The Usual Suspect

Summary

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48 Hours: "The Usual Suspect"

CBS News – January 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of "48 Hours" investigates the chilling murder of Tina Corona in Memphis, Tennessee. The story unravels through the accounts of her friends, family, and prosecutors, as they examine the complex dynamics of Tina's marriage to Joe Corona, the investigation’s twists, and ultimately, the search for justice. With signature “48 Hours” depth, the episode uncovers not just a murder mystery but the hidden betrayals, financial fraud, and personal tragedies at its heart.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Memphis, Crime, and Community

• Memphis: A city of rich music heritage but also known for a "darker side" with significant crime ([00:07], Karen Cook).
• The tight-knit Memphis Corvette Club forms the backdrop, integral to Tina and Joe Corona’s social lives.

2. Tina's Disappearance

• Tina Corona vanishes on a Saturday morning, after leaving in the family’s black Chevrolet Avalanche to shop for supplies for a social event ([01:28]).
• Husband Joe becomes anxious when he can't reach her, prompting an organized search by friends and fellow club members ([02:43]).
• Tina's body is found on Monday in the back of her SUV, wrapped in blankets on a quiet suburban street ([03:10], [04:21]).

3. Initial Reactions and Shock

• Grieving friends and family recount disbelief and emotional devastation upon the news of Tina’s death ([04:54], [09:10]).
• Joe immediately becomes a suspect, as is common in spousal murders ([03:33]). He provides Joe’s friend as an alibi ([03:45]).

4. Early Theory: Staged Crime Scene

• Police quickly notice inconsistencies:
  • No sign of struggle or theft, jewelry left on the body, hands loosely duct-taped ([10:04], [10:23]).
  • The body and car were discovered in a safe residential area, not a typical location for a carjacking ([11:01]).
• “Law enforcement officers would look at this scene and think, this has got to be staged.” ([10:46], Tom Henderson)

5. Relationships Under the Microscope

• Tina and Joe’s relationship appeared happy on the surface: shows of affection, shared hobbies, and no apparent discord ([07:20]).
• Over time, friends noticed odd behaviors—Joe’s controlling tendencies and Tina’s estrangement from her mother ([07:45], [08:02]).
• The family rift stemmed from financial disputes and Joe’s effort to isolate Tina from her mother ([08:21]).

6. Notable Moments: Funeral and Suspicion

• Joe’s behavior at Tina’s funeral raises eyebrows, with some friends finding his actions inappropriate ([13:19]).
  • “They played I’ll Have Another Beer In Mexico at her funeral, which was disgusting for me.” ([13:19], Karen Cook)
• Close friends Gary and Pat Hathaway become suspicious due to inconsistencies in the couple’s car storage logistics and the strong smell of bleach in the home ([14:11], [16:11]).

7. Joe’s Alibi and Breakdown of His Story

• Detailed analysis of the family’s eight cars leads friends to question Joe’s timeline and alibi ([15:21], [15:41]).
• Gary Hathaway: Realizes the only missing car, the Avalanche, links directly to the murder location, casting fresh doubts on Joe’s innocence ([16:05]).
  • “He did it? Yep.” ([16:11], Tom Henderson)

8. The Affair and Further Motives

• Investigation reveals an eight-year affair between Joe and friend Becky Black ([20:26], [20:51]).
• Becky is enlisted by police to wear a wire, but Joe does not confess ("Honey, I didn't do it, okay?..." [22:43], Tom Henderson).
• Prosecutors doubt the affair alone provides motive, pointing instead to financial turmoil ([23:14]).

9. Financial Crimes and Hidden Motive

• Tina had been pushing for a new house; Joe, unbeknownst to her, lacked the funds and had no approved mortgage ([23:28], [24:05]).
• Investigation uncovers Joe’s elaborate scheme: he had been embezzling and defrauding friends, clients, and Tina out of over $780,000 ([24:16], [25:28]).
  • “Joe Corona was in trouble because his con was about to be exposed…if she were to find out, that would have been the end of it.” ([25:28], Tom Henderson)

10. Arrest and Trial

• As evidence mounts, Joe flees but is found hiding in a Tennessee hotel after a 17-day manhunt ([26:05], [26:51]).
• Joe is charged with first-degree murder despite the case being circumstantial without physical evidence ([27:11], [27:28]).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

“Memphis is a music city… but there is a darker side where we have quite a bit of crime and quite a few homicides.”
– Karen Cook [00:07]

“If both of those cars are there [at the house], what car did he drive to the storage shed… Every car… was still at the house, except for the Avalanche.”
– Tom Henderson [15:21]

“He did it? Yep.”
– Tom Henderson [16:11]

“He was covering it up using some fraudulent bank accounts.”
– Tom Henderson [24:38]

“If she were to find out that he's stealing from their friends and relatives and hiding it from her and defrauding her, that would have been the end of it. And he'd have been back working at Shoe Carnival.”
– Tom Henderson [25:28]

“He stole from an elderly man, from infant to elder. He had absolutely no compunction who he stole from. And all of that was going to be coming to White as soon as that house did not close.”
– Karen Cook, closing arguments [39:41]

