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Thursday, December 4, 2008 8:12 AM CST
Well here I sit. Four years later.
Jenn’s clothes still hang in my closet. The boxes from her home are still packed away in our basement, untouched. I tried to find one of her Halloween costumes not so long ago, but I was so overcome with the smell of her clothes (like she just washed them yesterday) that I had to close up that first box and just walk away. Four years later I am still not ready to deal with her things. Jenn would whack me with a shoe if she could. All my stuff would have made it to the Goodwill within a week had the situation been reversed. I say this with a smile. Jenn was not one to hold on to objects and some times I can feel her shaking her head at me and saying “Just get rid of it, Heather”.
Last night I just happened to catch “Solved” after a good friend of mine sent me a text and told me that it was on. All I can really add here is that I just sat there a bit dazed, a bit numb and so very surreal. Amazing, all that we have gone through.
We went to the courthouse on Tuesday night for the annual Christmas candlelight vigil honoring the murder victims of Gwinnett County. We were presented with another list of names.. the names of the people stolen away by homicide in 2008. A simple sheet of paper, heavy as a boulder, laden with heartache and soaked in tears. Lives crushed, dreams stolen, and pure confusion on the faces on so many of those attending; wondering how on Earth they ended up at this ceremony at all.
I stood by a gentleman that I noticed was alone. His hands shook as he held his candle. I smiled at him and put my hand on his back. I feel that, if I can do anything at all, I can certainly deeply connect with these people on a level others just cannot when you lose someone you love so dearly to such senseless acts at the hands of another. These are my brethren in grief. The level of empathy so deep and binding.
I held the list in my hand and asked if he would show me which name was his “loved one”. He pointed to “Eva Wenal”. He told me that she was his wife. He found her in their home in a pool of blood. He does not know who killed her. He does not know why. He simply cannot grasp why on Earth anyone would kill his wife. I told him that it is not possible to ever understand. Normal people cannot identify with those thoughts. There are no real leads outside of a nameless “person of interest” several neighbors saw in their driveway the day she was killed. No answers.
I will never understand why anyone feels entitled to, not only end another’s life, but to also destroy the lives of those that love them. Honestly, I really just hope they are all cast into Hell. The damage can never be reversed or compensated. God forgive me for this very un-Christian thought. I cannot help myself. I guess I am just too human.
So here I sit. Four years later and I have not gained an ounce of perspective as to why these things continue to happen. And I hope I never do.
I still miss her, terribly. I still want her back. Though I know she is in the better place, we are not and we miss her.
I pray for all these families. I pray that they, too, find even the smallest shard of peace in Earthly JUSTICE. I pray for the good people who work so diligently in trying to bring this justice to the families. It must be so overwhelmingly difficult to have to deal with crimes of this nature on a daily basis. I pray for all the people in the world who are confronted with this pain daily and have no justice, nor anyone working to solve these heinous crimes.
And with that, these thoughts exhaust me, as they are so vast and pitifully common.
I leave you with the names of those lost to murder in Gwinnett County, GA in 2008. They are not just names. They are not just stories on the news. They are real people with real families that mourn for them. Please read each name and say a prayer…
Love,
Heather
Rafael Anguiano Faurietta
Herbert Higgins
Dedric Thomason
Patricia Rabold
Joy Deleston
Micalah Deleston
Jalani Deleston
Yvette Scott
Tedla Lemma
Rafael Watson
Michael Black, Jr.
Darryl Mason
Eva Wenal
Sean Anderson
Carlos Devila
Tracy Pirkle
Lemuel Harvey
Demetrius Willingham
Prisi Vasquez
Elda Mejia-Mesa
Richard Garcia Espana
Donny Edouard
Genal Coleman
Arelfo Vazquez
Margaret Binkele
Erick Livsey
Gary Earls
Trevayne Cozart
Walter Sallnas
Robert Lovelace
Pedro Hernandez
Joshua Davis
Robert Montgomery
Albert Coreas
Friday, September 19, 2008 10:42 PM CDT I had a very big day. It was a great birthday with quite a bit of confirmation from Jenn. I know she is with me. I will try to tell you all about it soon.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:52 AM CDT Jennifer came to see me the night before last. She called my name “Heather” and I awoke from my sleep. I looked around. There was no one. I started to fall back to sleep and noticed my bed depress slightly right beside me. It was as though someone was sitting beside me on the edge of the mattress. I was so startled, I quickly sat up. My heart was racing. It felt worrisome. What was on my bed? I could not see anything yet the bed depressed. I sat up again. I told myself “I am awake”. I started to calm again and started to again drift off when I felt the bed depress once again right beside me.. the edge of the mattress next to me. I fell asleep and Jenn was there. I ran to her and I started to hug her so intensely. I was telling myself “this is a dream.. I won’t be able to touch her”. But I did. I felt her skin. She hugged me back just as intently. I told her over and over how much I love her and how I much I miss her. I squeezed her body. I felt her hair. It is longer now. The way she wore it in college. I think we spoke, but somehow I can’t remember the words exactly. I saw her draw a “three” in the sand before us. And then she lifted my chin and smiled and spun me around. I was standing with her in Heaven. I slowly turned to take in the beauty. First I noticed an enormous city. Massive. My first impression would be a glowing late night’s view of New York City, but much, much bigger. I continued to turn. Then mountains.. golden and peaked. And then giant waterfalls that thundered so peacefully among green grasses. I kept turning. It was like the concept of 360 degrees is not a Heavenly concept. Heaven is bigger than 360 degrees. It cannot be contained in such a small space if you can imagine this thought. Then I was gone.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 10:07 AM CDT What a strange thought of which to awake... Friday, July 18, 2008 9:47 AM CDT Well its about time for an update… So sorry it’s taken me so long. I just needed a break for thinking about Jenn’s death in such a literal sense every single day. It became overwhelming and was dictating my emotions even more so than usual.
Friday, January 25, 2008 5:38 AM CST Today would be Jenn’s 36th birthday. Monday, January 7, 2008 9:32 AM CST There is a feeling that I wish I could describe and then diagnose. The only word is can use to describe it is hopeless. I still dream about Jenn all the time and, sadly, 99 percent of the time they are nightmares. These dreams haunt me and it is hard to break free of evocative grip that takes hold of me once I have managed to wake. The dreams are really, quite simple and desolately, reality. Nothing about them is false. Jenn is murdered and she is gone from my life. Our conversations, terminated. Our sisterhood and friendship, seemingly seized permanently. Something takes hold of me and panic envelops me. Jenn is gone from our lives. You’d think after three years that my mind would have come to terms with Jenn’s murder, but there is a refusal on some cognoscente level that I cannot manage to reconcile. Monday, January 7, 2008 9:32 AM CST There is a feeling that I wish I could describe and then diagnose. The only word is can use to describe it is hopeless. I still dream about Jenn all the time and, sadly, 99 percent of the time they are nightmares. These dreams haunt me and it is hard to break free of evocative grip that takes hold of me once I have managed to wake. The dreams are really, quite simple and desolately, reality. Nothing about them is false. Jenn is murdered and she is gone from my life. Our conversations, terminated. Our sisterhood and friendship, seemingly seized permanently. Something takes hold of me and panic envelops me. Jenn is gone from our lives. You’d think after three years that my mind would have come to terms with Jenn’s murder, but there is a refusal on some cognoscente level that I cannot manage to reconcile. Tuesday, December 4, 2007 7:39 AM CST In an instant, the life you know so well can forever become something completely anomalous. You’re favorite pair of shoes can suddenly no longer fit. The key to the door of your life will no longer turn and open into your world. In an instant, a new set of keys can be dropped into your lap, fresh grooves sharply cut into an unfamiliar door and you are forced through into an ugliness that seems impossible.
Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:10 AM CDT Good morning guys. I recieved the following letter from a woman that attends my aunt's church just around the corner from our home. Please read it and spend a few minutes understanding what it is to be a victim of such a horrific crime. This man could be back on your street, your mall, your corner as early as next month. Please take a few moments of your day and imagine Cindy Watson as your daughter, your mother, your sister, you neighbor, your best friend, your aunt. Thursday, August 30, 2007 7:43 AM CDT Last night I started to go back through my journal entries starting from the beginning. I wasn’t able to make it too far before the grief again enveloped me. The body has a way of providing protection even to the soul. It somehow tangles up the mind and conceals the pain into a tight ball, hidden in the darkest recesses. Only then, life resumes and the clock that stopped ticking.. that time frozen.. slowly thaws and reality becomes bearable once again. The mind protects the soul and somehow allows even the worst memories to be stored away in a box. I opened that box again last night.. but was only able to wade through a small number of the nightmares.. although each of those dark memories was equally as haunting as the day they occurred. I wonder if it is a healthy decision to even pry into that box again. I wonder if God means for me to lock it away, kept... but as closed as I can keep it. It's easier to keep it closed away, but glimering into that box somehow seems like a grief that I am intended to bear in bits and pieces. God, perhaps, did not intend for my Jenn to be murdered.. I do not feel that God intended for my Jennifer's jounrney to end at the hands of evil. But God does provide great lessons from even the deepest of wounds. I choose to embrace His lesson and do my best to grow from them. I believe God meant "Thou Shall not Kill" and meant us to abide by His laws. But God provides such greatness even in the worst disasters. He is the master even after free will bends His roads. He simply shakes those roads out and bends them right back to Him. Eventually, all roads (even those altered from His intentions) wind their way back to God's doorstep.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 8:48 AM CDT It seems like with this many kids, there is a birthday every other week!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 7:39 AM CDT Happy 40th birthday to my goofy, gorgeous, everything.. to my husband Doug! Holy cow.. my husband is 40!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 9:34 AM CDT I still can’t close my eyes without thinking about my Jenn being murdered. It still is so surreal. I still cannot fathom living my life without Jennifer. When I see her face, it still seems that she is alive somewhere.. and will be returning to us anytime now. She was so alive. She was murdered by a coward with no soul. I am still reeling from trying to comprehend that this, indeed, did happen and must be accepted. I shake my head wondering how this can be true. Jenn was my soul mate and an extension of me. She was a part of my heart beating outside of my body. I so desperately want her to return to us.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 11:13 AM CDT I wanted to hop on and tell you a couple of things.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 11:22 PM CDT Before all else...
