June 10, 2025 • 19 mins
A little boy returns home from school to a shocking sight, his home on fire. His mother would be found dead in the aftermath, but there was another important discovery.. she was killed before the fire started.
Help support our work. Visit https://www.LordanArts.com today.
Thank you to The Huffington Post, Phillyburbs.com, Dateline, The Bucks County District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC Philadelphia, The Justice for Joy Website, The Michigan Daily, Wikipedia, Youtuber Gavin Fish, and Youtube channel heavy casefiles for information contributing to today’s case.
This episode was written by Kira McQueen, was edited by John Lordan and produced by LordanArts.
You can follow Kira McQueen's Missing Person's Advocacy at https://www.instagram.com/missinginwa/
This is not intended to act as a means of proving or disproving anything related to the investigation or potential charges associated to the investigation. It is a conversation about the current known facts and theories being discussed. Please do not contact people you are suspicious of or attempt to harass, threaten or intimidate them in any way. Do not release information that can be used to do the same, or join in attacks being conducted by others. Everyone directly or indirectly referred to is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Help support our work. Visit https://www.LordanArts.com today.
Thank you to The Huffington Post, Phillyburbs.com, Dateline, The Bucks County District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC Philadelphia, The Justice for Joy Website, The Michigan Daily, Wikipedia, Youtuber Gavin Fish, and Youtube channel heavy casefiles for information contributing to today’s case.
This episode was written by Kira McQueen, was edited by John Lordan and produced by LordanArts.
You can follow Kira McQueen's Missing Person's Advocacy at https://www.instagram.com/missinginwa/
This is not intended to act as a means of proving or disproving anything related to the investigation or potential charges associated to the investigation. It is a conversation about the current known facts and theories being discussed. Please do not contact people you are suspicious of or attempt to harass, threaten or intimidate them in any way. Do not release information that can be used to do the same, or join in attacks being conducted by others. Everyone directly or indirectly referred to is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
When the school bell echoed through the halls earlier than
usual on Friday, April nineteenth, nineteen ninety one, twelve year
old David Hibbs excitedly tossed everything in his book bag
and checked to be sure his honor role certificate was
still there. He knew that if he hurried home, he'd
be able to show it to his mom before she
left for work. As David approached their house in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania,
(00:43):
he saw his mom's car out front and knew that
he had made it a time. As he rounded the
side of the house to enter through the back door,
he noticed something seriously mysterious. There was dark smoke oozing
from event. His excitement quickly shifted to panic as he
flung the back door open, releasing a plume of black smoke,
and just past the smoke, he could see flames. Neighbors
(01:07):
heard his frantic screams and quickly jumped into help, pulling
him away from the home and calling nine to one one.
David thought his mom and their new puppy would probably
be taking a nap in her bedroom, but upon breaking
that window, the neighbors found her room empty. When firefighters arrived,
and extinguished the blaze. It became horrifically clear that David
(01:27):
was partially correct. His mom was indeed inside during the blaze.
When he learned that their puppy had somehow escaped, he
couldn't help, but wonder how was it possible that the
puppy had survived and his mom hadn't. The world of
the Hibbs family was divided into two vastly different realities
in a single afternoon. There was life with Joy and
(01:49):
life without Joy. I'm John Lordon, and today we're exploring
the salved murder of Joy Hibs. Joy Anne Auville was
born in nineteen fifty five to Albert and Tommy Auvil
in Okala, Florida, and grew up in Chiefland, Florida, as
one of nine siblings. Shortly after graduation, she married her
high school sweetheart, Charlie, a loyal and hardworking man, and
(02:12):
they had two children, April and David. Despite moving to Pennsylvania,
Joy never lost her delightfully endearing Southern accent and fondness
for saying things like give me some sugar when she
wanted to kiss on the cheek. She was a social butterfly,
beloved by both patients and coworkers at the medical office,
where she worked as an assistant. Charlie had a career
(02:34):
in construction, and by all accounts, the two seemed to
live a normal, comfortable life. In spare moments away from
motherhood and work. Joy like treasure hunting at flea markets, gardening, cooking, hiking, camping,
and watching football. You'd often find her listening to Van
Halen or The Rolling Stones on weekends. She enjoyed riding
(02:54):
on the back of Charlie's motorcycle, even if it messed
up the hair that she was always focused on styling
just right. Her son David, told The Huffington Post she
had a really good spirit. She was graceful, polite and
easy going. It seemed like she was a woman of dichotomies, strong,
sassy and gregarious, but gentle, maternal and kind. Initially, the
(03:19):
Hibbs family believed that Joy's death was a horrific accident,
but that changed when the medical examiner released his findings. Shockingly,
Joy was found on David's bed with five stab wounds
and a computer cord wrapped tightly around her neck. The
perpetrator had also stomped on her chest, crushing her rib cage.
The lack of smoke in her lungs confirmed that her
(03:40):
death preceded the fire. This was no accidental tragedy, but
a visceral, violent homicide. It felt personal. The fire itself
was said to have four places of origin, two in
the kitchen, one in David's bedroom, and one in the hallway.
