Life Sentence For Man Guilty In Croydon Mother's Death

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —The Bristol Township man found guilty for the April 1991 death of a Croydon mother of two will spend the rest of his life in prison, authorities said.

Robert Atkins, 57, of Fairless Hills, was sentenced to life in prison without parole with an additional 15-30 years Friday, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

Atkins was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and two counts of arson after a four-day trial in the death of his neighbor Joy Hibbs, a 35-year-old married mother of two and medical assistant.

Hibbs was found dead inside her home on April 19, 1991. Police determined that she had been murdered and the house intentionally set on fire.

For two days, it was believed Joy Hibbs died in an accidental fire, but an autopsy later revealed that she was repeatedly stabbed, had fractured ribs, and was asphyxiated.

The autopsy also found there was no smoke in her lungs, which the pathologist said indicated she died prior to the fire.

The Fire Marshal’s investigation determined the fire was intentionally set with four separate points of origin, two in the kitchen, one in David’s bedroom, and one in the hallway.

Early in the investigation, detectives developed Atkins as a suspect. He used to live two doors away from the Hibbs and was known to sell marijuana to Hibbs and her husband occasionally.

Witnesses testified that Atkins threatened Hibbs in a dispute over the quality of marijuana he sold, and in the weeks leading to the murder, a rock was thrown through their home window, her car tires were slashed, and the back door of the home was kicked in.

Other witnesses included neighbors who testified seeing a blue Chevrolet Monte Carlo, like the one Atkins was known to drive, parked haphazardly outside the Hibbs’ home around the time of the murder.

Atkins’ ex-wife also testified he came home on the day of the murder covered in blood and soot.

He told her to call out of work, losing much-needed income, and then took the family on an impromptu trip to the Poconos, she testified.

During the bench trial, her husband and two children testified about Joy’s life and death. “She was loved by all, cherished by her family, and silly with her son,” Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said. “They were joined at the hip, inseparable.”

On the morning of the murder, Hibbs was in bed with the family’s new puppy.

Before heading to work, her husband scooped up their 12-year-old son David and put him on the bed with them, and soon their teenage daughter Angie joined them to play with the new four-legged member of the family.

“It was a beautifully mundane morning,” Schorn described.

Hours later, David was getting off his school bus after an early dismissal for report card week, when he noticed his mom’s car still parked and smoke coming from the back of the home.

Because of the fire and smoke, he could not get past the kitchen and frantically ran to neighbors for help, knowing his mother was home. When the fire was extinguished, the Hibbs' body was found on a bed in David’s bedroom.

The verdict on the 30-plus year cold case, Schorn said, reaffirms that no case is ever too cold to pursue.

“If there is a case out there that is unsolved and you think that taking another look —with the benefit of hindsight, the benefit of the passage of time, the benefit of fresh eyes looking over a case – bring us your cases."