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 11:22 PM CDT Before all else... Wednesday, June 20, 2007 2:04 PM CDT I got a letter this morning from one of Jenn's best friends in college. I love hearing from people that knew Jennifer and I especially LOVE when they send me photos that I have never seen before.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 2:04 PM CDT So many things to cover.. so many kids.. so little time. Tuesday, June 5, 2007 11:53 AM CDT Book on Corbin murders out June 5
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 7:13 AM CDT Well I figured I’d do a quick update seeing as though I can’t move around very much. So here I sit, gladly at the computer and not in my bed. Friday night I was run over by a golf cart. Yes you read correctly.. I was literally run over by a golf cart.. all four tires! How many more one in a millions can happen to one girl? So I have a severely bruised body and a broken foot and a couple broken toes. This is not the way I wanted to start off my summer. Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:01 PM CDT I wrote this hoping to reach any of the victims of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.. but specifically sought out a memorial guestbook of the family of Reema Samaha after seeing her father and brother on CNN. Tuesday, April 10, 2007 9:17 PM CDT Bottom of the um… 6th I think. Anyway.. it’s the last inning. (Little league has it idiosyncrasies). We are down. Its 19 to 21. We’ve been getting our bottoms whipped every inning.. and here we’ve caught them. It’s the bottom of the line-up. First two batters up were up and down. Two outs. Third batter gets on 1st. Fourth batter advances the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Hearts are pounding. There are TWO outs with men (er… Boys) on 2nd and third.. in case you missed that part. Can you tell I’m excited?
Monday, March 12, 2007 7:44 AM CDT Another major milsstone.. Dalton Fox turns 10 today. The big one-oh! Double digits. You’d think he was a teenager. Happy happy birthday to our oldest and um.. wisest son, Dalton!!! Wednesday, February 21, 2007 5:31 AM CST I just wanted to pass along the very sad news that Doug Watson passed away yesterday afternoon around 3:45 pm. For those that knew him, visitation will be sometime on Friday, funeral Saturday.
Friday, February 2, 2007 4:18 PM CST There is a hole in my heart.
Thursday, January 25, 2007 6:20 AM CST Happy 35th birthday to my beautiful sister. I am sending up your favorite cake and a bag full of garnets. I love you so much Jenn. The tears still fall for you every single day. I miss you so very much. God, how I wish you were here with us.
Thursday, January 18, 2007 7:00 AM CST Happy 8th birthday to Dillon Avery!!!
Friday, January 12, 2007 11:37 AM CST Slain student will get degree
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 6:46 AM CST Good morning my beautiful Jenn! Oh how I miss you so much and a day or a hour doesn't go by without me thinking of you. I just talked to Heather and said can I please come on to the site and get all the junk off and then Heather told me to go ahead and add a journal. I'm new at this and obviously no comparison to Heather, LOL! Heather is consumed right now with basketball and basketball, imagine that. I can't believe Dillon is going to be 8 next week. It seems like forever ago that I saw you. The pain and sadness just doesn't seem to ever go away. I know you are at peace and are looking down over us all, but selfishly sometimes that doesn't seem to be enough. Anyway, I am rambling and just wanted to post and let everyone know that Heather, Doug, and the kiddies are doing great. I love you and miss you dearly!
Love,
Heather
In the morning I wondered who had called to me to awake me from my sleep. No one was there. Someone was there. Did I recognize the voice being Jennifer’s? No. I cannot remember. I only remember the voice being very real and physically awakening me from sleep. I remember the bed depressing several times. I remember feeling afraid and then not afraid at all. I felt confused. What was causing the bed to do this? Am I really asleep and one of the kids have climbed in bed with me? No. No children. It was definitely sacred and special. I specifically told God that I needed Jennifer to come sit on my bed and tell me that she is okay. Did God grant me such an enormous gift? A gift too big for which to ask? An impossible gift? What is impossible for God?
Three. Why the three in the sand? I had just made an appointment with a Christian medium that will occur in three days. Is Jenn telling me she will be there? Doug reminds me that my birthday is also in three days.
Tomorrow is the day. I hope the day brings peace and further confirmation from my sister. I miss her so much. It’s hard to breathe from the pain of not having her here with us. I need to know she still walks beside me and grants me her strength.
Tomorrow I am asking for the biggest possibly birthday present. God has offered me so much, yet I keep pressing for more. Even further confirmation of communication with my sister that is beyond dispute, beyond death. I pray this is possible.
Please be thinking of Jenn tomorrow. Please ask that God will allow her to somehow continue to communicate with me.
I feel energized again and full of hope. I feel pure love enveloping myskin. I suddenly again feel the warm light of God surrounding me and offering me his greatest love and comfort.
I just wanted to share this with the people that love us and continue to check on us.
We are blessed. I am blessed.
Love,
Heather
I wake up and immediately think of Jennifer being 33 when she was murdered. I have no idea why.. I just did.
Then I started doing some fast math... and today I am exactly (to the day) the same age Jenn was when she was so cowardly slain.
Jenn went to bed and awoke to her husband with a gun to her head.. then her life was over. Today is that day.
I cannot even fathom the father of my children taking my life.. tonight.. sometime in the early hours of tomorrow morning... we'll never know for sure. Jenn never knew the horror of a being that would prowl into her room as she slept to claim her life.
It will never make sense. I will never understand it.
Why did I think of this today?
I miss you, Jenn. I miss our dear friendship. Sometimes life feels so very lost without you in it.
Love you forever...
Heather
Where so I start?
The kids are all doing fantastic. Dalton is moving on to the big middle school. Scary to think Dalton is going to be is 6th grade this year. He has gown so much. It is still so very painful to think that Jenn’s real presence is absent from the boys’ lives. Yesterday we were listening to the radio and Dalton asked me to turn the radio up because it was his favorite group. I asked him who it was and he said “Nickleback”. A pang shot through my heart. Jenn LOVED Nickleback. She had all their CD’s and she loved to listen to them while she was cleaning. It made me happy to give Dalton that memory, but we both got very quiet after that.
The boys just came back from an amazing trip to Alaska with mom and dad. It was the trip of their lives and they has a blast! Dalton said he accomplished all of his goals: He saw a moose, whales, bears and lots of bald eagles! The boys were the hit of the cruise ship. Everyone knew who they were, especially Dalton. He was all over that boat! He even won a lumberjack competition and loved to sing karaoke for the whole ship. That kid is a card! lol They just had the best time and what a blessing that mom and dad were able to take them to such an incredible destination.
Dalton and Dillon start football next week. They just finished up a camp here locally. May the bus start it’s engines as I gear up for the endless carpooling to and from games. Sylvia will be a cheerleader for Dillon’s team… hehe. They let her cheer *up* a couple of age groups so I can keep the kids as centrally located as possible.
Max starts kindergarten in the fall. Its saddens me to think my baby is starting school and I will be here left all alone. BUT, on the bright side, I’m going to start some other new adventure to keep me busy.
We finally got legal and permanent custody of the boys just several weeks ago. Amazing, huh? Another chapter in the book comes to an end so that we can finally start moving forward with our lives.
Another super cool thing… Remember me telling you about my quest for finding a shark’s tooth? Well Jenn used to get a kick out of watching me look for them and finally she planted some on the beach so I would find one. It was a terrible joke, yet somehow moderately hysterically funny. I have decided that if anyone was going to help me finally apprehend the elusive shark’s tooth, it would be Jenn. So the last time we went to the beach we stayed at a marina so I didn’t have an opportunity to walk the beach. On our last day, I asked Doug if he would take me by the beach for 30 minutes before we left so I could have one quick look. We were in Hilton Head, which is not known for its incredible fossilized shark’s teeth, but I thought all things are possible. I went strolling down the sand beach and within 5 minutes I found a perfect and BEAUTIFUL fossilized shark’s tooth. I spun around, half expecting to see someone snickering, but no one was ever close to me. It was like that tooth was meant for me. There were no shells or beach wash anywhere near. It was just this fantastic tooth placed neatly and solitary in the wet sand as the waves washed in. I really think Jennifer put it there just for me. I really do. It was such a bitter sweet find for me. It was our secret. I miss my sister so dearly.
I have so much more to say, but for some reason I just feel that this is enough for today. Thank you for loving our family and for checking in on us.
With great love..
Heather
We would be making family plans and deciding to whose house or to what restaurant we would be going. I would be making Jenn’s favorite cake.. which was a two-layer chocolate cake covered with real chocolate whipped cream icing.. and then sprinkled with crushed heath bar. And we would have had a great time.. we had so many great times.
Sadness still is the first thought when we think of Jenn. I wish that Jenn’s life would take over Jenn’s death. Just typing out “Jenn’s death” sends pangs of grief throughout my soul and the tears still roll over my cheeks on to my keyboard.
Happy birthday to my precious sister, Jennifer. May there still be a great party in heaven!
Love,
Heather
My devote belief in God is the only relief. And though I have such a deep rooted belief in Christ and the promise of eternity, this is still not enough. Actually, in these instances, I cannot even reason with myself. There is such panic and fear and an absolute lock of my mind. There is a fear of even moving for not being able to come to terms with this reality. I wonder when I will ever be able to come to terms with my life post-Jenn.
Each tragedy involving innocents lost, murder encumbered, I am drawn back into this black hole. I don’t know how each family recovers individually. I cannot grab hold of the comprehension, the understanding of how a person can tear down the fortresses of protection that we build for our families. The selfishness, and utter self fullness that must invade the minds of those capable of untenable murder.
It is not solely the murder of the person in itself, but it is the absolute lack of empathy for the person’s life and those who love them. The trail does not begin and end with that death, but travels along for lifetimes living… in multiple directions. The compound nature of murder is simply that murder IS compound and inexhaustible. It does not end with a last heartbeat, but rather beats on in the broken hearts left behind.
How I wish I could still talk to Jennifer. How I miss that girl so very much. The gripping nature is so unfair. She deserved to live. She deserved her life. She deserved her children. And the senseless act of one very dead soul stole away that which was so precious. When will I ever understand that which has no answer?
On a more uplifting note, the kids are doing wonderfully and we had a fantastic Christmas. It was a bit of an escape for all of us, particularly for my mom and I because Christmas is so hard. We have to get away so that we are not too distracted to remember the significance of the birth of our Savior. We have to sometimes escape to see the blessings that are still so very abundant.
We are still so very blessed. It's just still so hard sometimes.
Love and peace.. may your new year be filled with the promise of another chance to get it right.
Love,
Heather
My devote belief in God is the only relief. And though I have such a deep rooted belief in Christ and the promise of eternity, this is still not enough. Actually, in these instances, I cannot even reason with myself. There is such panic and fear and an absolute lock of my mind. There is a fear of even moving for not being able to come to terms with this reality. I wonder when I will ever be able to come to terms with my life post-Jenn.
