Joy Hibbs’ 30-year-old cold case ends in a life sentence for the man who murdered her and set her Bucks County home ablaze

The man who stabbed Joy Hibbs to death in Bucks County more than 30 years ago before setting her family home on fire, was sentenced to life in prison Friday, with the judge calling the degree of violence and cruelty exhibited by Robert Atkins “unimaginable.”

After a three-day bench trial, Atkins, 57, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder and two counts of arson for killing Hibbs, 35, inside her Croydon home in 1991. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Pennsylvania.

On Friday, after victim impact statements read by Hibbs’ family, including her husband, Charlie, her son and daughter, and a granddaughter she never got to meet, Bucks County Court Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. sentenced Atkins to life in prison without parole, along with 15 to 30 years in prison for the two counts of arson, to be served consecutive to the life sentence.

Atkins, Bateman said, had robbed Hibbs’ family of a future with her.

“The depraved level of violence is almost unimaginable,” the judge said moments before handing down his sentence.

“They were living the American dream,” the judge added. “You didn’t just take her life, you took that from them.”

Throughout the 45-minute hearing, Atkins sat largely motionless, staring straight ahead and not visibly reacting, even as Hibbs’ family called him “evil” and labeled him a “monster” and as Bateman told him he’d live out his life in prison. He only spoke once to respond “No” when Bateman asked if he wanted to make any final remarks.

Charlie Hibbs said he hoped his wife’s killer would live the rest of his days tormented by his crimes. His goal for the last three decades, Charlie Hibbs said, was to make sure that Atkins would lose his freedom for what he did to his beloved wife.

The Friday sentencing serves as a resolution to a more than 30-year-old case that stunned Croydon, a small town nestled against the Delaware River, and left the Hibbs family traumatized, the last three decades shrouded in fear, anger, and mourning.

On April 19, 1991, firefighters arrived at the Hibbs home on Spencer Drive as it was consumed by flames, battling the blaze for hours. Amid the rubble, firefighters found Joy Hibbs’ body and an autopsy later determined Hibbs had been strangled with a computer power cord and stabbed multiple times in the torso.

Prosecutors said the killing started as a robbery, after Atkins and Hibbs had a dispute over marijuana Atkins sold to Hibbs. The dispute escalated after Atkins made threats to kill Hibbs and blow up her house, prosecutors said.

Despite family linking Atkins to Hibbs’ death, spotting a blue Chevrolet Monte Carlo Atkins was known to drive outside their home, investigators had dug into the crime for years with several leads but no arrests. In 2014, Bristol Township police detectives looked anew at the homicide, but the investigation built up momentum after The Inquirer published a story in 2021 about the case.

Atkins was arrested in May 2022.

One by one, ahead of Atkins’ Friday sentencing, family members remembered the matriarch with a “joyful spirit” and a “radiant” smile who was taken by them abruptly.

Angie Hibbs said the loss of her mother had created a void in her life and left her fearful of leaving her family motherless. Her mother was her closest confidant, she said, and she could not find it in herself to forgive Atkins for taking away a life lived alongside her mother.

“Every memory of my mother was lost to flames, smoke, and water damage,” said Angie Hibbs.

After the sentencing, District Attorney Jennifer Schorn praised the family’s poise amid the circumstances of reliving painful memories, along with the investigative work of law enforcement to bring the cold case to a conclusion.

“Meeting a remarkable family like that and knowing the work this team did, it’s powerful to feel like you helped in some way,” she said.

Atkins’ lawyer, Craig Penglase, and his cocounsel Niels Eriksen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Outside of the courtroom, David Hibbs, Joy’s youngest child, said the family was thrilled at the outcome, and had begun the process of healing after three decades of fighting to solve his mother’s case.

“We feel like justice is finally being served. We’re sorry that it took 32 years to get here, but we finally got justice for Joy,” said David Hibbs.