“You can finally be happy. You can finally move on. If there’s not a day that goes by, I won’t think about her, love her. I miss her every day.”
– Tom Henderson [41:34] (about Tina)

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Key Segments & Timestamps

• 00:07 – 04:21: Memphis setting, introduction of key figures, and events leading up to Tina’s disappearance.
• 04:31 – 12:18: Discovery of Tina’s body, initial reactions, and the emergence of Joe as a suspect.
• 13:19 – 15:41: Funeral, suspicious behaviors, breakdown of Joe’s alibi using car logistics.
• 20:26 – 23:14: Revelation of Joe’s affair with Becky Black and her role in the investigation.
• 23:28 – 25:42: Financial motives emerge, uncovering Joe’s fraudulent actions.
• 26:05 – 27:11: Joe’s flight, arrest, and the start of legal proceedings.
• 30:05 – 32:50: The trial, examining evidence, doubts about police competence and lost footage.
• 36:02 – 38:00: Jailhouse informant John Bowers’ testimony tying Joe directly to the murder.
• 39:41 – 41:10: Closing arguments, jury deliberation, and verdict.
• 41:34 – 42:11: Aftermath, reflection, and sentencing.

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Jury and Evidence

• Circumstantial case: No physical evidence tied Joe directly to the murder weapon or crime scene.
• Key prosecution witness: Jailmate John Bowers reports confessions from Joe, including nonpublic details ([36:07], [36:26]).
• Defense strategy: Highlighted lost video evidence, police inexperience, and introduced reasonable doubt with witness inconsistencies ([32:19], [33:31], [38:00]).
• Verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to life imprisonment ([41:05]).

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Conclusion & Legacy

Joe Corona is convicted of his wife Tina’s murder—driven not by jealousy or rage, but by fear of the collapse of his fraudulent financial life. The case leaves friends and family devastated, betrayed, and forever changed, and stands as a sobering reminder of how even the closest communities can harbor hidden darkness.

Closing Reflection

The episode ends with a poignant detail: Tina’s Bible, discarded by Joe, found with a handwritten note—

“Worry is the greatest thief of joy. Right praying, right thinking, and right living.” ([42:11], Karen Cook)

In 2013, Joe Corona pleaded guilty to further counts of fraud and embezzlement, earning seven added years to his life sentence ([42:11]).

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For listeners seeking a compelling exploration of crime, betrayal, and justice—“The Usual Suspect” delivers a deeply human portrait behind the headlines.

Transcript

[Karen Cook]

Memphis is a music city. We have soul, we have jazz, we have blues. Everybody loves barbecue. It's one of those smells. When you come to Memphis, there is a darker side where we have quite a bit of crime and quite a few homicides.

[Tom Henderson]

We end up with some interesting trials.

[Karen Cook]

Business is good.

[Tom Henderson]

Call your next witness.

[Karen Cook]

I am Karen Cook. I'm an assistant district attorney General.

[Tom Henderson]

My name's Tom Henderson. I'm an assistant to the district attorney General.

[Karen Cook]

My name is Danielle McCollum. I'm an assistant district attorney and I was part of the prosecution team for the Tina Corona case. Tina Corona was a young woman from Tennessee. She was married to Joe Corona.

[Tom Henderson]

It always seemed like they were in love with each 25th of 2008. Tina, at the time, was the president elect of the Corvette Club. My wife and I were to host a Memphis Corvette Club progressive dinner at our house.

[Karen Cook]

For me, it's more of a social event than about the cars. Tina was supposed to get up and go shopping for some supplies.

[Tom Henderson]

I think Tina left sometime in the morning. She had driven the Avalanche. Joe called me at 11:30 Saturday morning to see if we could work on the Chevelle. So he came at one o'. Clock. And during the day, Joe had been trying to get a hold of Tina. She apparently was not answering her phone.

[Karen Cook]

Joe called, I think it was around five, pretty hysterical that he couldn't find Tina.

[Tom Henderson]

You know, I had people starting to show up. Never did see Tina.

[Karen Cook]

It's not like Tina to be that late for anything.

[Tom Henderson]

Wow, Tina. Tina's missing.

[Karen Cook]

I mean, this is Memphis. A lot of bad things happen.

[Tom Henderson]

There have been a number of carjackings.

[Karen Cook]

They were frantic. They didn't know if she was broken down on the side of the road or if she'd been abducted.

[Tom Henderson]

Joe and I and my wife went around looking the entire night all over.

[Karen Cook]

The place for her, looking for that black Avalanche.

[Tom Henderson]

Joe was on his phone basically constantly.

[Karen Cook]

They checked hospital stores, parking lots. They couldn't find it anywhere. They went to a police station, gave a missing person report, decided they'd pick it back up first thing Sunday morning.

[Tom Henderson]

Sunday. The Corvette Club immediately acted just like a family would. They got together and started looking, trying to find out what happened.

[Karen Cook]

They're probably one of the more well organized search parties because they had flyers, they had groups.

[Tom Henderson]

Nobody found anything. And everybody went home on Sunday.

[Karen Cook]

Monday is when Tina's body was found in the avalanche on Brannock.

[Tom Henderson]

One of the neighbors, they see a foot sticking out from a blanket and call the police. Word came that there was A body. And that shattered our hopes. Tina's dead.