Each tragedy involving innocents lost, murder encumbered, I am drawn back into this black hole. I don’t know how each family recovers individually. I cannot grab hold of the comprehension, the understanding of how a person can tear down the fortresses of protection that we build for our families. The selfishness, and utter self fullness that must invade the minds of those capable of untenable murder.
It is not solely the murder of the person in itself, but it is the absolute lack of empathy for the person’s life and those who love them. The trail does not begin and end with that death, but travels along for lifetimes living… in multiple directions. The compound nature of murder is simply that murder IS compound and inexhaustible. It does not end with a last heartbeat, but rather beats on in the broken hearts left behind.
How I wish I could still talk to Jennifer. How I miss that girl so very much. The gripping nature is so unfair. She deserved to live. She deserved her life. She deserved her children. And the senseless act of one very dead soul stole away that which was so precious. When will I ever understand that which has no answer?
On a more uplifting note, the kids are doing wonderfully and we had a fantastic Christmas. It was a bit of an escape for all of us, particularly for my mom and I because Christmas is so hard. We have to get away so that we are not too distracted to remember the significance of the birth of our Savior. We have to saometimes escape to see the blessings that are still so very abundant.
We are still so very blessed. It's just still so hard sometimes.
Love and peace.. may your new year be filled with the promise of another chance to get it right.
Love,
Heather
Three years ago today, our family was pushed into a whole new life. Yesterday we buried another special person, Tod Tierney. Tod was Doug’s first cousin and one of my favorite people to visit with in our extended family. We all loved him so much. He was a total jokester. I remember once a few years ago Doug and I had checked into a hotel at the beach and we awoken by someone at the front desk telling us that checkout was at 10 am. Well as we had just gotten in the night before, I was immediately alarmed because the hotel was booked and they said our reservation only had us there for one night. After about a five minute argument with the ‘front desk guy”, suddenly he started laughing and I realized it was Tod playing another of his infamous jokes on us. I could have beaten him with a stick! We will miss him so much. He was only 28 years old.. he would be 29 this Saturday. He was a father to 3 young children who will never remember how very special he was first hand. So very tragic and yet another reminder to hold those you love SO CLOSE. I know I have not updated recently, but the Tierney family seems to be going through a series of losses. Three weeks ago Doug’s uncle, Mike, passed away very suddenly of a massive heart attack. He was only 45. God does not promise us even another breath, but He does promise us eternity.. yet eternity can feel like eternity when you are yearning for just one more laugh, hug, word, touch.
In an instant, everything you know can be lost.
Please take a moment to let those around you know how very much you treasure them. Validate your love for them in life, rather than praying they can hear those words in death.
Jenn, what I would not give to have just one more cup of coffee with you. What I would not give for one more game of dominos, one more game of volleyball in your backyard.. to see you hugs and kiss on the kids just one more time. What I would not give for just one more anything with you.
I love you, I love you, I love you forever and ever. In three years, not a day had gone by that I do not yearn for your advice and friendship. You are so very missed. Tears still fall for you on a daily basis. Nothing could ever make up for your loss.
Such senselessness. I will never understand how such a pitiful person could extinguish such a bright flame and take you away from us long before God’s plan for you.
I miss my sister. I miss you so much.
Love,
Heather
PS.. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you who still remember our Jenn. Thank you for taking the time to remember our family, but most importantly, for remembering our precious Jenn for the person she was and still is in every heart that remembers the life she lived.
Love,
Heather
Please Help Us Oppose Parole for James Michael Watson
James Michael Watson
SCDC #00132925
In September 1985 Capt. James Michael Watson, a TAC officer at the Citadel and a graduate of North Georgia College, fell in love with the family babysitter and brutally murdered his wife and my sister, Cindy. He shot her 21 times with a .45 automatic, stopping to reload his weapon twice. Since there was no single fatal shot, Cindy was left to bleed to deathon the floor of her shower in their James Island home.
The coroner testified that it took Cindy from three to five minutes to bleed out and that she was probably conscious until the last minute or so. Watson was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in March of 1986. Watson is eligible for parole on October 10, 2007.
Please help us keep him in prison by going to the website listed below and following these
directions:
www.dppps.sc.gov
Cursor over "Contact Us" in the red bar . Click on "Oppose Parole"
in the menu .
Type "James Michael Watson" in as the Offender .
Type "00132925" in as SCDC Number .
Fill in the rest of the form with your own pertinent information and click "Submit."
Neither Watson nor his attorneys have access to this information.
I would so appreciate your helpful efforts if you could also forward
this email to all on your mailing list. Because I'm trying to track the responses in order to get a number to give to the parole board, please send a blank email to me at oryj@bellsouth.net with the word "PAROLE" in the subject line.
As the years go by without Cindy, I can't tell you what this means to my family. We are so concerned that, if Watson is released, he will move to his family's home only 30 miles from our home. Needless to
say, this is frightening.
I truly appreciate all your support.
Very gratefully yours,
Susan Ory
THANK YOU!!
******************************************************
Here is a copy of my letter:
To Whom this May Concern
Dear Sir or Madam,
It has been brought to my attention that James Michael Watson will be eligible for parole on October 10th, 2007. As I am sure you receive multiple letters of this sort every single day, I am not sure what I can write to clearly express the fear and sadness I personally feel when a person that has physically committed a crime, such that he committed, will have the opportunity to live life freely once again. As the victim of an eerily similar crime, I implore you to refuse this request.
Any person with such a blatant disregard for human life and the repercussions and impressions it leaves on those left behind should be discarded from general society all together. He made an eternal decision for his wife and her family. She did not get the option of reversal, why should he? While he has continued living and breathing, Cindy Watson continues to lie in a casket below the Earths surface. While he continues to share his life with his family, Cindy was brutally silenced after being shot 21 times and being consciously left to bleed to death on the floor of her shower. James Michael Watson stopped to reload his weapon twice!! We can only imagine the horror she endured. How many years does it take a mother, father, sister and child to erase the notion of what their child, sister and mother endured during the last few minutes of her life? Can you imagine the pain of each individual bullet penetrating her body and the fear this woman suffered? Can you imagine the sadness and nightmares that continues to plague her family day after day since this extreme act of violence? I can imagine. I know this pain and it is simply impossible to express in black and white words what we, the victims, are left to endure. This horrible burden has been forced upon each person victimized by a monster such as James Michael Watson. We did not ask for this task, but we stand and speak for those silenced at their hands.
James Michael Watson HAS NOT SERVED HIS PENACE!
Punishment should fit the crime in this great nation. Twenty two years is hardly a drop in the bucket in the ocean of sadness in which this family continues to swim. Please, PLEASE be the voice of Cindy Watson. Her voice was silenced at the hand of an evil man, James Michael Watson. This kind of hate and immorality can not be redeemed in two decades. Be the voice of Cindy Watson. Do not allow this man to continue to haunt this family outside of his cell. The injustice is simply unfathomable. Please do not add to the horrible grief this family has had no choice but to endure for the rest of their lives.
Please sir and madam, speak for Cindy today and send this man back to his cell. He committed this atrocious crime and is solely responsible for his fait. This man is a murderer and deserves no place in society.
Most Respectfully,
Heather Tierney
Sister of Jennifer Corbin
Murdered December 4, 2004
These journal entries were each just a small piece of the grief and anger I still feel. Certainly, at the time, I was so very limited by what I could openly express. My every word was targeted and exposed in a courtroom. I was so *unfairly* portraying the guilt of an innocent man after all. Our family was targeted even on Christmas Day. How dare we grieve for the murder of our Jennifer. How dare we insinuate that this was murder, indeed. How desperately I wanted to scream to you all.. to anyone who would listen, Jennifer was murdered at the hands of her husband! Why isn’t he already paying penance? How dare anyone chastise our family in our loss? Oh my God.. that pain was so unbearable.. if I were not sitting here today I would tell you that it would simply have killed us from the ache alone. Honest to God.. there were so many times I worried that my mom and dad would simply not survive the grief. In the hours after learning that our Jenn was forever gone from us, we thought my dad was having a heart attack. I screamed so much that I could not physically make a sound with my mouth. Even today my vocal cords are permanently damaged. I am just beginning to see pieces of my mom that I recognize. My mother is a great artist with deep passions. She had an art gallery that died away with our Jennifer. To this day, she has yet to paint again since that day. The wounds of the heart scar over and the heart takes on a new form. Our family has evolved into something less open, less believing, less accepting, and just somehow less. And yet more.
Last night I awoke again into the disbelief. I kid you not when I tell you that I still do not believe that our Jenn was murdered by Bart Corbin. I still cannot believe that we did not see the monster alive. We did not see the murderer, already the murderer before us. I was so afraid for Jennifer, as we had seen glimpses of a person not entirely in control of his own individual self. Something dark had emerged before us on occasion, but as open hearts and trusting minds.. as believers in Christ and love.. these glimpses washed away from our thoughts and dismissed themselves away from the reality of the Godly gift of free will. We are in charge of our own destiny. We choose, as responsible citizens of God’s people, to nurture the ugliness.. in hopes that we can purify even the demons we might glimpse in those around us. We have to choose to believe that people are innately good or life would simply be too insufferable.
God, we have survived. Taking a walk back down the path into the places we have been has to be a testament to God. How in the Hell did we survive it? If I could have only jumped forward into the future to witness each act as it unfolded, I’m not sure I would have believed it. There is so much that I never shared and so much that I am perfectly glad to have forgotten. My journal does somehow serve as a host of a terrible illness. Although I simply could not share everything that I was feeling, as I read back I would see something in a word or paragraph that reminded me of what I really wanted to write. I wanted to expose myself. I am so many things.. far from angelic and perfect. I wanted to shout profanities and physically attack any person that further drained the blood from our family. Our family was once somehow coveted as the American dream.. parents still married from their teens and children who loved this family so deeply. Grandchildren who were growing up together.. weekend dinners with hot coffee brewing in the morning. Laughs and silliness. Blessings abound and blissfully hidden from the ugly reality of things that happened “to other people”.
