Joseph Corbett Jr. was born on October 25, 1928, in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in a typical American family during a time of significant change in the country. While specific details about his early childhood are limited, his later education showed promise. Corbett became a student at the University of California, where he pursued higher learning.

On January 13, 1951, Joseph Corbett Jr. was arrested and charged with the murder of Air Force Sergeant Allen Lee Reed. This killing occurred on December 22, 1950. Corbett was caught while driving a stolen car, and a gun matching the type used in the murder was found inside it. Initially, he pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty, facing a sentence of five years to life imprisonment. He was sent to San Quentin State Prison and later moved to a low-security section of the California Institution for Men in Chino. On August 1, 1955, Corbett escaped from that facility with another inmate.

In 1960, Corbett was connected to the kidnapping and murder of Adolph Coors III, the CEO of the Coors brewery. On February 9, 1960, Coors left home for work but never arrived. His abandoned station wagon was found with blood droplets nearby. This led to a manhunt, and Corbett was named as a suspect. The FBI added him to its Ten Most Wanted list in March 1960. Coors' remains were discovered in September 1960, with two bullet wounds in his back.

Corbett was apprehended on October 29, 1960, in Vancouver after a woman reported a suspicious person matching his description. He was extradited to the United States, where the state of Colorado charged him with murder. He was convicted of first-degree murder on March 29, 1961, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Corbett was released on parole on December 12, 1980.

In 1996, he gave an interview in which he insisted he was innocent. Corbett died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head on August 24, 2009.