[Karen Cook]

They were sure they had a homicide.

[Tom Henderson]

Obviously, Joseph Corona was a suspect at the beginning. Husband's always the first suspect. Joe turned at me and looked and said, well, you're my alibi.

[Karen Cook]

Joe said he had an alibi.

[Tom Henderson]

He was with me the entire day.

[Narrator]

I'm Maureen maher. Tonight on 48 Hours, the usual suspect.

[Tom Henderson]

When they see Tina Corona in the backseat wrapped up with blankets. Obviously this is not a suicide. It's not a natural cause as they know they have a homicide.

[Narrator]

Shelby county prosecutor Tom Henderson had a mystery on his hands.

[Tom Henderson]

They find no gunshot wounds, no knife wounds.

[Narrator]

Investigators weren't even sure yet how 44 year old Tina Corona had been killed. For that, they'd have to wait for the medical examiner. Meanwhile, friends tried to process the news that Tina had been murdered.

[Karen Cook]

We were devastated because we were hoping to find her alive. Of course, you always have hope till it's over and then it's just overwhelming.

[Narrator]

It's hard for Kathy Struna to picture Tina gone as life with her close friend was always an adventure. Tina's social life revolved around cars. As active members of the Memphis Corvette Club, she and her husband Joe traveled in their three Corvettes to various events, frequently socializing with Kathy and her husband Matt.

[Tom Henderson]

I would put Tina in my top five friends from my lifetime. She made you feel that special, and she was that special.

[Narrator]

That charm helped Tina professionally. Despite never graduating from college, she earned about $200,000 a year as a vice president with the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Joe Corona was also involved in finance, running his own company, Corona Investments. In his spare time, he tinkered on cars with friends like Gary Hathaway.

[Tom Henderson]

He had a great sense of humor and he was a funny guy to be around. And I actually did enjoy being around him.

[Narrator]

Tina met Joe in 1993. She was divorced with a four year old son, Todd. Joe, also divorced, was managing a shoe store where Tina, known for her collection of hundreds of shoes, was a regular. The couple married several months after they met and holidays quickly became family affairs.

[Tom Henderson]

There's Tina.

[Karen Cook]

Merry Christmas.

[Tom Henderson]

Merry New Year. Happy Hanukkah. Show them the tree she loved decorating for Christmas.

[Narrator]

Todd, now 24, has fond memories of those early years with Joe.

[Tom Henderson]

You think Santa did all right? He loved me and tried to act like my father. We had fun together. We been to baseball games together, football games together. We went all sorts of places.

[Narrator]

Over their 15 year marriage, Tina and Joe enjoyed a lifestyle filled not just with cars, but also cruises and Casinos, pastimes they shared with fellow Corvette club members Gary and his wife Pat. And how were they as a couple?

[Tom Henderson]

A very happy couple. You know, she called him Jojo.

[Karen Cook]

Well, they were always holding hands.

[Tom Henderson]

Great couple. I never really saw them fight. I've never saw them argue or anything.

[Karen Cook]

He would always buy her jewelry. If it wasn't every week, it was every other week. Or flowers.

[Narrator]

Joe accompanied Tina most everywhere. Behavior that could seem doting, but to friends, it was peculiar.

[Karen Cook]

He would never let her go to a nail appointment or a hair appointment. And did you ever talk to her about it? She wanted desperately to please him because she really thought he was all out. She had chemistry for him.

[Narrator]

More time with Joe meant less time with Tina's mother, Clara Murphy.

[Karen Cook]

I could see a change in Tina, you know, after she married Joe. I felt like Joe was trying to keep Tina from me. She made beautiful pictures.

[Narrator]

Eventually, mother and daughter were completely estranged, a rift stemming from an argument over thousands of dollars that Clara said Joe owed her family.

[Karen Cook]

After it was all over with, Tina gets up from the table, and she said, I've lost my family. And they left. And I never talked to her again.

[Tom Henderson]

14 months.

[Narrator]

Clara says she tried communicating with Tina, but her daughter refused until she received a surprising email. And Tina writes to you. I guess as long as I'm married to Joe.

[Karen Cook]

Mm.

[Narrator]

And I pray that we stay married. As long as you and dad did, we will never, ever get to work things out. That's exactly right. I know how you feel about him.

[Karen Cook]

That's exactly right.

[Narrator]

While the message may not have seemed hopeful, it did end with the words, I will always love you, Mom. One month later, Tina was dead.

[Karen Cook]

I can't imagine what her mother and her son. They'll never be the same.

[Narrator]

Friends gathered at the Corona home to support a distressed Joe.

[Karen Cook]

He walked in, and there was this glass bowl with marbles in it and a candle on the table. And he flipped, flung that on the floor.

[Tom Henderson]

He did seem upset. He came up to me and gave me a hug and says, you're not gonna leave me now, are you?

[Narrator]

Joe told friends and police he believed Tina may have been murdered in a gang related carjacking gone bad. Is it conceivable that people might have said, hey, you know, she was carjacked, or it was a random act of violence?

[Tom Henderson]

I think it's conceivable that the average person would believe that. The average law enforcement officer would not believe that.