I hated being told “Your sister is s lucky to have you”.. “You’re doing a great job” because honestly I felt like such a failure. I still feel that was sometimes. In comparison to Jennifer, I honestly don’t think I’ll ever measure up. I could never possibly be the mother to these boys that they deserve because I can never be Jennifer. Jenn was the ultimate mother bear and she had a free spirit that lived without fear. She did not pass judgment and she taught with such a loving, gentle nature. She was a divine guide. I pray the God allows her to gently hold my hand and make the decisions she might choose. I pray that she puts her hands inside of mine and hug and love these kids in the manner they deserve. I feel guilty calling the boys “my boys”.. I feel like I need to explain to everyone that they are my boys, but that they still are the children of the most wonderful mother God ever devised. I don’t know how to explain this in words. I want everyone to know that these are MY KIDS.. they are my flesh.. they are my blood and I love them so intently.. but they are the children of my sister. She is their mom.. I am the substitute. I feel guilty saying I have four children without explaining that I am raising them for my sister because I swear I will never let my beautiful sister be forgotten. Not for one day. Doug gets frustrated with me when people ask “You have four kids?” and I explain “Yes, but two are my sister’s”. I understand his point of needing to move on and accept normalcy, but I refuse to ever let go of making everyone aware that they had the best mother in the world. Does that make any sense? I do it because I love her and miss her so much. This is just one of those things that I do not think I will ever be able to let go without explanation.
Its been a long time since I’ve written in this journal like this and it is only the tip on my emotions. I am so blessed, still. I have an incredibly family, beautiful friends that provide us so much protection and comfort.. and amazing children. Gees.. these kids are amazing. I pray that God blesses these kids until the blessings pour out of their ears and noses. I pray that God protects them from any further distress and that their lives will be full of the perfect bliss that I remember. Kids deserve that. I pray that I can be the best mother, the best wife and a faithful friend to those who need me.
Enough for today.. love and blessings… perfect blessings for each person somehow touched by my Jenn.
Heather
Happy birthday to my beautiful baby boy, Macky Doodle!
I cannot believe my littlest child is already five. Very bitter-sweet. I made Max promise me that there will be no more growing up after this birthday.. he's just getting too big! I want him to stay little and sweet, but he just keeps getting bigger and sooner or later he's going to not want to snuggle so much or be willing to give me a smooch in front of his friends. Whaaaa... Alass.. such is life I suppose. I think he is just so darn beautiful and I want to keep them all safely tucked away in a little nest some place.
As soon as I think of Max's birthday I have to remember the day he was born and who was there but my Jenn. She got up at 4 am and headed over an hour and a half away in traffic to the hospital so that she could be there when Max was born. Who could ever have known that she would not be here to see him grow. Who would have ever known that she would not see Max even turn four. How can it be that she is not here to see her own children through childhood. It's just not fair and so senseless. I'll never understand it. Milestones are particularly hard.
School is finally in full swing. Its amazing how much homework these kids have even in elementary school! Every night seems like a marathon checking agendas and making sure the kids finish up all their assignments.
I wish each of you could have known my Jenn. I really don't even recognise my life anymore.. or maybe now its just that I can't recognise how our lives were before Jenn was stolen away from us. So much has changed and time still keeps flowing through the looking glass. What I would not give to go back to the time when things were just so much more simple and pure. When our lives were not stained by the unthinkable.
Mindi.. I, too, envision Jenn welcoming and comforting all the children called home too early for our liking. I know that they are in the most absolute perfect place possible, but as parents we want to see them through the natural order of life and it is unthinkable having them taken away from us. As children need their parents, parents even more desperately need their children. I know for certain that Jennifer is in high demand and loves each task that God provides to her. I do see her loving and protecting all the little children. She loves kids so very much. We used to call her "the baby whisperer". She could take any hysterical baby and have them cooing or sleeping in moments. That is her gift.
Somehow we can all impact the world little by little. Live with kindness and remember what it is to have the heart of a child. There are so many blessings unfolding around us each and every moment.
Love,
Heather
Doug and I just got back from the Bahamas.. 12 of us all went to celebrate Doug's big birthday and we had a blast... I posted a few photos below from the trip. We all wore shirts to the airport that said 'Doug's Support Team" with this goofy photo of Doug on it.. you can kind of see the photo on the shirt below that I made for Doug. Too funny. We all about wet our pants laughing so hard walking through the airport... Doug didn't think it was quite as funny as we did.. you can see his enthusiam in the photo. :)
Well if I could show you all the salsa, the tango and some sort of swing dance this morning I would. SCHOOL STARTED BACK THIS MORNING!!!! Weeeeeeeeee!!!! Oh my goodness.. this was a LONG summer.. the kids have been swinging from the rafters like a pack of spider monkeys all summer, so I have gladly welcomed this day like a child waiting for Christmas. Free at last, free at last.. good God almighty I'm free at last! HAHAHA. I'm keeping Max home wit me this year. He only made the kindergarten cut off by 14 days and I just don't want to push him to be ready when he's not. Besides.. I'm not ready! I've got to keep him as little as I can for as long as I can.
What to do with my new found freedom? I think I'll start with the laundry and then make my way into the toy pit and weed out all the broken soldiers and no-headed Barbies. Oy. At least I'll be able to get it all done without the tears of having to give up a legless Powerranger!
Love and blessings to you all,
Heather
Walking through Walmart yesterday I saw an end-cap of books that included “Too Late to Say Goodbye”. How can there be a book about my sister’s murder in Walmart? How is it that life has unfolded in such a cruel manner with such harsh edges. What is wrong with people who think that they own the right to destroy so many lives without any purpose? Does not God demand of us “Thou Shall not Kill”? I will never comprehend how another can think they can posses the right to terminate another’s providence. How is this? Where is the remorse that surely remains permanently clouded by the devil himself? How can God forgive a soul that has tortured so many. “To err is humane.. to forgive is divine”… the only thought that finds me when I think of this.
I pray the God lends closure to those still waiting for justice, but then closure is word that really lends itself only to letters relating to murder.. I honestly do not believe the word implies real emotion when someone you love is ripped from your life. Closure is a fairy tale word in a book that has no ending. I pray that God brings home Mary Lands, pray fully living, but never the less, home. I hope that righteousness is delivered to the family of Harriet Gray. There are so many others waiting for any word on the fate of their loved one. It is so very sad and overwhelming. At the very least, we had possession of Jenn’s Earthly remains. I cannot fathom never knowing.
How do people fall so dreadfully far off the path that God gently placed us upon at birth? Free will is a blessed right, but woefully terrifying. How many other people will be torn from their bodies today at the hands of the sinister? Again.. I ask.. I plea to God to confer the answer.. why? Why.. why.. why? We will only know when our won last words are written in time alone.
Well I am being far too serious this morning and I have so much to do. Thank you so much to those of you that continue to check on us and write letters and guest books entries to our family. You’ll never know how much it means to us because it is impossible to express.
Be blessed by the opportunity to have another day with those you love.
Love,
Heather
Dalton won the neighborhood fishing tournament catching a whopping 21-inch catfish! He was very excited.. he actually won a set of golf clubs!!! Some of the photos from the tournament are above.. sadly I overexposed most of them but you get the idea. All the kids had a blast and it was super cool that one of our kids won.. about 70 kids participated. I must say, Sylvia was, by far, the most diligent and patient, but hey she IS a girl! :) She caught several whoppers, just none as big as Dalton's catfish. All the fish made it safely back into the water to be chased again another day.
As you can see.. Max has a mohawk! He thinks he is terribly cool.. and all the boys LOVE LOVE to have hair paint in various fashions styled on their heads. Why not? Its summer.
Sylvia just celebrated her 6th birthday.. absolutely amazing to me considering I swear she was born last year. We had 10 of her little girlfriends spend the night (yes, I'm nuts in addition to being slightly off center) and anyway.. we had a full-blown fashion show. Have you guys seen those Bratz dolls? I promised myself Sylvia would never have one of those.. well she got three of them for her birthday so now she is 6 going on 16. I guess I knew it was coming.
How funny is the one photo of Doug painting Sylvia's toes? He was moderately embarrassed, but followed through on his promise to paint her toes and nails after he finished up working for the evening. Priceless photo and perhaps even blackmail as he is going on a boy's trip soon with some of kid college buddies.. hehe I bet they'd get a load out of that.
On another note.. custody is still not final. *Sigh* That’s all I've got to say about that or else I might go off on a tirade. Absolutely makes no real sense. Please pray that custody get resolved SOON! Its not fair to the boys and they keep asking.. court dates have come and gone and for one reason or another, we've been put off again and again. We NEED resolution so hopefully we can get back on the court calendar before school starts.
Well I must go.. see that fat blonde at the bottom of the photos above.. this is how my computer desk needs to be set up. As for now, it is not so off to the laundry room I tread...
Love and blessings,
Heather
Mindy, I want you to know that I will be praying for you and your precious family. I have been having a very heavy day today and my mom and I had a long talk tonight about Jenn. It has left me feeling, once again, desperate and overwhelmed with emotion for her loss and the gut gripping loss of her companionship. God I miss her.
I came here tonight and I said to myself "God, please let something here let me know that Jenn is with me and is remembered" and I had a sinking feeling that nothing would make me feel whole tonight.
I want you to know how much it means to me that you would come here and ask for prayers for someone in your family. It touches me so that you would include Jenn in your powerful allies of angels..
Mindi, God has the greatest band of seraphim angels.. the highest rank.. the most awesome band of warrior angels you can imagine. Imagine them.. limitless in what thay can provide and protect, bearing their shields and swords and gaurding and protecting your family in all things physical, but also beyond physical.. into eternity. Imagine them storming through the clouds and surrounding you all at this very moment. I pray that Peter feels their powerful calm and protection that they will provide him. That is my prayer for you and I hope you cam close you eyes and feel them. I am asking those angels to guard your precious family tonight and always. I pray that God will put the tools into the hands of the doctors that care for your nephew and will provide him the best and fulfilling life possible. Remember, our body is our tent and our soul is the mansion. Jenn is on task and I know she LOVES that you considered her worthy of the job. I can think of not a soul who could be better.
Thank you for thinking of us to tonight and for coming here and sharing your heavy heart.. God knows.. you listened to mine. And thank you for lightening the load on my heart tonight.. I asked for God's guidence and He provided, as only He can and will.
Life is just not easy, but we gather all we can in life and learn to love and be loved. I really believe that is truly His greatest lesson.
Prayers for you today and always. Please tell your sister that MY sister is on it. :)
You are so very blessed and so am I.
Love,
Heather
Mindy, I want you to know that I will be praying for you and your precious family. I have been having a very heavy day today and my mom and I had a long talk tonight about Jenn. It has left me feeling, once again, desperate and overwhelmed with emotion for her loss and the gut gripping loss of her companionship. God I miss her.
