Narrator: a woman's su1c1de
Raised questions about why she
Did it -- was it depression,
Anger, revenge? -- Until a
Forensic pathologist questioned
Forensic pathologist questioned whether it was a su1c1de at all.
Whether it was a su1c1de at all.
Her dream was to marry a
Successful man, have children,
Live comfortably, and have lots
Of friends.
-Year-old jennifer corbin got
All that and more when she
Married dr. Bart corbin.
They had a houseboat.
They had nice cars and a
Coveted-type career -- a
Dentist, you know?
A lot of folks want to be a
Doctor or a lawyer, and they had
All that.
Narrator: but after seven
Years of marriage and two
Children, the couple also had
Serious problems in their
Relationship.
I had no idea that it had
Gotten, that it was going to be,
That bad, but it had gotten
That bad, but it had gotten pretty bad the last month.
Pretty bad the last month.
Narrator: that's when bart
Discovered something while he
Was sitting in jennifer's car at
A gas station.
In her purse was an e-mail from
A love interest named chris.
"Know that you are in my
Heart always, that I love you
Like I haven't another, that I
Love the friendship and honesty
I have with you."
He became upset and
Confronted her about it, and
While they were driving home in
The car from jennifer's parents'
House on thanksgiving, the
Argument got to the point where
Bart allegedly struck jennifer
In the face.
Narrator: apparently, that
Was the final straw.
Their marriage was effectively
Over.
There were plans being made
Outside of the marriage.
She was gonna end her marriage.
She was going to leave bart.
Narrator: amid rumors,
Bart corbin was also having an
Affair with one of his dental
Assistants.
The corbins separated and filed
For divorce.
And then something terrible
Happened.
On december , , the
Corbins' -year-old son found
His mother dead of an apparent
su1c1de.
A .-Caliber p*stol was at her
A .-Caliber p*stol was at her side.
Side.
There was no su1c1de note, but
Her divorce papers were
Underneath her body.
It could've been that she had
Been served or found out about
The divorce filing, and was so
Emotionally distraught that that
Was the outcome -- that she had
sh*t herself.
It looked like a lot of
Indicators that were consistent
With su1c1de.
It wasn't completely outside
The realm of possibility that a
Woman who was facing the loss of
Her children because of an
Online affair could've been
Afraid that she was gonna lose
Custody of her sons, lose her
Home, lose everything.
Narrator: bart corbin had an
Alibi for the night of
Jennifer's death.
He was out with friends at a bar
A half-hour's drive away.
Credit-card statements showed
About beers had been bought
Between three guys that were
There at wild wings.
Narrator: from there, bart
Drove one of his friends home,
Then spent the night at his
Brother's house.
Bart's brother confirmed that.
In retracing jennifer's
Activities that night...
Investigators learned that she
Was on the phone and computer
With chris, her internet friend.
And that's corroborated by
The telephone records.
She was probably on the phone
Till right at : in the
Morning.
Narrator: then police learned
About an e-mail exchange between
Jennifer and her internet love
Interest, chris, that was eerily
Similar to jennifer's death.
"Jennifer, would you take a
Revolver and load one b*llet
Into it, place it to my forehead
And pull the trigger as we have
Sex?
Do you have that in you,
Jennifer?"
Narrator: investigators now
Began to suspect there was more
To jennifer's death than at
First appeared.
Narrator: it's standard for
An autopsy to be performed in
Suspected su1c1de cases.
Dr. Carol terry makes no
Assumptions about the case until
She looks at all of the
Evidence.
I said, "whatever you have
Pertaining to this case, I want
To see before I make a ruling,"
Realizing once I say something,
This is gonna be a bell that
Can't be unrung.
Narrator: dr. Terry noticed
That the angle of jennifer's
Head wound was unusual for a
su1c1de.
The entrance wound was in the
Back of her head, behind her
Right ear.
An atypical wound path, in
That it traveled from the back,
Traveling toward the front.
These features were inconsistent
With a su1c1de.
They were atypical.
Narrator: but the location of
The g*n was inconsistent with
Her body position.
There's no way to explain
That g*n traveling from back
Here to a position down around
Her waist, tucked in an area of
The comforter.
Narrator: and there was no
Blood spatter on jennifer's
Hands -- a virtual impossibility
If she'd sh*t herself.
There was no gunpowder residue,
Either.
When the g*n was test-fired, it
Created a significant amount of
Residue.
Had she sh*t herself, you
Would have expected her hand
Wipings to have been positive,
As well.
Narrator: jennifer's death
Was officially ruled a homicide,
But who had a motive to k*ll
Jennifer?
A year before her death, as her
Marriage was crumbling,
Jennifer corbin spent a lot of
Time on the internet, and that's
How she met chris, who lived in
St. Joseph, missouri, miles
Away.
They began initially talking
In the chat rooms, but then
Moved to regular e-mail, and
Began to conduct, or develop, an
Online relationship.
Narrator: soon, their
Friendship became something more
Serious.
