Family Tells Court The Impacts Of 1991 Croydon Murder, Arson

It has been nearly 33 years since Joy Hibbs was murdered and her body burned in an arson inside her family’s Croydon home.

On Friday morning, the man convicted of killing Hibbs learned that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

After hearing emotional statements from Hibbs’ family, Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman sentenced Atkins, 57, to life in state prison without parole for the murder and 10 to 20 years of additional time for the arson.

Atkins was convicted on Thursday following a three-day trial.

Atkins, who was a former neighbor of the Hibbs family and whose wife was friends with Hibbs, faced the death penalty initially, but the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office withdrew it from consideration on Thursday after consulting with the victim’s family.

The case against Atkins centered on the April 19, 1991 murder of Joy Hibbs and the arson of her home. Atkins’ arrest in 2022 followed a years-long investigation that received national attention.

Prosecutors said the murder resulted from a dispute over the quality of a small amount of marijuana Atkins had sold to the Hibbs, who were described as recreational smokers.

Charlie Hibbs, the victim’s husband, told the court Atkins actions were “pure evil” and caused his wife’s death under “horrific circumstances.”

Charlie Hibbs told the judge: “Joy was my high school sweetheart, my first love, mother to my children, and the loving soul that kept our family together. The choice he made that day broke our hearts but strengthened us as a family. According to my faith, I am supposed to forgive, and I am finding difficulty in doing so. But I hope that Mr. Atkins lives to be a very old man and thinks about the choices he made that day, and all the things he has missed while spending time incarcerated.”

“Mr. Atkins fancies himself a tough guy, a bad ass, a person who inflicts pain and suffering onto other people to terrify them to get away with,” Charlie Hibbs said. “Well, Mr. Atkins, soon you will be enrolled into the real school of bad asses. There, I dare you, to raise your hand and try to threaten, abuse, or victimize any of the students that attend there.”

He added, “As this nightmare comes to an end for my family, his is about to start.”

Angie Hibbs, the daughter of the victim, issued an impact statement to the court on Friday about her mother, who she recalled as being the “sweetest, most kind, caring person.”

“Your actions that day have affected every single decision I now make in my life,” she said. “I feel like I have to be in control at all times.”

Angie Hibbs called her mother’s killer a “pitiful, disgusting, awful man.”

“Your honor, I am satisfied with your verdict and the outcome of this trial,” said David Hibbs, who was a boy when he discovered his mom’s burning body after coming home from school.

He placed blame for Atkins escaping justice for so long on what he said was a botched investigation by Bristol Township police in the 1990s.

“As far as I am concerned, they are complicit in this crime and should be made to stand trial themselves,” he said.

David Hibbs commended Bristol Township Sgt. Michael Slaughter, Bucks County Detective David Hanks, and District Attorney Jennifer Schorn for handling the case the correct way in recent years.

Joy Hibbs worked as a medical assistant for Dr. Karen Fox at the time of her death.

Fox wrote the judge this week to say that Joy Hibbs worked for her for two years and was ray of sunshine in the office. She recalled the mother and wife talked highly of her kids and her relationship with her husband.

“Justice for Joy has finally been served,” she said. “I pray her family can now have peace, as the damage this event caused has permeated many lives.”

Hibbs’ family fought for years to get a resolution in the cold case.

The investigation into Joy Hibbs’ death initially mistook the cause as fire-related, but an autopsy revealed she had been stabbed, beaten, and possibly strangled before the house was set ablaze on April 19, 1991. Her body was badly burned.

Prosecutors described a pattern of escalating threats and suspicious activities leading up to the murder.

David Hibbs testified that he overheard a call where Robert Atkins, who has a distinctive style of speaking, threatened his mother in the weeks before her murder.

In the weeks leading up to the murder, authorities said someone tried to kick in his Hibbs family’s backdoor, slashed the tires on Joy Hibbs’ prized 1988 Mercury Cougar in the driveway along Spencer Drive, and Robert Atkins called the doctor’s office where Joy Hibbs worked to threaten her.

April Atkins, Robert Atkins’ ex-wife who was married to him at the time of the crime, testified that Robert Atkins walked into their apartment in Falls Township after the homicide and fire at the Hibbs’ home. He had dark blood-like stains on his pants and shirt.

Following the murder and fire, Robert Atkins and his family, including two young kids, took an abrupt trip to the Poconos, which the prosecution framed a way to flee as the investigation that was underway and create an alibi.

Defense attorney Craig Penglase argued that the investigation was flawed from its early years and suggested that the evidence against Robert Atkins was not strong.

The defense attorney told the court there was “reasonable doubt” that Robert Atkins committed the murder, started the fire, and stole the $63 Hibbs had just received from a check she cashed.

The prosecution and defense both agreed in court that the 1990s investigation was had problems, leading to the cold case being reopened in the mid-2010s after media attention.

Robert Atkins had been a police informant in the 1990s.

In her closing argument, Schorn said the testimony and evidence laid out by the prosecution pointed to Robert Atkins being the killer.

“We have proved that this defendant – then 25 years old – took the life of 35-year-old Joy Hibbs,” Schorn said in court. “That’s what he did.”

Following the verdict on Thursday, the Hibbs family showed relief. While Robert Atkins was stoic at the defense table. However, Robert Atkins later appeared to have tears in his eyes.

“This family has waited 33 years. Justice has been delayed but it must not be denied,” Schorn said.

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