[Narrator]

The carjacking theory would immediately be called into question when it was revealed how Tina's body was found. She was in the backseat of her Chevy Avalanche, partially nude, her hands loosely bound together with duct tape. And thousands of dollars worth of jewelry had been left on her body.

[Karen Cook]

I'm thinking, why would a criminal or a robbery or somebody do that? You know, it didn't make sense to me. It was just an add up.

[Narrator]

There was a lot that didn't add up for Henderson and the rest of the prosecution team of Danielle McCollum and Karen Cook.

[Karen Cook]

She was wearing sandals and the sandals were placed perfectly side by side just to the right on the front driver's side.

[Tom Henderson]

Law enforcement officers would look at this scene and think, this has got to be staged.

[Narrator]

Then there was the location. Tina's body and truck were actually found in a suburb of Memphis, a safe residential street in the town of Bartlett.

[Tom Henderson]

Crime is everywhere, but certain types of crime are not everywhere. There weren't that many carjackings in the suburbs.

[Narrator]

So you would expect law enforcement to be suspicious. But not Gary Hathaway, Joe's friend and alibi, who was about to make a disturbing discovery.

[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

That's National Debt relief dot com. Tina's gone. She's not coming back.

[Narrator]

It was time for friends and family to not just mourn the passing of Tina Corona, but to come together and celebrate her life.

[Karen Cook]

It was standing room only. People were standing up all.

[Tom Henderson]

It was just packed when we were leaving to go to the graveside. Hundreds of hundred Corvettes lined up back following us there. It was Joe's wish and he wanted to keep it lighthearted. Not a real sad formal affair.

[Narrator]

But some people thought the tone of the service was wrong and that Joe's Behavior in particular was inappropriate.

[Karen Cook]

They played I'll have another beer in Mexico at her funeral, which was disgusting for me. And he would do thumbs up to somebody over there on the side. I don't know. He was sitting in the front row, bent over like this, tapping his foot to the music.

[Tom Henderson]

Well, we were just so numbed, and we were confused about the whole thing. We're on Brannock street in Bartlett. This is where they actually found the Avalanche with her body in the backseat.

[Narrator]

Gary started having serious reservations about Joe as soon as Tina's body was found in the back of her truck on a quiet dead end street in a Memphis suburb. And in relationship to this. Where is the storage unit?

[Tom Henderson]

The storage unit is straight line, probably about two blocks that direction.

[Narrator]

Were you suspicious?

[Tom Henderson]

I was suspicious, yes.

[Narrator]

Gary was at the Coronis house on Monday when police broke the news about Tina. The coincidence about where the the truck was found was still bothering him when he noticed there was one car too many parked at the house.

[Tom Henderson]

The Chevelle is normally kept in the storage shed, and his red 80 Corvette during that period was kept in the house garage.

[Narrator]

So this gets a little complicated. This is a model that is not to scale, but it will help illustrate that in 2008, the Coronas had eight cars. Four that they kept at the house and another four that Joe kept six miles away here at the storage unit.

[Tom Henderson]

In order to get one car out of the storage unit, it was a whole lot easier to just take one car down there, swap it out, bring the other car back.

[Narrator]

So the fact that the red Corvette and the red Chevelle were both at the Corona house that Monday was a big problem. Why is the red Chevelle being in the garage such a big deal for you? Why is it so telling for you.

[Tom Henderson]

If both of those cars are there? What car did he drive to the storage shed to get the car, he would have had to have left a car there. Every car that's normally at the house was still at the house, except for the Avalanche.

[Narrator]

With four cars at the house and three cars at the storage unit, the question becomes, which car did Joe drive to the storage unit and leave behind in order to get the Chevelle back to the house? Gary realized the only car missing was the Avalanche, parked a half mile away from the storage unit. And the Avalanche has just been found several streets over with the body of his dead wife.

[Tom Henderson]

Exactly.

[Narrator]

Is that the moment that you said.

[Karen Cook]

He might have done it?

[Tom Henderson]

He did it? Yep.

[Narrator]

Gary kept his suspicions to himself until he and his wife Pat finally had a moment alone.

[Karen Cook]

We actually went to bed that night on Monday, and we couldn't sleep. He said, are you awake? And I said, yeah. And he goes, let's get up. He goes, I think Joe did it. I said, yeah, he did it.

[Narrator]

Pat had already thought Joe had been acting unusual the day Tina disappeared, but she immediately became concerned when she walked into the Corona home that Saturday night and was blown away by the overwhelming smell of bleach in the couple's bathroom.

[Karen Cook]

Tina didn't like bleach. She didn't buy bleach.

[Narrator]

She didn't use bleach.

[Karen Cook]

Mm.

[Tom Henderson]

Mm.

[Karen Cook]

She liked pine soldier.

[Narrator]

Gary and Pat continued to wrestle with their suspicions. That is, until Joe asked them to accompany him to the morgue.

[Karen Cook]

The act he put on was just amazing.

[Tom Henderson]

Yeah, he could.

[Karen Cook]

Quite the act. I never saw a tear shed.

[Tom Henderson]

He kind of stumbled back a couple.

[Karen Cook]

Yeah, he was just a couple of.

[Tom Henderson]

Steps, like, you know, making it look like he was going to fall.