"I love you.
I love the friendship and
Honesty I have with you."
It's clearly something that
Someone does to sort of step
Outside of the real world.
I'm not really good at the
Psychology of it, but clearly,
She was using it as a diversion
From her real life.
Narrator: phone records
Confirmed that chris was in
St. Joseph, missouri, miles
Away, on the night of jennifer's
m*rder and was eliminated as a
Suspect.
Jennifer's estranged husband,
Bart, also had an alibi.
He was out with friends -- and
His credit-card receipts proved
It -- then spent the night at
His brother's house a
Half-hour's drive away.
Then jennifer's friends told
Police a shocking piece of
Information.
Bart corbin's girlfriend in
Dental school, dolly hearn, was
Also found dead in her apartment
With a .-Caliber w*apon by her
Side.
And this pathologist, you
Know, basically says that this
Is su1c1de, it's consistent with
su1c1de, that forensics are
Consistent with su1c1de.
I knew the minute I heard
The coroner's voice when he said
That dolly had sh*t herself.
I said, "she did not."
Narrator: dolly's parents
Said the death occurred just
After she tried to break up with
Bart corbin.
They also claimed bart corbin
Stalked and harassed her.
He broke into the apartment
At one point and actually stole
Dolly's cat, tabitha.
She had tires slashed, windows
Broken -- all kinds of things.
Narrator: corbin also put
Hairspray in dolly's
Contact-lens cases and sabotaged
Her classwork for dental
School.
The hearn family asked corbin to
End the harassment of their
Daughter, and corbin agreed.
Just a few months later, dolly
Was dead.
I have never understood why
They didn't pursue it a little
More diligently.
They had just made up their mind
That it was a su1c1de, and they
Just couldn't seem to look any
Farther than that.
Narrator: what were the
Chances that bart corbin's two
Love interests would die the
Same way with the same caliber
w*apon?
We had somebody who was
Either just so terribly unlucky
To have his wife, in ,
Commit su1c1de, and his
Girlfriend commit su1c1de years
Ago, or we had somebody who was
Committing murders.
Narrator: dolly hearn and
Jennifer corbin had never met,
But they had one thing in
Common -- they both tried to end
Relationships with bart corbin.
When jennifer corbin's death was
Ruled a homicide, investigators
In augusta, georgia, reopened
Dolly hearn's case.
Dolly's death was first
Investigated years earlier
When there was no trained
Blood-spatter expert on the
Police staff.
Now they had one --
Dewayne piper.
There were so many red flags
That jumped out at me initially
That su1c1de wasn't really even
Conceivable in this case.
Narrator: dolly was found
Sitting cross-legged on her
Couch, her head slumped over her
Left side.
The g*n had been in her right
Hand, although when this picture
Was taken, paramedics had
Already removed it.
The entrance wound was on the
Right side of her head, but
Strangely, there was no blood on
Her right hand.
She couldn't have been
Holding a g*n.
There was no back spatter on the
Exposed parts of her hand, which
Would have had impact stains on
Them from back spatter.
Narrator: this proved that
Dolly's arm was by her side when
The sh*t took place, and piper
Noticed that the blood on her
Left thigh was not blood spatter
Caused by a g*nsh*t.
Those were transfer stains
That were put there immediately
With fresh blood.
That was a bloodstain transfer
That was placed there by
Somebody with a bloody hand,
Bloody arm, or a bloody object
That transferred that stain onto
The leg.
Narrator: dolly hearn was
k*lled with her own .-Caliber
p*stol -- one she kept in her
Apartment for protection.
This was a homicide.
She didn't sh**t herself.
I don't care who says that she
Was the only one there.
It's impossible.
Narrator: now dr. Bart corbin
Found himself facing not one,
But two counts of first-degree
m*rder.
But investigators still had to
Refute corbin's alibi for the
Night of his wife, jennifer's,
m*rder.
He claimed he left the bar
Shortly after : a.m., Then
Went to his brother, bobby's,
House to spend the night.
But bart's cellphone records
Show he made a call at :
A.m., Showing bart's location
Was somewhere else.
We found out what cellphone
Tower he hit, which was very
Close to his house, which was
Contrary to where he says he was
Through his friends and
Brothers.
Narrator: and who did corbin
Call?
Phone records show he called his
Marriage counselor's answering
Service to cancel the
Appointment he and jennifer had
For the next day.
I can just imagine him
Sitting in the driveway,
Contemplating k*lling his wife
And calling the marriage
Counselor to cancel the
Appointment, knowing that he
Won't meet it 'cause he's about
To walk into the house and k*ll
His wife.
That's the scenario that I think
Is most likely.
Narrator: bart's alibi fell
Completely apart...
When his neighbor heard bart
Pull into his driveway around
: In the morning.
Before I shut the garage door
Down, you know, I heard a truck
Pull up, and it was bart pulling
In the driveway.
I just know it was him because
I've heard that truck several
Times before.
