Love And Lies

Murder Exposes The Secret Lives Of A Suburban Couple

(CBS) 
After his arrest, Bart hired two of Georgia’s most high-profile attorneys to represent him; Bruce Harvey and David Wolfe claim Corbin is innocent of both charges.

Harvey says there's no more evidence today than there was 14 years ago tying his client to Dolly’s death. "The only thing that has changed in the 14 years is the unfortunate but independent, unconnected event with Jennifer Corbin," he tells Van Sant.

And Jennifer, they say, had a compelling motive to end her own life, and it involved her online lover, who 48 Hours discovered after months of our own investigation.

In the summer of 2004, Jennifer started playing an online computer game called "EverQuest."

"And you have groups of four people that go out on different missions and whatever, and you slay dragons. You know, you have lots of fun," explains Jennifer's mother Narda. "And it was escape for Jen."

But according to defense attorney David Wolfe, that escape opened a doorway into a dangerous new world for Jennifer. "It gives you the opportunity to assume another station in life. Obviously because she wasn't happy with who she was," he says.

It wasn’t long before Jennifer, and a man on her Everquest team named Christopher, started communicating outside the game, through personal e-mails.

While these e-mails began as a friendship, Bart's other defense attorney Bruce Harvey says the online relationship became "incredibly sexual."

Harvey read one of the e-mails, addressed to Chris, for Van Sant. "Subject, Mmmm," Harvey reads. "I want your mouth hot, wet and hungry, eating up the soft skin of my neck, shoulders and mouth."

After a month or two, Jennifer and Chris were apparently planning a future together, even though they had never met face to face and had never spoken on the phone.

But after Bart discovered some of his wife’s emails in late November and filed for divorce, he threatened to use Jennifer’s online affair against her to gain custody of their two boys.

Over the next several days, Bart downloaded the information on Jennifer’s computer, and stole her cell phone and journal.

In turn, she called police, hoping they could help her get them back. "He's probably gonna take them and use them as evidence against me. We're in the process of going through a divorce," Jennifer told the 911 operator.

And Jennifer knew that Bart might soon discover her darkest secret, a bombshell so shocking, Bruce Harvey claims it would destroy her life.

"Here is a clearly strong relationship developed over the Internet, with somebody you think is going to be your Prince Charming," he says.

In truth, Chris wasn’t a "Prince Charming" at all. Shortly before she died, Jennifer learned that Chris wasn’t even a man.

"And all that dissolves. All it dissolves in an instant," Harvey says.

"Chris" revealed that he was actually a she, a woman named Anita. Jennifer was clearly devastated when she responded in e-mails, "You have absolutely ripped my heart out. I can’t live this lie, it’s killing me."