[Karen Cook]

On the way back, he got in our front seat with Gary, and as.

[Tom Henderson]

They'Re driving along, he gets on his cell phone and, you know, he's saying that, yeah, yeah, it was Tina. Yeah, I've got closure now. No, no, don't send flowers. Tina didn't like flowers. Send some to charity. I looked in the mirror at my wife, and she's looking at me, and we're. We're both going holy.

[Karen Cook]

That's when I started getting afraid of them.

[Narrator]

That at that moment, even more chilling for Gary was the realization that Joe may have used him for an alibi.

[Tom Henderson]

Obviously, I'm thinking that he had already killed her when he called me at 11:30 and he was looking for an alibi. So Thursday afternoon, I called the Bartlett police and said, we're going to come over and need to talk.

[Narrator]

The Hathaways immediately began to distance themselves from Joe Corona, but friends like Matt and Kathy Struna continued their support.

[Tom Henderson]

We arranged for grief counseling for Joe at our church, and we took him to church with us. We took him. We had him out here for dinners at our home.

[Narrator]

Kathy even helped Joe pack up Tina's belongings about a week or two after her death.

[Karen Cook]

I asked him, I said, what. What do you want to do with all of this? And he said, I don't care what you do with it. He said, I just want it out of here. I don't want to look at it. I don't want to see any of her stuff ever again. So we were going through everything and putting it in boxes, and I found a box of her high school albums and photos and stuff like that. And he said, I'm just going to throw that in the trash. I said, oh, no, you're not. I said, that should go to Todd.

[Narrator]

More and more questions were coming up about Joe Corona.

[Karen Cook]

The Bartlett Police department worked hard to eliminate every other logical suspect, and Joe Corona stood out.

[Narrator]

But what possible motive would a man who routinely showered his wife with flowers and jewelry have to kill her? How about an affair with this woman?

[Karen Cook]

She thought that she was his one true love.

[Narrator]

As the investigation into Tina Corona's murder continued, friends like Gary and Pat Hathaway had grown increasingly suspicious of Tina's husband, Joe.

[Tom Henderson]

I sat there every day, expecting at any moment there was going to be half a dozen squad cars come with the lights flashing and everything, and they were going to haul out to get them.

[Karen Cook]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

But many questions remained, including, why would Joe want his wife dead? Searching for answers, some eyes turned to a woman the Coronas knew from church. Becky Black.

[Karen Cook]

Becky Black was a friend of Tina and Joe's. And I started having an affair with Joe. Started walking at the track, at the gym, and it started to grow into something more intimate and ended up lasting for about eight to 10 years.

[Narrator]

Did she cooperate? Yes. So right away, she copped to everything, the relationship?

[Karen Cook]

Yes.

[Narrator]

Becky Black met Joe when she was in her mid-30s, feeling unappreciated in a troubled marriage.

[Karen Cook]

He was filling in the gaps of the stuff that I wasn't, you know, wasn't getting at home, you know, opening the door, putting rose on my windshield, sending flowers to me at work. He paid her attention. He paid her compliments, just like he did with Tina. And so that gave her, you know, a false sense of security with him, and she was happy.

[Narrator]

Even after police questioned Becky, she continued to see Joe after the murder.

[Karen Cook]

I was kind of caught in between. It was like I considered him my best friend, Like I didn't want to betray my best friend.

[Narrator]

But soon her support turned to suspicion as Joe allegedly bullied Becky. She had had enough.

[Karen Cook]

He was getting meaner, more vocal, demanding that I do this and demanding that I do that.

[Narrator]

Becky told her husband about the affair and her concerns about Joe, which she now also shared with police. Seeing an opportunity, investigators convinced Becky to keep the pretense of the relationship going and to meet Joe in her car in a parking lot wearing a wire.

[Karen Cook]

I was afraid for my family's safety, and when they approached me to do that, I was more than willing. You love me more than you did her?

[Tom Henderson]

Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I Love you more than I've ever loved anybody.

[Narrator]

While Joe did repeatedly profess his love for Becky in those recordings, he did not profess guilt.

[Karen Cook]

All this time, I just kept thinking that maybe, you know, you may have done that for me, thinking that was the only way that you could get me. And then I started thinking. At first I was scared, and then I thought if you did, that made me feel special, Made me feel like.

[Tom Henderson]

Honey, I didn't do it, okay? And when I say I would do anything for you, I mean I wouldn't do something like that.

[Karen Cook]

He was convincing Becky that he didn't do it.

[Tom Henderson]

And the police.

[Karen Cook]

The police don't suspect him. He told her multiple times, I'm off the list. You're off the list.

[Narrator]

Actually, Joe was at the top of the list. But investigators doubted the affair was the motive for murder, especially when they learned Tina had known for years that Joe was cheating on her. A lot of people think this was about Becky Black.

[Karen Cook]

I think Becky Black was just a side issue.

[Tom Henderson]

How many times do you usually call her? Every day.

[Narrator]

Investigators were still searching for a motive when they learned about a home the Coronas were planning to buy.

[Karen Cook]

Tina had been wanting a brand new house out in Fayette County. A big house. They had been discussing it since the beginning of 2008.

