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Dateline takes us back to one of Bucks County's darkest chapters: the murder of 35-year-old Joy Hibbs in 1991. The man behind it, Robert Atkins, managed to avoid justice for more than three decades.
He wasn't just Joy's neighbor but someone with a history of drug dealing and a violent temper. Now serving life in prison, his story is as chilling as it is infuriating.
Dateline: Who is Robert Atkins, and what do we know about his crimes? Disturbing details of the 1991 case, revisited
The brutal killing that shocked Bristol Township:
On April 19, 1991, the Hibbs family's quiet Pennsylvania neighborhood turned into a crime scene no one could forget. Joy Hibbs, a mother of two, was discovered dead after a fire tore through her home.
At first, authorities thought it was an accidental blaze, but the autopsy shattered that illusion. Joy had been beaten, stabbed multiple times, her ribs broken, and strangled with an electrical cord. What made it even more harrowing was that no smoke was found in her lungs, which meant she was killed before the fire even began.
Her son David, only 12 at the time, came home to see flames in the kitchen. He later told Dateline correspondent Blayne Alexander that weeks before, he overheard his mother arguing with Robert Atkins about a bad marijuana deal.
David said in the Dateline episode,
"I knew my mom was shaken...But I don't think she took it serious because it's, you know, a $20 marijuana deal."
That small-time dispute soon spiraled into something much bigger. Eyewitnesses spotted a Chevrolet Monte Carlo outside the Hibbs' home on the day of the murder, and Joy's tires had been slashed in the weeks leading up to it.
Suspicion quickly circled Robert, who was known for his explosive temper. David recalled on Dateline,
"You could hear him. You could hear him from our house."
Why it took more than 30 years to bring Robert Atkins to justice:
Even though Robert Atkins was considered a suspect early on, the case was left cold for decades. Back in 1991, investigators claimed his alibi placed him at home on the phone and later in the Poconos with his family.
Retired Detective Lt. Richard Bilson even said two detectives confirmed Robert was at the getaway spot around the time Joy was killed. But those timelines didn't hold up under new eyes years later.
It wasn't until 2014, when Sgt. Mike Slaughter revisited the case, and things began to unravel. He discovered something deeply troubling: Robert Atkins had been working as a confidential drug informant for the police at the time of Joy's murder.
According to Slaughter on Dateline, higher-ups had told detectives to "stay away" from Atkins because of his informant role. He said,
"We can get drug intel all the time...It doesn't make sense, in my brain."
Then came the biggest breakthrough: Robert's ex-wife, April, revealed in 2016 that he had returned home "covered in blood" the day Joy was murdered. She told Dateline that Robert admitted,
"I stabbed somebody and lit a house on fire."
April also described years of abuse that kept her from speaking up sooner.
By 2022, after Joy's family publicly offered a $50,000 reward and pushed for justice, a grand jury finally recommended charges. Robert Atkins was indicted for first-degree murder, arson, and robbery.
In January 2024, a Bucks County judge convicted him and sentenced him to life without parole, plus 30 years for arson.
The Hibbs family’s long fight for justice:
For Joy's husband, Charlie, and her children, David and Angie, the conviction closed a painful chapter but left scars that never fully healed. Charlie told the court at Robert's sentencing that his only goal had been
"To take away everything Robert cherishes."
He addressed Atkins directly, saying;
"Mr. Atkins, soon you will be enrolled in the real school of bada**es. I am tormented at the thought of what she endured. His intentions that day were pure evil."
David, who spent decades believing police ignored evidence, has been outspoken about the failures of the early investigation. In a 2014 interview with HuffPost, he said,
"I honestly believe they know who did it and they botched the investigation. All of the detectives who worked on it retired shortly thereafter."
Even at the trial, he argued that those who turned a blind eye in 1991 were "complicit in this crime and should stand trial."
Despite their grief, the Hibbs family made sure Joy was remembered for more than her tragic death. In a statement after Robert's arrest, they called her a "sweet, charming southern girl from central Florida" loved by everyone around her. Her son also remembered her joy for life, saying on Dateline,
"All of the things that my mom enjoyed doing, my dad also enjoyed doing... she loved riding on the back of his motorcycle with him."
Where Robert Atkins is now
According to Dateline, Robert Atkins is serving his sentence at State Correctional Institution Benner Township in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Even though he has denied April's claims of abuse, his judgment stands even today, and Atkins is to live out the rest of his life in jail.
His story is a reminder of how long justice takes to be served and how determined a family who grieves can make a difference when the authorities and people in charge fail.
Joy Hibbs' case did stay unsolved for more than three decades, but in the end, the ones who loved her refused to let her memory fade or her killer walk free.
The Dateline episode on Robert Atkins looks at not just the gory details of Joy Hibbs' 1991 murder but also the long frustration that followed after. Atkins, being a police informant, guarded him for years, while on the other hand, Joy's family carried the weight of unanswered questions.
His 2024 judgement finally closed the case, but the Hibbs' fight for truth and this specific case on Dateline remains a powerful lesson about corruption and the long road to justice.
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Also read: Dateline: Someone Was Waiting - A complete timeline of Anna Moses' homicide, revisited
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