I came here tonight and I said to myself "God, please let something here let me know that Jenn is with me and is remembered" and I had a sinking feeling that nothing would make me feel whole tonight.
I want you to know how much it means to me that you would come here and ask for prayers for someone in your family. It touches me so that you would include Jenn in your powerful allies of angels..
Mindi, God has the greatest band of seraphim angels.. the highest rank.. the most awesome band of warrior angels you can imagine. Imagine them.. limitless in what thay can provide and protect, bearing their shields and swords and gaurding and protecting your family in all things physical, but also beyond physical.. into eternity. Imagine them storming through the clouds and surrounding you all at this very moment. That is my prayer for you and I hope you cam close you eyes and feel them. I am asking those angels to gaurd your precious family tonight and always. I pray that God will put the tools into the hands of the doctors that care for your nephew and will provide him the best and fulfilling life possible. Remember, our body is our tent and our soul is the mansion. Jenn is on task and I know she LOVES that you considered her worthy of the job. I can think of not a soul who could be better.
Thank you for thinking of us to tonight and for coming here and sharing your heavy heart.. God knows.. you listened to mine. And thank you for lightening the load on my heart tonight.. I asked for God's guidence and He provided, as only He can and will.
Life is just not easy, but we gather all we can in life and learn to love and be loved. I really believe that is truly His greatest lesson.
Prayers for you today and always. Please tell your sister that MY sister is on it. :)
You are so very blessed and so am I.
Love,
Heather
The photo above came from Julie and below is the letter she sent me. I truly hope Julie does not mind me sharing this with everyone.. I just want everyone to know Jenn as she was.. a very special gift who never knew a stranger.
I can remember Jenn telling me about Julie.. even up to just a few years ago. She was saddened that they had lost touch.. but she spoke of her like they were still very close. She always lit up when she spoke of her and her eyes sparkled like she was remembering other things that were just between them.
Thank you so much , Julie.. for sending this photo to me and for contacting us. I so badly want to call Jenn and tell her all about it.. but I suppose she already knows.
Love,
Heather
Dear Jennifer’s family,
I realize this sympathy card is a couple years too late, but I had just found out the tragic news about Jennifer! She was a dear friend of mine back in college. She was a year ahead of me and we had met through mutual friends. From the first day I met her, we just clicked and became real good friends. After she left SCAD, we had kept in occasional touch until a couple years after I graduated in November 1993. I don’t know whatever happened with us keeping in touch (we both moved, probably lost addresses, or whatnot) but she’s never been far from my mind.
I just read the June issue of the Reader’s Digest and when I came across that article, I saw her picture and denied myself that it was her… it was too surreal for me. I had to read the article over and over… I thought it was a bad nightmare. I kept thinking, “No, not my Jennifer!”
The thing that hurts me the most is I have thought about her a few times a year since college, and always wondered how she was doing and what she was up to. After not hearing from her for a few years, I have thought about trying to track her down to reunite with her. I knew she was from the Atlanta area but didn’t know if she’d still be living there or whatnot. I’m very disappointed in myself that I didn’t take the initiative to try to find her. (I know it’s no excuse that I got busy with a new life, marriage, career, and have a three year old girl now). The oddest thing is that the last 2 years, I had thought about her more often than before. I wonder if I had a gut feeling or something?
Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that I cannot even imagine how you’re feeling. I am so sorry all of you have to go through this. God bless you, Heather and Doug, for taking in the boys. I trust you will take good care of them. I just feel terrible that they had to go through what they did. I cannot imagine my own daughter in their shoes. I just pray to God that they inherit Jennifer’s personality!! I can’t see their pictures clearly in the article but I’m sure they’re such beautiful boys.
I know Jennifer had a heart of gold. Her smile always lit up the room wherever you were. Everyone always looked forward to seeing her. Whenever I was down about something, I I could count on her to cheer me up and vice versa. I still think of her as Jennifer Barber… not Jennifer Corbin. I’m sure you guys feel the same way, too.
Please keep in touch with me on the progress of the case. I hope Bart rots in jail and I would do anything to help make this happen. I’m deaf and don’t communicate on the phone (my husband, Bill, is hearing and if you needed to call us, you can always talk to him, too). One thing I’ll always remember about Jennifer is how well she knew her ABC’s in sign language. Since I read lips, if there was something I could not follow, she would just simply sign it out to me. There’s not many people who can do that. She was truly special.
I also pray that Dalton and Dillon grow up to be just like their mommy. We need more people like Jennifer in the world… there’s just not enough like her, and it’s a shame we lost a special one! My heart is just too broken…
My deepest condolences to you and your family & close friends. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.
Yours truly,
Julie
p.s. I dug up my old college albums and found a picture of me and Jennifer. I will scan it in and send it to you if you’d like.
************************************
So many things to cover.. so many kids.. so little time.
Well first I have to start off by asking for some mucho grande prayers for our beautiful Kylie Dru. I went down to the beach for a few days and Raquel called me to let me know that one of Kylie’s tests from her scans came back a bit off. I will clarify by first saying that her cancer scans came back clear.. no evidence of disease.. but one of her blood test came back alarmingly high. Her Alk Pho’s for some reason are off the chart. A normal range would be 0-300 and Kylie is pushing 6,000. To confirm the results were not a fluke, they repeated the test and again the numbers are wildly out of proportion. So.. here we sit worrying as to what can be making these number so high. Additional and somehow in an odd way, thankfully, Christian’s same enzyme is also elevated. Though his is not nearly as high, Kylie’s oncologist thinks that it is not coincidental and the two would defiantly somehow be related.. meaning this is NOT a relapse scare, bone cancer, or liver problems. As it is.. it is troublesome to say the least. With all that Kylie has gone through, can’t the kid just get a break?
I feel so bad for Kylie (for all the pokes and pricks she continues to endure) and so horribly bad for Raquel and Drew for having to live with the worry. It’s not fair that any parent should have to watch their child suffer on any level. It seems like the minute you take a big sigh of relief, on the very next breath you feel like you could have a heart attack. Raquel is updating her site on any new news so pop in and pray for our sweet girl. http://www.caringbridge.com/ga/kyliescorner
I’m having horrible dreams again.. actually they are nightmares. Last night I saw Jenn, but it was the night before she was murdered and I could not speak with her. She was *right there* and I just wanted to scream and cry and hug her and kiss her and I could not seem to step outside of myself to talk to her. It was positively a most dreadful feeling. I’ll never be the same and the panic can envelop me at a moments notice. Once again.. for a split second I felt like I was waking up for this ghastly nightmare only to realize again that the nightmare, again, is real.
Bart Corbin should never ever ever be paroled. Until the people whom he has forever tarnished are made whole again, he should never ever have the option of freedom. We continue to live in such pain and heartache and he continues to feel sorry that he got caught, not in remorse for the pain he has inflicted.. even on his own children. I take that back.. he has no children. He relinquished that Godly gift before they were ever born when he stole Dolly away from her family. They are Jenn’s blessing and our gift.
The scars are new once again and the would still bleeds for Jenn’s life. I miss you.. I’ll mourn for you forever, Jenn. I will never accept your death. You will always be alive inside of my soul.
I’m posting a few photos from our trip. I hope you enjoy them.
Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. We still desperately need them. Thanks to all my *regular* friends who still check in with us.
You are blessed. Realize His gifts before time washes them away.
Love,
Heather
PS.. I’m getting better. You can now only *faintly* see the tiremarks.. ha! Kisses and hugs to you all….
Well first I have to start off by asking for some mucho grande prayers for our beautiful Kylie Dru. I went down to the beach for a few days and Raquel called me to let me know that one of Kylie’s tests from her scans came back a bit off. I will clarify by first saying that her cancer scans came back clear.. no evidence of disease.. but one of her blood test came back alarmingly high. Her Alk Pho’s for some reason are off the chart. A normal range would be 0-300 and Kylie is pushing 6,000. To confirm the results were not a fluke, they repeated the test and again the numbers are wildly out of proportion. So.. here we sit worrying as to what can be making these number so high. Additional and somehow in an odd way, thankfully, Christian’s same enzyme is also elevated. Though his is not nearly as high, Kylie’s oncologist thinks that it is not coincidental and the two would defiantly somehow be related.. meaning this is NOT a relapse scare, bone cancer, or liver problems. As it is.. it is troublesome to say the least. With all that Kylie has gone through, can’t the kid just get a break?
I feel so bad for Kylie (for all the pokes and pricks she continues to endure) and so horribly bad for Raquel and Drew for having to live with the worry. It’s not fair that any parent should have to watch their child suffer on any level. It seems like the minute you take a big sigh of relief, on the very next breath you feel like you could have a heart attack. Raquel is updating her site on any new news so pop in and pray for our sweet girl. http://www.caringbridge.com/ga/kyliescorner
I’m having horrible dreams again.. actually they are nightmares. Last night I saw Jenn, but it was the night before she was murdered and I could not speak with her. She was *right there* and I just wanted to scream and cry and hug her and kiss her and I could not seem to step outside of myself to talk to her. It was positively a most dreadful feeling. I’ll never be the same and the panic can envelop me at a moments notice. Once again.. for a split second I felt like I was waking up for this ghastly nightmare only to realize again that the nightmare, again, is real.
Bart Corbin should never ever ever be paroled. Until the people whom he has forever tarnished are made whole again, he should never ever have the option of freedom. We continue to live in such pain and heartache and he continues to feel sorry that he got caught, not in remorse for the pain he has inflicted.. even on his own children. I take that back.. he has no children. He relinquished that Godly gift before they were ever born when he stole Dolly away from her family. They are Jenn’s blessing and our gift.
The scars are new once again and the would still bleeds for Jenn’s life. I miss you.. I’ll mourn for you forever, Jenn. I will never accept your death. You will always be alive inside of my soul.
I’m posting a few photos from our trip. I hope you enjoy them.
Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. We still desperately need them. Thanks to all my *regular* friends who still check in with us.
You are blessed. Realize His gifts before time washes them away.
Love,
Heather
PS.. I’m getting better. You can now only *faintly* see the tiremarks.. ha! Kisses and hugs to you all….
By LATEEF MUNGIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/24/07
For anyone who wants to know more about Gwinnett's double murderer dentist Barton Corbin, best-selling true-crime author Ann Rule has finished her book.
Rule's 27th book — "Too Late to Say Good-Bye" — is based on the Corbin case and is scheduled to hit bookstores on June 5.
