also saved him from the possibility of the death penalty.

Investigators don’t believe that Corbin will ever have a life outside of prison.

Danny Porter said, “I don’t think Bart Corbin will ever see the [outside] world again. He won’t have a realistic chance of parole for 28 years.” If he should be paroled at that time, he’ll be in his 70s.”

Jennifer and Bart’s sons, Dalton and Dillon, now adults, lived with their Aunt Heather and Uncle Doug Tierney where they were loved and cared for. Neither of the boys have visited their father in prison.

Jennifer’s story was portrayed in the Lifetime movie “Too Late to Say Goodbye” in 2009.

Sources:

www.oxygen.com

soapboxie.com

www.rd.com

talkmurder.com

Glatt, S. (2007) The Doctor’s Wife: A True Story of Marriage, Deception, and Two Gruesome Murders. St. Martin’s Press.