Although the arson was surely a means of covering up
her it had tragically also turned every family photo and
(04:03):
reminder of Joy into ash. The cruelty of the crime
was unfathomable and bewildering. Her husband, Charlie said, I don't
believe in God anymore. If there was a God, this
wouldn't have happened. She never hurt anyone in her life.
She had me on a diet and not smoking. Now
I'd die tomorrow and I don't care. I'm sick to
(04:26):
my stomach all the time. The investigation into the baffling
homicide began by detailing the timeline of Joy's movements that day.
The medical office she worked at open late and closed
late on Fridays. After Charlie went to work and both
kids went off to school, Joy went to the bank
to cash a paycheck. Bank records show that she left
the bank at nine to fifty three AM. A receipt
(04:48):
from a grocery store then shows that she went shopping
and checked out at ten fifty four AM. Neighbors spotted
her out with her dog sometime just passed eleven, after
which two people from a stopped by Reverend Fury Orlando
said she was considering joining their church after she'd attended
once for Easter, and confirmed that they spoke until eleven
(05:10):
forty five or eleven fifty am. Both Reverend Orlando and
the church member with him were questioned and eliminated as suspects.
David arrived home around one oh five PM, so investigators
estimated the murder took place between eleven fifty and twelve fifty.
The cash Joy had received from her paycheck was nowhere
(05:30):
to be found, and Joy's wallet was stuffed in the
couch in the living room. Her purse was emptied and
thrown in the kitchen. While it was impossible to be sure,
police did not think that sexual assault had occurred because
the charred jeans that Joy was wearing were still buttoned
up at the top. The fire eliminated fingerprints and other
physical evidence, but they did have one clue A neighbor
(05:52):
named Christina Rodenbush told police that she noticed a blue
Chevrolet Monte Carlo parked haphazardly outside the Hibs home on
her way to work sometime between twelve and twelve thirty pm.
Bristol Township Detective Lieutenant Richard Bilson told Huffington Post there
was a suspect that developed to some degree of Robert Atkins,
(06:12):
he drove a Mony Carlo, and Charlie Hibbs readily admitted
he had purchased small amounts of marijuana from this guy.
Joy's son, David, recalls hearing Atkins yelling at his mom
over the phone just a few weeks before his mom
had been murdered. My mom was shaken by that conversation,
but I don't think she took it seriously because it's
a twenty dollars marijuana deal, he said. When asked if
(06:35):
there was anyone who would want to hurt his mom,
he just responded, he's the only person that came to mind,
and he heard Atkins say I will kill you and
blow up your house to his mother. Robert Atkins and
his wife April had been their neighbors for a time,
and April and Joy were friends. But just when this
who done it was feeling a little too obvious, the
(06:57):
police seemingly backed off Robert Atkins. He was in the Poconos,
said Detective Bilson. I sent two detectives up there where
he was staying, along with a photo of him, and
my detectives came back and said that they had verified
he had been there at the time of the murder.
It seemed like this hot lead and the murder of
Joy Hibbs had just hit a dead end. Soon the
(07:30):
police began to focus on Joy Hibbs's husband, Charlie, despite
the fact that he had a strong, verifiable alibi. He
was at a job site in Philadelphia with multiple witnesses. Also,
there were no known marital or domestic issues between the
high school sweethearts. Detective Bilson told the Huffington Post. I
spoke to people that knew them. I asked if she
(07:52):
was running around or if he ever complained about her.
Every time the people would just say no, no, no.
Everyone said they were happy and in love. Joy's husband
admitted that they purchased a small bag of marijuana here
and there to take the edge off, but other than
that they were law abiding citizens with no criminal histories.
Charlie was an avid biker at the time, and he
(08:13):
thinks that his tough, scruffy biker look made him look
a lot scarier and more dangerous than he really was.
He also admitted to having a bit of a temper,
but insisted he tried to keep it under control, especially
around his family. He maintained that Joy was the love
of his life and he would never hurt her. Interestingly,
(08:34):
there had also been vandalism incidents at the Hibs home
in the two months prior to the fire. On one occasion,
someone threw a brick through a window, and another time
their front door had been kicked off the hinges. Joy's
tires had been slashed in their driveway. She was scared,
but no one in the family had any idea who
would have done these things. David told Dateline. I was
(08:57):
asked by my parents if I was feuding with any
of my girlfriends or any friends that would want to
do this. We came up empty handed, no answers, and
so Joy's case sat nearly forgotten for decades by the
general public. Her kids, David and Nanjie, grew up. David
went to college in New York, moved to Oregon and
(09:17):
became a nurse practitioner, and you got married, started a
family and worked at an industrial safety company. They never
wanted the case to go cold, but there wasn't much
that they could do. In March of twenty fourteen, David
Lord the Huffington Post wrote an article about Joy and
rekindled some interest in the case. Joy's son, David, took
(09:37):
the opportunity to express that he suspected corruption and mishandling
of the investigation. I honestly believe they know who did it,
He's quoted as saying in the article. Detective Bilson admitted
in the article that Robert Atkins was a suspect, but
repeated that he had an alibi vacationing with his family.
