Trial begins in 1991 Bucks County cold case homicide
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - The trial has begun for a 56-year-old man charged with murdering Bucks County mother and former neighbor, Joy Hibbs in April 1991 and trying to cover up the crime by setting her Bristol Township home on fire.
Joy Hibbs, 35, was murdered 33 years ago, but it took 31 years for police to solve the crime and now, everything will resurface for loved ones during trial.
The case went cold until 2022, when a former neighbor was arrested for Hibb’s murder.
Robert Atkins, a 56-year-old man from Falls Township, in Bucks County, voluntarily turned himself in to Bucks County officials, after a "tireless" investigation by Bucks County Detectives and a recommendation by a grand jury.
Atkins was charged with one count of first degree murder, one count of second degree murder, two counts of robbery and seven counts of arson.
Arrest and charges announced in 1991 Bucks County cold case homicide
Bucks County officials announce an arrest of a 56-year-old man in connection with in an April 1991 cold case homicide, in which a 35-year-old woman was found murdered and her home intentionally set on fire.
The Bucks County Fire Marshall determined the fire was intentionally set. An investigation showed Hibbs had cashed her paycheck earlier that day. Her wallet was found in the living room and her purse was found in the kitchen, with the contents strewn about, but no cash was found.
Investigators found Atkins to be a person of interest in the murder, according to officials. He was interviewed by police, but denied involvement in the case.
A grand jury was convened in January 2022, with Atkins’ ex-wife one of the first people to testify. In testimony, she stated Atkins came home early in the afternoon of April 19, 1991, covered in blood. He told her he stabbed someone and set their house on fire. He then told her to call out from work, get their kids together and they traveled to the Poconos. She told the grand jury he put his bloody clothes in the wash and took a shower.
Back in May 2022, officials stated a grand jury concluded that Atkins murdered 35-year-old Joy Hibbs on April 19, 1991, at her home in Croydon. She had been stabbed repeatedly and was likely asphyxiated.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub explained, during a press conference, Hibbs’ autopsy indicated there was no smoke in her lungs, indicating she had been murdered before the fire of her home was set.
The victim’s two children, Angie and David, who were 16 and 12 at the time of the incident, along with her husband Charlie, who is now in his 60s, all testified Monday offering evidence as prosecutors try to tie the murder to the 56-year-old.
Hibbs’s husband took the stand and described coming home to find his house in flames. He first thought his daughter had died in the fire, then learned it was his wife.
The non-jury trial is expected to last several days and neither Atkins’ lawyer nor prosecutors spoke during the proceedings Monday.
A judge will alone consider the evidence and decide whether Atkins is guilty as charged.