Death and the dentist

Rob Stafford Correspondent • Profile

ATLANTA, GA. - On a Saturday morning, in an upscale Atlanta suburb, a young son saw something no child should ever see.

911 Operator: Where is he at now?  Is he with you?

Kelly Comeau: Yes.

911 Operator: Okay.  Alright.  How old is he?

Kelly Comeau: Seven.

911 Operator: He’s seven?

Kelly Comeau: Uh-huh (affirms).

And what he saw would soon open the eyes of investigators to something they had missed for years.

Gil Hearn, Dolly Hearn's brother: The deep, dark secret had been exposed.

This is a tale of two tragedies, of two young women who lived and died at different times and in different cities but left behind a mysterious trail of almost identical clues. Could solving one case lead to the truth in the other?

For one family, the story began on December 4^th, 2004.

Heather Tierney, Jennifer Corbin's sister:  Typical Saturday morning and the phone rang. And I was immediately hysterical and I asked where she was, was she okay. And he said, “No, Heather, I’m sorry she’s gone.”

“She” was 33-year-old Jennifer Corbin, the wife of Dr. Barton Corbin, a tall, handsome dentist, who was 40. They’d been married seven years and had two adorable sons, ages 7 and 5. On the surface they led a storybook life and had a big beautiful home filled with photos of a fun, loving family. He was the picture of the adoring dad; she a devoted mom. Jennifer had been a free spirit when she was younger, but having children changed all that.

Tierney: She was born to be a mom, and when she became a mom, she did it 110 percent. She became Miss PTA— the SUV-driving, baseball-toting Supermom. 

Her sister Heather marveled at Jennifer’s ability to connect with people in ways that others could not.

Tierney: She was very easy-going and a great listener. She’s an amazing listener.

Jennifer connected so well with people of all ages, she was hired as a part-time pre-school teacher at her church.

Her family took Bart in as one of their own.

Max Barber, Jennifer's father:  We loved Bart Corbin. He came into the family very quickly. He did a lot of traveling with us, vacations. He spent most of his weekends with us.

Bart was very bright and could be a lot of fun.

Tierney: Bart is a very funny person. He’s got a very quick wit. And it, people, I think are drawn to that. If you know, crack on him, he has a crack that’s five times better than yours. He thinks very fast and is very funny.

But now all that was a distant memory. Jennifer’s family felt unimaginable grief because the way Jennifer died was almost as painful as the loss itself. Her older son was the one to find her body and run to a neighbor, who called 911.

Kelly Comeau (911 call): My girlfriend’s dead.

911 Operator: Okay, what do you mean by that?

Kelly Comeau: She’s been shot.  Her son just ran over and got me.  They live across the street from me. 

911 Operator: Okay.  Do you think that she can be helped?

Kelly Comeau: No.

Tierney: It’s like somebody took the engine of a jet and put it on backwards and just sucked the air out of my lungs. Never in a million years did I ever think I would have to live my life without my sister. 

Heather was the first relative to hear the news. Right away she called her parents, Narda and Max Barber.

Max Barber:  I just hung up the phone and I drove straight to the house. I pulled up in the driveway behind a couple of Gwinnett County police cruisers.  They wouldn’t let me to see my daughter.

So he went to the neighbor’s to get Jennifer’s sons. The older one, Dalton, was crying very hard. He’d been the one to find his mother first that morning.

Max Barber:  He’s running across the street in his underwear and he’s going to remember constantly hitting the doorbell.

Police, who shot this video, found Jennifer’s body in her bedroom. She was dressed in a nightgown lying on her side.

Charles Ross, assistant district attorney: And there is a blood trail coming down from her nose directly down to the bed.

Assistant District Attorney Charles Ross helped investigate the case along with Danny Porter, the prosecutor of Gwinnett county, just outside Atlanta. 

Ross: There is a gun that is tucked under the sheet with her hands basically above it.

There were divorce papers on the bed as well.

Rob Stafford, Dateline correspondent: Going through a troubled time in life?

Danny Porter, Gwinnett County prosecutor:  Right.

Stafford: What’s the initial impression of this scene?

Porter: Suicide.

There was reason to believe Jennifer Corbin might have killed herself. Her marriage that once seemed so perfect had soured. And there was evidence she may have worried about losing her children in what was certain to be a nasty divorce and custody fight.

Still when Dateline first spoke with Jennifer’s family shortly after she died in December 2004, they were adamant that Jennifer would never have committed suicide.

Stafford:  Is it possible that Jenny took her own life?

Tierney:  Positively no way. And I’ll tell you, there are two reasons--  Dalton and Dillon. She lived for those kids. She certainly would not have committed suicide and let her children find her that way with a gun next to her. Jennifer would never have abandoned those kids.  No, you could not convince me of that in a million years. No way.

Max Barber: I knew that she was dead and I knew that somebody did it. And it wasn’t Jennifer.

Stafford: Did you think you knew who did it?

Max Barber: In my heart, absolutely.

Stafford: That second that you found out.

Max Barber: That second.

Stafford: Can you say who that person is?

Max Barber: No. No, I don’t want to.  I’ll let Gwinnett County do it’s job.

It turns out, the Gwinnett county prosecutor wasted no time doing his job. He was about to take a journey into a troubled marriage and a dark past.

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