30 Years Later, Man Charged In Murder Of Bucks Co. Mother

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A Fairless Hills man has been arrested and charged for the murder of a Croydon woman that took place over 30 years ago.

Fairless Hills resident Robert Atkins, 56, was charged with the murder of Joy Hibbs, a mother from Croydon who was stabbed and strangled to death in her home in 1991, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to prosecutors, Atkins was the neighbor of Hibbs and her husband, Charlie; he sold marijuana to the couple while he lived on Spencer Drive.

An argument involving money led to Atkins strangling Hibbs with a power cord before he stabbed her five times, according to prosecutors. He then set fire to the house, which destroyed much of the evidence of the crime.

Hibb's husband, now living in Seattle, Washington, used money from his retirement fund to gather $25,000 as a reward for information that would lead to an arrest for her murder. That amount was later doubled to $50,000 when family friends pitched into the reward.

Hibb's case was reopened back in May. Atkins had been long thought to be responsible for the crime, but there was little evidence linking him to it.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub will be releasing more information on this cold case later today.