Narrator: but police wanted
To know where corbin got the
.-Caliber p*stol he used to
k*ll his wife.
They learned that it was
Purchased by a man in
Birmingham, alabama, named
Richard wilson.
Interestingly, richard wilson
And bart corbin knew each other.
Richard wilson was a guy who
Worked for bart corbin's father.
The father had hired him out of
College.
He was a salesman for the
Father's company.
Narrator: when interviewed,
Wilson denied ever owning a
.-Caliber p*stol and denied
Any recent contact with corbin,
But police found evidence that
Bart corbin called wilson on his
Cellphone shortly before
Jennifer's m*rder.
Now facing prosecution himself
As an accessory to m*rder,
Wilson decided to cooperate in
Exchange for immunity.
He said that he thought his
Wife was fooling around on him,
And he thought he needed a g*n
To protect himself...
And he knew I had g*ns, asked me
If I had one, and I had gotten
One awhile back, traded it for a
Used lawn mower.
I just told him he could have
It, so he came down here and got
It.
Finding the g*n, and the
Origin of the g*n, is what
Closed the deal.
It's what compelled bart corbin
To plea.
Narrator: and then corbin
Learned the shocking truth about
Jennifer's internet friend,
Chris.
It was the last thing he would
Have suspected.
Narrator: prosecutors believe
That bart corbin was incapable
Of handling rejection from
Women.
We found many women that <span tts:fontstyle="italic">he</span>
Ended the relationship with, and
He's comfortable with that, but
He just can't take it when a
Woman ends the relationship, and
I think that's the motivation
For all of this.
Narrator: when corbin was in
Dental school, he met and dated
A vivacious -year-old fellow
Student, dolly hearn.
They dated for about a year,
Until dolly decided to end their
Relationship, which corbin
Couldn't accept.
The evidence shows he stalked
Her, intimidated her, and even
Sabotaged some of the
Coursework she needed to
Graduate.
When this didn't work,
Prosecutors believe corbin went
To dolly's apartment on a social
Visit.
He may have asked to use the
Bathroom, which gave him the
Opportunity to take dolly's g*n
That she kept under her bed for
Protection.
Then he sh*t her with it.
The blood shows he moved her
Body to make it look like a
su1c1de.
Years later, when his wife,
Jennifer, wanted a divorce, he
Tried it again.
On the night of the m*rder, bart
Established an alibi by going
Out drinking with friends.
Jennifer was on the phone and
Computer with her friend, chris,
Until :.
Bart arrived close to : a.m.
And called his marriage
Counselor's answering service to
Cancel their appointment for the
Next day.
Then he barged into the bedroom
While jennifer was watching
Television and k*lled her.
He moved her body to look like a
su1c1de, but he placed the g*n
In the wrong location, and there
Was no blood or gunpowder
Residue on her hand.
Before leaving, he put a copy of
Their divorce papers under
Jennifer's body to provide a
Possible motive for the su1c1de.
Then he drove to his brother's
House to sleep overnight.
Jennifer's m*rder, and all the
Mistakes, were the same ones he
Made when he m*rder*d
Dolly hearn years earlier.
Until he k*lled
Jennifer corbin, bart corbin had
Gotten away with the m*rder of
Dolly hearn, so why not repeat
The pattern that succeeds?
The circumstances were the
Same.
Both jennifer corbin and
Dolly hearn were through with
Bart corbin.
The wanted to end the
Relationship.
They were turning their back on
Him.
We see it all the time.
I mean, K*llers or criminals
Will oftentimes repeat a pattern
That they think works until it
Doesn't work anymore, and that's
Usually when we catch them.
Narrator: it must have been a
Surprise when bart learned the
Truth about jennifer's internet
Friend, chris.
The two had never met in person.
They knew one another only
Through e-mails and telephone
Calls.
And corbin also didn't know that
Chris...
Was a woman.
It says how desolate her life
Was that she was willing to
Grasp at any straw to have some
Companionship.
Did you, in fact, commit the
Offense of malice m*rder, to
Which you are now pleading
Guilty as it is outlined in the
Indictment?
Yes.
Narrator: in order to avoid a
Death sentence, bart corbin pled
Guilty to the murders of both
Jennifer and dolly hearn.
He was convicted and is serving
Concurrent life sentences.
I'm just glad that he
Admitted it, and I'm glad that
It settles the question once and
For all.
That's what's important to us.
It's not up to us.
Vengeance is not up to us.
The lord will take care of that.
Narrator: bart corbin had
Gotten away with m*rder once,
But by , forensic science
Made sure he wouldn't do it
Again.
It is so unfortunate that
Someone else had to die for this
Case to be brought back to life.
He might be smarter than some
Of us as individuals.
Collectively, as our science and
Forensics has evolved, he's not
Smarter than all that.
If the forensics hadn't
Advanced from , jennifer's
Death would have gone into the
Same file as dolly hearn's did
For years.
12x09 - Insignificant Others
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.