Thursday May 29th, 2025 12:55AM

Dentist indicted for 1990 death

By The Associated Press
<p>The husband of a Gwinnett County woman found dead in her home was arrested Wednesday after a grand jury returned an indictment in another case _ the death of his former girlfriend 14 years ago.</p><p>A Richmond County grand jury indicted dentist Barton Corbin in the June 1990 death of an Augusta dental student. Corbin was arrested in Gwinnett County Wednesday morning and brought to Augusta, District Attorney Danny Craig told The Augusta Chronicle.</p><p>Corbin was charged with felony and malice murder in the shooting death of 27-year-old Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn, who was his girlfriend when she died.</p><p>Corbin has been under police scrutiny since a similar shooting death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Corbin, on Dec. 4 at the couple's Buford, Ga., home. Gwinnett County police initially thought Corbin's death was a suicide.</p><p>Hearn was dating Corbin, a fellow dental student at the Medical College of Georgia, in 1990 when she was found dead by her roommate at their home. A .38-caliber handgun her father had given her for protection was found in her lap.</p><p>Her death was initially labeled a suicide, but Richmond County sheriff's investigators could not reach that conclusion, and the case remained open.</p><p>Corbin, a 1990 graduate of the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, has been named a primary suspect Jennifer Corbin's slaying, but he has not been charged.</p><p>Corbin's attorneys have maintained their client's innocence in the deaths of both women.</p><p>Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter held a news conference to announce the indictment and the arrest in the Augusta case.</p><p>"It's too early to tell how this will affect the Gwinnett County case," said Porter. "We are asking anybody who has information on this case to come forward."</p><p>Porter said that Corbin still has not answered any questions regarding the Gwinnett case.</p><p>Jennifer Corbin's family greeted the news of the arrest with mixed feelings.</p><p>"You want justice, but Bart has been part of us for nine years," her father, Max Barber, said at a news conference.</p><p>The Corbins' sons, Dalton, 7, and Dillon, 5, are in the court-ordered temporary custody of their aunt and uncle, Heather Tierney and Doug Tierney. Heather Tierney is Jennifer Corbin's youngest sister.</p>
  • Associated Categories: State News
© Copyright 2025 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.