12x09 - Insignificant Others

[bunniefuu]

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.