[Narrator]

One week before the murder. After many delays, Tina believed the closing was finally going to happen.

[Karen Cook]

This house closing was a big deal to us as far as realizing that he was really running out of time.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors believe that Joe did not want Tina or the bank looking into his finances and that the closing was never going to happen. The reality was Joe did not even have an approved mortgage.

[Tom Henderson]

When you fill out the application, they're going to start checking your bank accounts. And Tina would have noticed it. And if Tina noticed it, she might ask questions.

[Narrator]

What Tina would have noticed, say prosecutors, was that Joe had built a financial house of cards. Instead of investing all his clients money, his company, Corona Investments, was scamming people, including Tina, their closest friends, and even his mistress, Becky Black.

[Karen Cook]

They didn't know anything. The friends and family had no idea.

[Tom Henderson]

Because he was covering it up using some fraudulent bank accounts.

[Narrator]

Investigators scrutinized the Corona's finances and found checks from clients and friends like the Strunas. How much money did you lose with him?

[Tom Henderson]

$15,000. Corona Investments is where we had to write that check. We traced the paper trail and find out that went into his personal account.

[Narrator]

And there was a $30,000 withdrawal from Tina's annuity requested by Joe 10 days before Tina's murder and deposited into his own account 10 days after her death. Police say Joe forged Tina's signature over a period of eight years. Investigators believe Joe Corona conned his so called clients out of more than $780,000.

[Tom Henderson]

Joe Corona was in trouble because his con was about to be exposed. Because Tina wasn't stupid. If she were to find out that he's stealing from their friends and relatives and hiding it from her and defrauding her, that would have been the end of it. And he'd have been back working at Shoe Carnival.

[Karen Cook]

Oh, he would have been in jail.

[Narrator]

Finally, police had a motive. They believed Joe was so afraid of Tina learning about and exposing his scam, he killed her. With this new knowledge of shady financial dealings, authorities went to search the Corona home for evidence, but Joe was nowhere to be found.

[Karen Cook]

As the pendulum starts to swing toward Joe Corona, that's when he decides he's going to bolt. And of course, flight is a real big indicator of guilt.

[Narrator]

Nearly five months had passed since Tina's murder. And now with Joe missing, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

[Tom Henderson]

I thought he ran to Canada or Mexico.

[Karen Cook]

Mexico. I thought Mexico because he liked warm places.

[Narrator]

But after a 17 day search, Joe was found much closer to home. A tip to a crime stopper line led police just 77 miles away to a hotel in Jackson, Tennessee. He has said that he was not on the run. Couldn't he have just been visiting someone?

[Karen Cook]

Sure. But then when the police knock at your door at the Howard Johnson and you scream out, I've got a gun.

[Narrator]

Joe Corona was armed, but so were the cops who knocked on his hotel room door. And after just 15 minutes of negotiating, Corona surrendered.

[Karen Cook]

We're ready on the state of Tennessee versus Joe Corona.

[Narrator]

With a mountain of circumstantial evidence, prosecutors charged Corona with first degree murder. They now feel they have their man and his motive. But with no physical evidence, do they have a case?

[Tom Henderson]

We didn't have the best shot in the world, but we're going to take the shot we had because that's what we're supposed to do.

[Karen Cook]

Do you have a dark curiosity? Heart starts pounding.

[Narrator]

Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries is a weekly.

[Karen Cook]

Podcast hosted by me, Kaylin Moore. Each week, I'll take you on a dark journey through terrifying true urban legends.

[Narrator]

And bizarre true crime cases, chilling tales of backwoods horror, and more. So if you're looking to join a.

[Karen Cook]

Passionate community of the darkly curious, check out Heart Starts Pounding on the Free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

And remember, stay curious.

[Tom Henderson]

There were a couple of us that had to be hit in the head with a shovel before we finally believed he could do such a horrible thing.

[Narrator]

After Joe Corona was arrested in March 2009, his friends were shattered by the level of betrayal.

[Tom Henderson]

I said, oh, my God, he's been playing us all like a fool.

[Narrator]

Not everyone from the Corvette Club, however, thinks that Joe is guilty. Like Patricia Turner.

[Karen Cook]

He called me from the jail in Bartlett. During the course of that conversation, he said, I did not kill her.

[Narrator]

Do you still support Joe now as we're getting ready to embark on the trial?

[Karen Cook]

I support Joe from the standpoint that I believe strongly in our judicial system. And.

[Narrator]

It angers me deeply that so.

[Karen Cook]

Many have already judged him.

[Narrator]

Almost four years to the day that Tina Corona was murdered. Both sides are now ready to present their case to the jury.

[Karen Cook]

The state's proof will show that the defendant, Joe Corona, killed his wife, Tina, stuffed her back behind the front and back seats of that truck, and left her parked on the side of the road.

[Tom Henderson]

And you will discover that the evidence does not fit the theory. And then when all is said and done, the only verdict that you can return is that Joe Corona is innocent. Killing his wife.

[Narrator]

Being in a jury, it's a shared experience. Four members of the jury sat down with us to talk about their reaction to the testimony.

[Karen Cook]

Were you prepared for it? Yeah, nothing could prepare you for it. I mean, you just thrown in there, and you just have to deal with the emotional part.