Last year, Corbin pleaded guilty to the 1990 killing of his college girlfriend and the 2004 killing of his wife at their Buford home. Authorities said he shot both women in the head and then staged the deaths as suicides. Corbin is serving a life sentence in prison.
The story was covered by national media and was the subject of several television shows.
Book: Dentist may have killed more than two women
Author focuses on two others who knew Barton Corbin and ended up dead
By LATEEF MUNGIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/05/07
Jennifer Corbin and Dolly Hearn may not have been the only victims of double murderer dentist Barton Corbin, according to a new book.
Corbin pleaded guilty last year and is serving double life sentences for the murders of his wife, Jennifer, and Hearn, his college girlfriend. But there were two other female acquaintances of Corbin who were slain.
Bart Corbin pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and his college girlfriend. Two other Corbin acquaintances were killed, author Ann Rules says, and those cases remain unsolved.
From "Too Late to Say Goodbye":
• "And there was a certain unpredictability in Bart, a sudden flare of anger at times. No one who knew Bart as an undergraduate back in Athens had ever mentioned his temper. Now he was known for having a very short fuse."
• "No one expected to see Bart at Jenn's funeral. Surely he must be aware that he was emerging as a suspect in two alleged murders. ... But there he was in the church, not far from the metallic casket with a huge spray of flowers on top."
And both of those cases remain unsolved.
The story of these two women and other shocking details about the death of Jennifer Corbin and Hearn are revealed in "Too Late to Say Goodbye — A True Story of Murder and Betrayal," the latest book by true-crime author Ann Rule.
The 456-page book is scheduled to hit book shelves today.
Rule was scheduled to be in Georgia this week to speak about the book but her appearances were canceled because the 27-time New York Times best-selling author has pneumonia.
In a phone interview from her Seattle home last week, Rule spoke about some of the revelations she found in her two years researching the Corbin case.
One of the women whose case has gone unsolved was Harriet Gray. She disappeared from her Tucker home in September 1996 in what appeared to have been an abduction.
Gray, 56, worked at the same metro Atlanta dental office as Barton Corbin. She went missing around the same time that Corbin married his wife, Jennifer.
Rule wrote in her book that there were rumors that Gray and Barton Corbin may have dated. But investigators never named Corbin as a suspect in Gray's disappearance. Her body was found in her car at the bottom of Lake Tuscaloosa, her hands duct taped to the steering wheel.
The other unsolved case involved Mary Lands, who was a long-time family friend of Barton and Jennifer Corbin, Rule wrote. Lands was 39 when she disappeared from her Michigan home in 2004.
Lands and her then husband traveled with the Corbins on a trip to Italy before the Corbins were married, Rule wrote in her book. Lands' body was never found and police in the area have said that she was a victim of foul play, Rule wrote.
Rule said she called authorities in Michigan when she learned about Barton Corbin's connection to Lands. Rule said authorities took information from her but seemed to be focusing on a different suspect.
"I still have questions in those cases," Rule said. "Corbin was not a suspect in [Gray's and Land's] deaths. But how many men know four women that have disappeared and have been murdered?"
For her book, Rule interviewed just about everybody connected to the Corbin case, which received national media coverage. She was scheduled to fly into Georgia to attend the murder trial last September. But those plans changed after Barton Corbin pleaded guilty to the 2004 killing of his wife, Jennifer, and the 1990 killing of his dental school girlfriend, Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn.
Still, Rule flew to Georgia and conducted in-depth interviews with family members of the victims and detectives in both cases. Family members did not return phone calls for this article.
Barton Corbin's family did not give Rule much access for the book, she said. The family instead spoke to true-crime writer John Glatt, whose book "The Doctor's Wife" came out last March.
Rule did not attempt a prison interview, instead painting a portrait of Barton Corbin by interviewing his friends dating back to his middle school days. The book also is filled with photos of a younger Barton Corbin, the investigators in the case and some of the women whom Corbin dated.
"I was struck by Bart's coldness," Rule said. "Both women were such happy people and had empathy for other people. That was an emotion that Bart did not have."
Rule said she also was amazed with how Gwinnett investigators used advances in technology to tie Corbin to the murder.
"Forensic investigation has jumped forward since I've written my last book," Rule said. "I was amazed at how they used cellphone towers to pinpoint Corbin's location around the time Jenn was murdered."
Rule said she spent a lot of time with Gwinnett's investigators who helped to push Corbin to plead guilty.
Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter was one of the people interviewed by Rule. Porter said he received an advance copy of the book and he plans to read it.
"Even though I spent so much time on the case I am interested to see what a writer will find interesting," Porter said. "I have skimmed through it, and it seems that she has focused a lot on the personalities of the people."
Author Ann Rule is a former police detective who has written many true-crime books.
ANN RULE
Born: Lowell, Mich.
Residence: Near Seattle, Wash., on the shores of Puget Sound.
Family: Mother of five, grandmother of three. Her daughter Leslie Rule is also a writer.
Education: B.A. University of Washington in creative writing, with minors in psychology, criminology and penology.
Studied two years at Highline Community College, taking courses in crime scene investigation, police administration, crime scene photography and arrest, search and seizure.
Career: Full-time true-crime writer since 1969. Over the past 30 years, she has published 20 books and 1,400 articles, mostly on criminal cases.
When she isn't writing: She teaches seminars to many law enforcement groups. She is a certified instructor in many states on subjects such as: serial murder, sadistic sociopaths, women who kill, and high profile offenders.
RULE'S OTHER TITLES
Ann Rule traces the murderous crimes of seemingly ordinary people. Here's a look at her titles: (*book set in Georgia.)
*Too Late to Say Goodbye — A True Story of Murder and Betrayal, (Free Press/456 pages/ $26)
No Regrets, True Crime Files Vol. 11
Worth More Dead
Kiss Me, Kill Me
Green River, Running Red
Without Pity
Last Dance, Last Chance
Heart Full of Lies
Every Breath You Take
Empty Promises
And Never Let Her Go
A Rage to Kill
The End of the Dream
Beautiful America's Seattle
The Want-Ad Killer
The I-5 Killer
Lust Killer
The Stranger Beside Me
Small Sacrifices
If You Really Loved Me
*Everything She Ever Wanted (Story of a sociopathic Georgia socialite Pat Taylor Allanson and her fatal attractions. Set in Zebulon, the seat of Pike County, 50 miles south of Atlanta.)
A Rose for Her Grave
You Belong to Me
Dead by Sunset
A Fever in the Heart
Possession
In the Name of Love
Bitter Harvest
Ann Rule's Omnibus
Several neighbors came over Friday night and we were having a great time. One of my closest friend (names withheld to protect the innocent lol) decided we all needed to go on a golf cart ride at around 10:30 pm. At the first corner a set of keys fell off the cart so I yelled at the driver to stop. I got off and proceeded to look for the keys as they were turning around to light up the road with the golf carts head lights. Just as I saw them and went to get them, my friend panicked and hit the gas in lieu of the breaks and the next thing I knew I was road kill.
I was very lucky in that I fell to the side and the golf cart only ran over my legs and not my head or torso. I still do not know how I did not completely get run over.. this is one of those times where I am sure I had a very special angel looking over me, but anyway.. I am bruised from head to toe and have some road rash, but all things considering.. I am one lucky chick.
Dillon and Dalton are close to finishing up the season. Dillon’s team has now clinched first place and Dalton’s team is in second. I have been so proud of both of them. They are both fantastic ball players. Sylvia graduated from kindergarten on Friday and Macky is going to stay home with me next year. He makes the kindergarten cut off by 14 days and I’ve decided not to send him. I’m going to go ahead and give him the benefit of an extra year and just enjoy him at home with me for a while. He is my baby and I want to hold on to that as long as I can. I remember my last year before school and how my mom and I always did special things together. She would take me fishing and all sorts of fun things like that. I’ll never forget that time with my mom and I want to make sure Macky gets that as well.
Well I wish I could be a bit wittier today but I’m just feeling blah. I’m starting to get a bit depressed from having to lie in a bed all day, which is only fun for about the first few hours.
The last time I had an accident Jenn was there. My mom called her from the hospital and she was over as soon as we got home. Its not fair that she is gone. It makes the depressing even more so.
Love and blessings,
Heather
You never believe you could possibly be walking in the shoes of the one in a million.. yet it seems to find so many of us.
I am so very saddened for all families and friends of the innocent victims. What a tragic and completely SENSELESS loss of life. The waves will ripple on and on.
I wish there was some way for me to contact Reema Samaha's family. Or any of the families who are now walking down this horrible road of losing a loved one to murder. I don't know why I feel that it is important, but I want to tell them how very sorry I am because I understand the grief.
I know others feel deep sympathy; I know others actually do (sadly) feel the same grief because they, too, have been there. But I want to tell them how much my heart bleeds for their grief and how very much I want them to protect themselves during this time. Everyone grieves differently and while grief cannot be measured, somehow we all wear the same tear-stained jacket.
I called my mother the day this terrible crime occurred and I told my mom "Mom, another 32 families sadly know our grief. Today, the worst day of our lives is being relived all over again by another family".
You will wonder if you will ever stop crying. You will. I don't know when the tears will subside, but I know they will eventually come less frequently.
Eventually, the joy of your loved ones life overpowers the manner in which they departed.
You will never forget. The pain of the brokenness of your soul.. the brokenness of your heart.. the bleeding will eventually scab over. Just like a wound, the scab will reopen time and time again. You will always wear the scar on your soul and you never know when that scars will suddenly be torn open again.
Life has now forever changed for you. Suddenly you will start seeing life with new eyes; somehow more keen, yet less vibrantly. Your rose-colored glasses have been removed and replaced by a pair dusted with ash. Don’t let it ashen your soul.
You will love deeper, but fewer. But those you love, you will guard with your life.
There will be times you’ll wonder if your family will ever recover. You will suddenly realize that everyday life is full of the worst sort of tragedies and you'll wonder how others survive it. You’ll wonder how one person could cause so much pain. You will wonder so many things and sometimes the answer will never find you in quite the manner you’d hoped, but you will somehow find some deviation of resolution; even if it is temporary.
For this moment, most importantly, be weary of the media. They will exhaust you and empty the very energy you need to cling to right now. Promise nothing as far as exclusives and trust me when I tell you that you are another story to be sensationalized on the news. You are ratings and when those ratings cease to make for a good story, you will be discarded. I'm sure there are those in media that truly care and are deeply concerned for your loss, but they will put their job before your emotions. They will sacrifice your heart before they will give up photos from the scene of the crime, the morgue, or other horrors you truly hope you never have to see. Please believe me when I tell you that no matter how trust-worthy one may seem, a job must first be done. Protect your loved one in death as in life. Protect your family.