[Tom Henderson]

It affected me more than I thought it would.

[Karen Cook]

I determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation.

[Narrator]

The medical examiner could not say exactly how the killer suffocated Tina Corona, only that it was a slow death.

[Tom Henderson]

I mean, it's a pretty traumatic thing to process, and a person can actually do that. How long would you have to cover someone's nose and mouth for them to die of asphyxiation?

[Karen Cook]

If they were covered completely.

[Narrator]

They would.

[Karen Cook]

Become unconscious in 40 seconds to a minute. But to cause death, that hold more must be maintained. For approximately three minutes, had the medical examiner not broken down how asphyxiation happens. It takes perseverance to do it.

[Narrator]

The state starts building its case brick by brick, and Gary Hathaway is a key witness.

[Tom Henderson]

In order to get the Chevelle, you have to take a vehicle down there, leave it, and then drive the Chevelle back. Well, the cars certainly stood out. The positioning of the cars and also.

[Karen Cook]

Just the location of the where the truck was found in relation to the storage facility as well as the cars. Did you Consider robbery to be a feasible reason or cause?

[Tom Henderson]

No, ma'.

[Narrator]

Am. Detective Kevin Martin from the Bartlett Police Department was one of the lead investigators on the case.

[Tom Henderson]

We learned the value amount of the rings from Mr. Corona himself in the interview. And it's platinum, too. The ring is platinum. Okay. Gave us a rough figure of those rings being worth $30,000.

[Karen Cook]

The avalanche was parked, locked. If you're gonna make it appear as a robbery occurred, how about not locking? And if she was robbed, how about taking her rings off?

[Tom Henderson]

May I approach, you, Honor?

[Narrator]

But defense attorney Rusty White pounces on the opportunity to discredit the police.

[Tom Henderson]

Was that dusted for fingerprints? I don't believe it was, sir. Was that sent to the TBI for DNA? I don't believe it was, sir. They admitted that they didn't have the experience, say, a Memphis would have, or whatever. And I think the defense really hit on that. How many murder investigations have you done in your career? Part of or been lead on? Lead on. And how many of you been a part of? About eight. I don't think it was incompetence. I just think that it was just inexperience.

[Narrator]

And jurors wondered if it was more inexperience that led to potentially important evidence being lost. So this is your home. And then when you look kitty corner across the the street, this is the Corona's house. Jeff Cox is a neighbor of the Coronas. His home. Security cameras face the Corona house and were rolling the day Tina went missing. What do you remember seeing on the footage?

[Tom Henderson]

I remember him moving several cars around.

[Narrator]

And how about the truck? Do you remember seeing that going in and out?

[Tom Henderson]

The truck left, never came back.

[Narrator]

And could you see the driver in the footage?

[Tom Henderson]

We could not see the driver. What's your full name, please, sir? Jeffrey D. Cox.

[Narrator]

But at the trial, Cox testified police never knew about the footage until five months later, he told the jury. By then, it was gone. Recorded over numerous times.

[Tom Henderson]

I was disappointed when we didn't get to see that.

[Karen Cook]

And we would see some evidence of Tina leaving the house that day, as he claimed she did.

[Narrator]

So you were expecting it to exonerate or implicate in one way?

[Tom Henderson]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

But the person the jury was most eager to hear from was Joe Corona's mistress, Becky Black.

[Tom Henderson]

Can you tell us your full name, please, ma'?

[Karen Cook]

Am? Becky Black. I think we all had high expectations for her.

[Narrator]

Mmm.

[Karen Cook]

Because she was just surfacing in so many of the testimonies.

[Narrator]

Did Becky live up to your expectations as a witness?

[Tom Henderson]

No. I think we all really felt That I think that we thought she was gonna be the smoking gun or whatever. Tell me if you recognize it, please.

[Karen Cook]

I do.

[Tom Henderson]

What is that, please?

[Narrator]

Not a smoking gun. But jurors say a letter Joe wrote to Becky was revealing about his character and his true feelings for Tina.

[Karen Cook]

Never makes me feel dumb. Never loved for what she could get. Never pressured to do anything.

[Tom Henderson]

I think there was a couple of things in there that actually showed his feelings toward Tina. He said that Becky would never make him feel dumb. I mean, that to me, is a direct reflection on that somebody else had made him feel that way, that these.

[Narrator]

Were more against Tina than for Becky. So far, none of the testimony was hard evidence against Joe Corona. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence. Were you left wanting something tangible to hook this guy into this murder?

[Tom Henderson]

Well, I certainly think so.

[Narrator]

And that moment might just come from the unlikeliest of places.

[Tom Henderson]

Mr. John Bowers.

[Narrator]

Fellow inmate John Bowers. Were you worried that the jury would have a credibility issue with him?

[Karen Cook]

Absolutely. You know, it's a gamble. Sometimes. You don't know what the. The snitch is going to do when they get up on the stand.

[Tom Henderson]

He duct taped her and put a bag over here.

[Narrator]

It's been five days since the trial started. Thus far, the prosecution has only presented circumstantial evidence. Finally, they are about to call one person who claims to have some hard evidence against Joe Corona.

[Tom Henderson]

The whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you out.