I don't know what else to add, other than that I do believe that God lets others carry the burden of your grief. The worst in one horrible person will bring out the best in a million others. Lean when you need to lean.. and let yourself be carried when you need to be carried. Eventually your legs will grow back... a bit feeble, yet somehow stronger and mightier than before.
God is powerfully and awesome. Though you feel vacant, your hotel just grew a few floors all the way to Heaven. Your loved one is never lost. Be open from the signs you will, undoubtedly be sent. It was NOT God’s plan for your loved one to die. Breath can be taken from a body, but the soul does not need air or skin.
And lastly, I pray that God brings you comfort and peace… today, tomorrow and always.
I apologize for my ramblings and hope they somehow make sense.. though I will never make sense of how a person can rob another of their life.
I am so very sorry for your loss.
Your sister in grief,
Heather Tierney
Never forgetting my beautiful sister, my beautiful Jenn
Would Might Casey strike out???
I’d like to tell you that Dillon came to bat.. but it wasn’t.. but it WAS his team!! Ty came to bat and smacked the tar out of the ball for a homer.. Dillon’s Team WINS!! We WIN!! We WIN!!
So it’s 10 pm and I’ve yet to pack the bags for Disney Land! HA!!! But I feel LIKE PACKING THE BAGS!!!! It was fantastic! What a great night!
We are in the midst of a pre-season tourney. Dalton’s team lost last night by one run and Dillon’s team has advanced as the team to beat now. PHEEEW! What fun!
Doug has been able to be home in time to let me go to the ballpark sans the pack of wolves.. so I’ve been able to be the dug-out mom and I feel so in the action. Aren’t kids a blast?
So out of the mouths of babes…
We went to the beach for spring break with mom and dad. It was FREEZING and all I could do was worry about my poor plants here back at home biting the dust. So here we are at the beach in a beautiful condo 14 floors up on the gulf with a view to knock your socks off.. did I mention it was freezing?? BUT the view was great. So the 2nd day there.. Sylvia and dad (Papa.. my dad) are out of the balcony and they are carrying on this long conversation about the dolphins, water, etc.) and Sylvia finally looks up at Papa and says “You know what Papa?” and Papa says “What Sylvee” and she says “I don’t know where we are”!!! HAHAHA!! Dad says all he could do was laugh.. it was like she had this small epiphany . Oy.. Her mother’s child. The kid was having just a grande time but she had no clue where she was located! He!
The Easter bunny still managed to find us.. even at the beach.. and even though Dalton said he would come to our house here in Dawsonville too.. and I tell you this because I think Dalton is a bit too tuned in (if you get what I mean) about the Easter bunny and was trying to snag double Easter baskets.
Sylvia hates soccer.. just as I expected. Too much running and she just gets ((((*sigh*)))) too tired. Oy. My little cheerleader. I could have called that a mile away. Macky starts tee-ball this week. Life is very busy.
I miss Jenn. I miss here like water and rain and sunshine. I miss her in the stars and in the moon.. and if things get too fun or too exciting.. my hearts bleeds for her companionship. I miss my beautiful sister.
God I miss her more then than ever. I miss her so much tonight. We would have high-fived and celebrated and it just pains me too deeply to think about it all so much tonight. I just still cannot believe that she is gone. God, I just don’t know when I will ever fathom that she is physically out of my life.
I looked up Bart’s photo today on the penitentiary website. I don’t know why, but I did. He looks like Hell. He looks like a murderer. He looks like he murdered multiple people. He looks like death. He looks soul-less. He looks like an inky spot of emptiness.
I wonder what he regrets. I wonder if he merely regrets killing Jenn and Dolly because he got caught.. or if he remembers the joy they brought to his life. I wonder if he remembers the pet names they called one another.. she always called him Mookey. I wonder if he remembers how she laughed or how her squash soups tasted.. how she laughed so infectiously. I wonder if he can remember how her clothes always smelled so wonderful.. and no matter what I bought (I followed her instructions perfectly) I could never get my clothes to smell the same. I miss her perfume. Does he remember that? I wonder if being void of a soul robs all memories. I feel that at one time he had a soul.. and I wonder if such a soul can be saved. Today I wonder.
The pain washes over me again because today.. Dillon’s team won a spectacular game and Jenn’s cheering voice was absent. She was silenced again today. And I hate him. I hate that he robbed us all again. Over and over. We are robbed.
Again.
I miss her, God… I miss her. I just will never accept that she is gone.
I love you today and tomorrow, Jenn. I will never forget you. I miss you so much it is just all too much to think about. I just can’t think about it anymore tonight.. but GOD.. I wish my Jenn was here physically with me tonight.. to feel so proud. To be a mother.. to be the mother of these two glorious children. That’s all she wanted.
I hope to God.. a sad thing to wish.. I hope to God he feels the physical and mental pain of my sister’s absence. I hope he feels it beyond the pain of himself. I hope he feels it beyond the pain of his own shallowness. I mourn for the loss of Dolly’s children.. whom.. too.. could have been playing a ball game tonight. The pain is exceedingly poignant and I mourn that loss for her family. I mourn that loss, too, for Dolly.
Skin can be wasted on the bones of an empty soul.
To my friends.. I cherish the words you give me still.. over two years later. The friends whom have loved me in life and the friends whom have grown to know me in words.. Thank you. I think of you all so often and it feels so good to see your words. Please continue to bless me by sharing your thoughts and prayers.
Love and peace to you all.. and forever.. we are blessed and so are you!
Heather
With this milestone comes another wave of emotions. I would be calling Jenn this morning and saying “Can you believe you have a ten-year old?”. And she would go on about how she could not believe it either and we both would laugh about how old we are getting. But she’s not. She’s 33 forever. I will be 33 this year. This is the year that I would have been murdered had I been Jenn. You just cannot understand how this year.. at 33, could be a last year. I feel like life is just starting.
I feel so robbed of the best years with my sister. You don’t really understand the friendship you have with your sister until you get older and mature into true soul mates, boned by blood. We shared everything. We shared our childhood, our adolescents, cars.. we shared our children.. and now I am raising Jenn’s boys. Jenn would want to be here to say “My son is ten today”. Now I am saying “Gosh, Jenn.. we SHARE a 10 year old son”.
The nature of her absence tears at me the most. She was murdered in her own home.. in her own bed. She was left alone all night to be found by these beautiful boys when they woke. They unfairness of it all makes me physically nauseous. I used to dream that I could have been there that night waiting with my own gun. Really, isn’t that a tragic dream? I wish to God somehow I could have protected her. I wish that he was the one dead. There. I said it. I wish Jenn was alive and he were dead. He is useless and Jenn could still be a mother. Its just so not fair. His heart remains beating and soot black.. and my sister’s heart is in a cold urn. What a tragedy. Absolutely makes no sense.
Then my mind wonders to other things.. how other evil people occupy space on this planet.. useless bodies that float among us and caged behind walls, while other good people who want to live.. lie waiting for a heart or for a liver or for a cure. Ironic. The only answer is that we live in a world plagued by sin and by the grace of God, we will escape it and one day go home.
Jenn didn’t get to have the kind of funeral she deserved. We had to be careful with every word spoken, for Heaven forbid.. had he not been convicted.. he could have sued us for the words we would have chosen. I don’t even remember what I said. I don’t remember the tribute that I gave my sister. I prepared really nothing, but knew I wanted to speak. I remember walking out and seeing the enormous crowd that came to honor Jennifer and then I saw him. I practically begged him to look at me. When I first stood up to speak, I didn’t think I was going to be able to walk. I felt very light-headed.. everything felt very dream like. I remember asking my dad and Doug to go with me. I looked among the crowd for him and I watched him. He would never look at me. To this day, I have never gotten him to make eye contact with me, despite trying many times in the courtroom. He is a coward. He is a dead soul.
I wish I could have said more... I could have gone on and on about my Jennifer for hours. I wish I could re-do that part. I wish I would have laughed a little more, because Jennifer was funny as heck. And she was good and kind and sweet and nutty and she lived like life was important, but light and happy. She lived right. She treated everyone with compassion and grace. She was a bright light. How dark it became with her death. But I still see her in the sunshine and even more in the eyes of her legacy. She is undoubtedly with us.
Well on to other things…
The mad spring sport rush is on. I have four children playing on four different teams. I am up at the ball park 5 of 7 days of the week. Its absolutely nuts. We are in the midst of practices now, but I think the season begins in a couple of weeks. THINK that is.. guess I need to check that out, huh? Saturdays we pretty much just camp out at the park, but it gives me so much joy to see all the kids functioning and acting just like normal kids. You’d never know what this family has been through.
On a personal note, thanks to all of you who have written me and continued to worry about us. Personally, I am doing better than I have in over two years. I somehow feel like I have turned the corner in my grief and wake up feeling positive. I still have my days.. my moments when I just feel so beat down and frustrated.. I wonder if I am being a good enough mother.. if I am making the right decisions. I wonder what Jenn would want me to do and then I feel ashamed if I feel like I am somehow letting her down. Raising four children, especially under these circumstances in not easy. There is no magic book with all the answers. There is no encyclopedia for looking up all the answers. So if you’re looking for something to add to your list of prayers, I am asking that you pray that I am given the guidance that I need to make the best decisions for the whole family.
By the way, custody is still not final. We had to put off our last court date at the 11th hour. Hopefully we will have some resolution to this soon because everyone involved needs it.
On a funny note, Dalton’s middle name is Fox. Jenn wanted to name him Fox but Bart didn’t want it for a first name. Well Dalton does and is convinced that after we adopt him that he will get to change his name to Fox. And at this point, why not, right? I mean if the kid that has walked through Hell and survived (and has red hair) wants to be called Fox, should I not let him? I think if the kid wants to be called Superman, its okay by me. There are just some battles I think this kid deserves to win. So, anyway.. if I come to you and tell you that Dalton wants you to call him Fox.. there is your answer. LOL
All the kids are doing fantastic. As a matter of fact, you know what, we’ve survived after all. The thing about losing someone you love so deeply is that, miraculously, it somehow does not physically kill you after all. I wear I huge scar on my heart and many days it still bleeds, but it keeps beating.
For those of you following Kylie, she is doing fantastic. If you read Raquel’s update, yes we went to the beach together and had a blast with a bunch of girlfriends. Rhonda, Raquel’s sister, even flew in and was able to have a fun girl’s only weekend as well. I call it therapy and I do think it was much needed by every girl that went along. We left the night of the tornados and at some points, I wondered if we were going to get sucked up. All I kept thinking is that I was solely responsible for getting the mother’s of 17 children alive to a beach house. I think I drove like 50 mph the whole way when it was not raining and then like walking speed when it was… I started to wonder if they were going to make fun of me.. well that was pretty much a given, for driving so slow. The thing about best girlfriends is that you have to make fun of one another and be able to laugh at yourself as well or else life just gets way too serious. Then we got into Cottendale, FL and there was a dead guy (yes, a dead guy) in the road. We thought it was a road block right up until Raquel yelled “Oh my gosh, there is a body in the road”. Needless to say I don’t think a word was spoken for another 10 minutes. The man was a victim of a hit and run and I do pray that the person that took him life (and left him there) will one day be brought to justice. Oh course, ultimately s/he will. Another one of those things that I will never understand.. and I thank God for that.
Oh and thank God for all the men that lovingly let us all go and cared for all those kids in our wake! My husband is a pillar and my best friend and he just makes me nuts sometimes, but I am so stinking lucky to have such a magnificent husband. Three cheers for Doug!
Ann Rule finally finished the book that she wrote about Jennifer and Dolly. It is available for pre-order of Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Too-Late-Say-Goodbye-Betrayal/dp/0743238524/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0847045-1593610?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173703022&sr=8-1
I don’t know how I will ever read the book, but I know I must. Ann Rule is a fantastic person whom we have grown to know and love. We know she will do both Jenn and Dolly justice. Ann is a victim’s advocate and she writes because she thinks the story needs to be told to help other woman. I really admire her and hope you will find the time to read the book, as well as the others she’s written. She is a New York Times number one best seller and we feel honored that she chose our story to tell.
Well I have lots to do today, as usual… so I must be off.
Thank you for your continued support and the emails you send.
I am blessed and so are you. Do something kind for another person today. It’s infectious!!!
Love,
Heather
PS.. Please continue to keep Amy Watson in your thoughts.
God bless his beautiful family and loving wife, Amy. Though Doug is now pain-free, cancer free and passing into the blissful gates of Heaven, those left behind will mourn deeply for his loss until they are reunited again.
Remember to tell you loved ones EVERYDAY how much you love them. Life is precious and all too fast and frail.
Love, blessings and peace,
Heather
There are thousands of people who have come to know Jennifer since she took flight. The only way they have truly come to know Jennifer is through her friends, our family.. this site and the media. If you did not know Jennifer in life, I pray that you could have known her or imagine the person that she really was. But is that possible? I hardly think so. I can only try to pass my memories of her on to you and hope you recognize how precious she was and how splendidly she lived. Her heart was too immense for her body and the deep trust she placed within human kind was far too naïve to be confined to this world. Her description cannot be contained within an empty space full of black letters and simple script, nor on the biggest screen available in the highest definition. If I had truly done Jennifer justice, I would have described her in a million fonts and colors custom to a myriad of pallets, in all the languages of time. She was so much bigger than this story that one might try to sum up as her life. Bigger than a program that is contained in a nearly insulting frame of time. She could not be described even in Sweep’s Week with the most hard-nosed, eager reporter dreaming of the next big story. The next big story was Jennifer. My beautiful Jennifer and no one can understand the vacancy that all the words in the world couldn’t fill.
Jennifer’s life has been summed up by thousands of people who never knew her. Those of us lucky enough to have been loved by her know that she was just bigger. And I suppose when it is all said and done, it does not matter. I suppose it is worth mentioning that every single friend that came to know Jennifer and Bart as a couple stood by Jennifer in knowing that she would never have ended her life. We all stood by and felt desperate. I wanted to scream to anyone that would listen that Jennifer did not end her life! Worth mentioning might be that anyone who ever had the honor to really know Jennifer at all, knew that Jennifer adored her boys and insinuating that she would allow them to find her shot through the head.. hours post-mortem.. rigor mortis.. all the horrors, is simply a lie that is not worth giving second thought. Barton Corbin seriously underestimated this family and those who loved Jenn if he ever truly believed anyone would buy the book he had written in his mind. A fictitious novel written by a desperate sociopath. Unfortunately, nothing sells better to the press.
Why is this? Why is society obsessed with tragedy? For anyone that knew Jenn, we stood by her. We had to defend her. We had to listen to every last heart-breaking, gut-wrenching moment.. over and over.. then over again. Had we not replayed it in our minds, it replayed itself time and time again through our televisions, radios, telephones and Internet. And we stood by her and listened and waited.
I am so damn angry that anyone could ever have bought the snake oil that was being sold at all the dime stores. Jenn was Neiman Marcus. She can’t be wrapped up in newspaper. She was pure silk. I wish everyone could have been touched by her. I wish I could show you her soul.
Here is to my sister.. the only person that could make my coffee perfectly on the first try. My soul mate. My blood. My beautiful sister.
I love you forever and ever and I miss you like sunshine.
Heather
God, please make Jenn's day extra special today. Please let her feel all the love we feel for her every moment of every day.
I don't know when the memories of HOW you left us will be replaced more strongly with HOW you lived. Somehow I believed in my heart that justice would bring something to us.. you back to us.. peace to our hearts.. something. Instead it was just like a brief pause.. and then a sigh. And then the pain just flushed all over again. I want to get over the whys.. I want to feel your presence. I want to have coffee with you this morning. I want to just sit on the couch and laugh. I want you to color my hair again.. and tell me how I'm doing it all wrong. I want you to come over and help me paint this half-painted house. I want you to sing the kids superman prayers and teach them all your goofy dances. I want you to walk in the door with your big "Helllooooooo".. and then tell me its time for a cocktail. I want to spend another warm day on Lake Lanier and play King of the Mountain on some old piece of styrofoam and laugh until we feel like we can't breathe. I want to swim in the sweet memories and let the terrible reality of your death be forgotten. I need to watch you bounce through life. I was always so envious of your ability to just accept everything and live for each day without regret. You lived life in the most vibrant of colors. I need to see see you pick up Macky and give him smooches. He was so little when you left us. God I hope he remembers you and how much you loved him. I want them all to remember every ounce of you. I need your patience. I need your friendship. I miss so much of you.. I miss all of you.
You are my sister and my soul still yearns for your companionship. Somedays I still just feel like I cannot get out of bed. Today is hitting me so hard.. it is even more difficult than last year for some reason.
I see your face.. the photos. And I just feel like I could die for missing you so much. I just will never understand why you, MY sister, how you.. my sweet sister.. became a murder victim. You trusted whole-heartedly.. and that innocence disolved your Earthly life. Your life was not yet complete.. God's lessons were not through. May there be the most special place in Heaven for those who pass before God's time.
I know Heaven is beautiful. I pray that each day is golden bliss. I know you watch over us. But I am too selfish. I want you back. I want you here with us.
I wish a million times over I could be calling you right now and singing you happy birthday. I love you, I love you, I love you forever.
May the party in Heaven be felt all the way down into our hearts. Please sprinkle some confetti all over mom and dad. May the kid's ears be filled with the music of your laughter and life celebration. We miss you so much, Jenn.
Again and again.. happy birthday. Here is to you, Jenn. Today and always. Until my last breath and I see your beautiful face again.. I will never let you be forgotten.
Heather
Thank you, heavenly Father, for a family of believers who carry our burdens when we are weak. Thank you for those who truly "weep when we weep". Amen.
I found this prayer in a daily devotions book. I do believe the people that have surrounded us in prayer and love have carried us through the last two years.
"Satan wants to defeat us with heavy burdens, but fellow believers who carry our burdens can minimize the suffering he causes." Julie Ackerman Link
Jennifer would have celebrated her 35th birthday one week from today. Be thinking about my parents and especially the boys on the 25th. Your prayers are still needed.
On another note.. we are back in court on the 31st to hopefully finalize custody of both boys. We have what they term *indefinite custody*. The courts would not make a final ruling until we had a conviction. Now, with that behind us, pray that this next step with be smooth. As it is.. it takes a good while to get on the court calendar and we feel blessed that this next step has finally come to us.
February the 3rd there will be a 48-hours episode about the murder of both Jenn and Dolly.
Please pray extra intently for a dear family, the Watsons. I have mentioned them here before several times. Doug has now gone on hospice care. They have three beautiful, young children. Pray for their strength, especially for Amy (his wife) and for peace. I can only imagine how difficult each day must be for them right now. Never discount the miracles that God can deliver.
Happy birthday, Dillon. Happy birthday to my sweet Jenn. Congratulations, Dr. Dolly!
Thank you so much for those who still come around to check in on us.
Love,
Heather
By Tom Corwin| Staff Writer
Friday, January 12, 2007
A week before she was murdered in 1990, Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn walked into her grandmother's house in Washington, Ga., and declared, "I'm a senior in dental school. This time next year, you can call me Dr. Dolly."
In a couple of months, her prediction finally will come true.
The Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry will confer a posthumous degree to Ms. Hearn this spring in a special ceremony, Dean Connie Drisko said Thursday. Her classmates pushed for it in 1991 but were told there was no mechanism to do it, said Felix Maher, now a dentist in Savannah. They included her in the class composite picture, and her parents were given her hood from the hooding ceremony at graduation.
Dr. Carlton and Barbara Hearn also attended the class's 15-year reunion and established a scholarship in Ms. Hearn's name.
Her friends and family never believed her death was a suicide, but her ex-boyfriend and classmate Barton Corbin staged her murder to appear that way. Her death remained classified as a suicide until his wife died in a similar manner in 2004. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office reopened the investigation, and Dr. Corbin pleaded guilty to both murders in September.
After that, her classmates renewed their efforts to get her the degree, and the dental school faculty joined them late last year.
"This degree really helps confirm the fact that she did have the utmost respect of her mentors and her peers, and I think it speaks highly of her character and the wonderful memories people have of her," Dr. Drisko said.
The scholarship in Ms. Hearn's name goes every year to the senior student who classmates feel most exemplifies her spirit of perseverance, empathy and professionalism, Dr. Frederick Rueggeberg said.
And in some ways, she is already the embodiment of what the degree will confer, her mother said.
"We have called her Dr. Dolly," Mrs. Hearn said, "but now she will be. We're very happy."
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
Kim
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