[Narrator]

Who's John Bowers?

[Karen Cook]

John Bowers is a federal inmate convicted of manufacturing meth and happened to be in the same cell. And he talked to Joe. After ranting and raving about wanting to kill his own girlfriend, Joe decided he would, you know, say, hey, yeah, I killed somebody, too.

[Tom Henderson]

Would you explain to these ladies and gentlemen what that man told you is holding himself over the Pepper Building? He turned around and said they were in the house and his wife bargaining. And it escalated all the way back to the garage, and she was getting in the truck, that he duct taped her and put a bag over her head. Probably the most difficult thing hearing was the John Bower story that Joe told him in their holding cell. That's probably the most difficult thing to hear. He said he messed up and left her jury on.

[Narrator]

To add to his credibility, Bowers had a few details that were not public, such as Tina's salary range. Yet he was still a huge risk for the state. Would the jury believe a convict?

[Tom Henderson]

I thought he was believable. I really did.

[Karen Cook]

His only offense was he was A method.

[Narrator]

You believed him?

[Karen Cook]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Bauer's testimony is damaging to the defense. And Rusty White demands to know if he made a deal with the da.

[Tom Henderson]

You're hoping to get a time cut on your federal case by cooperating in this matter, is that correct? I mean, I ain't been promised anything.

[Karen Cook]

I don't know.

[Tom Henderson]

That's what you're hoping to get though, right? It would be nice. I think he was the first person for me that actually strung all the stuff that we had been hearing together and actually put it in a timeline. You swear to tell the truth.

[Narrator]

The defense then uses its best weapon, reasonable doubt. One by one, Brannock residents take the stand, contradicting each other as they recall when each one of them saw the avalanche on their streets.

[Tom Henderson]

I thought it was Friday.

[Karen Cook]

I was convinced all the time that it was Saturday.

[Narrator]

It was around three o'clock that afternoon. Then two more people testify. Each says they saw a woman matching Tina's description Saturday afternoon sitting in a truck parked on Branagh at the same time. Prosecutors say Tina was dead.

[Tom Henderson]

Her hair was short, light color.

[Karen Cook]

You're sure of the time? 5:45. Why are you sure of the time? Well, we had to be at church around 6 and we were leaving to.

[Narrator]

Go to church at 5. 45. Joe was heading to Sam's Club looking for Tina.

[Tom Henderson]

Do you recognize that car right there? It looks like a red Corvette. Do you recognize Mr. Corona in this picture? Yes, I do. He's in the lower right corner of the picture. What does that say as far as the date? October 25, 2008. 554.

[Narrator]

Finally, Joe takes the stand. But the jury is out of the courtroom.

[Tom Henderson]

And you understand that if you're convicted as charged, you're looking at life in prison. Correct. Have you decided what you want to do in this matter? Yes, I have. What is that decision? I will not testify.

[Narrator]

Joe Corona decided not to testify, and he and his attorney have declined repeated requests by 48 hours to be interviewed. As closing arguments begin, the defendant was living a lie. ADA Karen Cook hammers home the financial motive.

[Karen Cook]

He stole from an elderly man from infant to elder. He had absolutely no compunction who he stole from. And all of that was going to be coming to White as soon as that house did not close.

[Narrator]

Corona's defense attorney, Rusty White, strikes back with mistakes made by the cops.

[Tom Henderson]

They didn't swab the back of the car where the perpetrator would have been. You'll see these rings. And these are expensive. They didn't check these for DNA. Somebody tugging on a finger to take them off. I thought that was their best moment. Well, it's like the passion. And it seemed that he was really pounding on some things there and then I thought that when the prosecution did that last closing argument as well, then they shut the door on that.

[Narrator]

Prosecutor Tom Henderson's fiery closing reminds the jury of Tina's vicious, slow death.

[Tom Henderson]

All he had to do during that first four minutes was stop. She could have lived, but he kept it up for four to six minutes because he wanted her dead.

[Narrator]

Finally, the case goes to the jury. Less than two hours later, we the.

[Tom Henderson]

Jury find the defendant guilty of first degree murder is charged in the indictment.

[Narrator]

Guilty. The verdict comes four years to the day that Joe Corona buried his wife Tina.

[Tom Henderson]

And since there's no other punishment but life imprisonment, I will impose that today.

[Narrator]

For Joe Corona, there will be no chance for parole until the year 2068. By then, he would be 104 years old.

[Tom Henderson]

She'd be hugging me, telling me that you can finally. Sorry. You can finally be happy. You can finally move on. If there's not a day that goes by, I won't think about her, love her. I miss her every day.

[Karen Cook]

After Tina's death, Joe was cleaning everything out of the house that was Tina's. He threw her Bible in the waste paper can. Somebody brought the Bible and this is.

[Narrator]

Something she wrote in here.

[Karen Cook]

Worry is the greatest thief of joy. Right praying, right thinking and right living. In 2013, Joe Corona pleaded guilty to embezzlement, money laundering, and two counts of fraud. Seven years were added to his life sentence for murder.

[Narrator]

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[Tom Henderson]

You're welcome.

[Karen Cook]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Tom Henderson]

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[Karen Cook]

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[Narrator]

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