(09:58):
The Huffington Post even interviewed row Atkins, who said, we
left for the mountains that Friday and came back Sunday.
Detectives I knew and respected came to my home that
Sunday or Monday, I believe, and told me what happened.
I honestly couldn't believe it because she wouldn't hurt anyone.
Twenty fourteen would be the year that police Sergeant Michael Slaughter,
(10:19):
a detective in Philadelphia was assigned to review the cold case,
yes a real life Sergeant Slaughter. Initially, he called it
a block of ice and didn't believe that he could
solve it, but figured he'd check it out. He found
that there were only a few notes about interviews, but
no records and little hard evidence thanks to the fire.
(10:40):
He tried to talk to now retired police chief Thomas
Mills about the case, but was initially refused. Mills finally
agreed to speak briefly in twenty fifteen, and in doing
so dropped the most critical piece of information in the
case so far. Robert Atkins had been a confidential informant
for the narcotics department in nineteen ninety one, and he
(11:01):
was told to stay away from him because of his status.
He was told to let narcotics handle Atkins, and the
files show that atkins interview in nineteen ninety one was
indeed done by two narcotics agents. A confidential informant is
any civilian working with the police, but in Robert Atkinson's case,
(11:21):
it was part of a deal to work off criminal
charges related to methamphetamine and steroids. With this information, Atkinson's
comment to the Huffington Post about detectives that he knew
and respected made a lot more sense. Sergeant Slaughter pointed
out to Dateline that even though Atkins was a CI,
this shouldn't have affected his status as a suspect. Why
(11:44):
a person who could be the murder suspect would be
protected just because of their role as a drug informant
for our police department. That doesn't make sense in any
kind of cop math, he said. With this new information,
Sergeant Slaughter went and interviewed anyone who was still alive.
He and Joy's husband, Charlie, spoke at length, and he
was confident that Charlie had nothing to do with Joy's murder.
(12:06):
Robert Atkins admitted to being a SI and fighting with
Joy over the small marijuana sail, but pointed again to
his alibi. He and his wife, April, were now divorced,
but she maintained in an interview with Sergeant Slaughter that
he was home with her earlier in the day, received
a phone call on his land line proving this, and
then they had gone to the Poconose. So that was
(12:29):
that until finally, in September of twenty sixteen, April had
a change of heart and told Sergeant Slaughter she was
ready to tell the truth. She said that on the
day of the murder, Robert had come home covered in
blood and said, I stabbed somebody and lit a house
on fire. He told her to call out of work
(12:49):
and get the kids ready to go to the Poconos
as soon as possible. Frozen in fear, she complied silently.
He'd originally told police that they arrived at their motel
in the early aftern noon, but records show that they
actually checked in at four fifty three PM. The drive
from his home to the motel would have taken less
than two hours, so it was clear that no one
(13:09):
had checked the actual records back in nineteen ninety one.
He also told officers that they'd planned the trip weeks prior,
but April's work said she called out unexpectedly. No one
had verified the info with her workplace in nineteen ninety
one either. The phone call that proved Robert was home
during the time of the murder prior to leaving for
the Poconose was looked into. Sergeant Slaughter found that the
(13:31):
person who made the call said it could have been
as late as one thirty pm. April added that while
in the Poconose. Robert had disposed of a bag in
a trash can while on a family walk somewhere near
the motel. She thought maybe it was his sneakers. She
was so afraid to ask questions that she didn't even
know the victim was her friend Joy until they returned home.
(13:53):
April claims Robert was physically and sexually abusive to her
over the course of their relationship, and used methamphetamines and
steroids that made him extra volatile. She called the police
a few times to report the abuse, but when nothing happened,
she gave up, feeling that he was being protected. They
eventually separated and divorced, but she kept up his alibi
(14:14):
because they shared children and she still had to interact
with him regularly. Despite the new information Sergeant Slaughter gave
to the district attorney regarding Atkinson's status as a CI
and April's allegations, it took until May of twenty twenty
two for him to be arrested and charged. When Atkinson's
extended family heard about his charges, they brought attention to
(14:35):
the fact that he had committed a strangely similar crime
against his aunt Charlene back when he was about fifteen
years old and she was thirty five. An article in
the Philadelphia Inquirer states that Charlene was a spitting image
of Joy Hibbs, from her slender frame and brunette hair
to her gentle Southern drawl to the women's identical ages.
(14:56):
Robert had strangled Charlene with an electrical cord and and
also stomped on her chest. He left Charlene battered but alive,
and she recovered and seemingly forgave Robert, who blamed it
on bad drugs. In twenty twenty two, April's testimony was
the strongest evidence against her now ex husband and helped
bring closure to this case. Judge Wallace Bateman Junior found
(15:19):
Robert Atkins guilty of first degree murder and two arson
related counts on February second, twenty twenty four. He was
sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and an
additional fifteen to thirty years. The judge also commented on
the delay injustice thanks to Atkins's status as a CI
if its corruption or ego, It's disgusting what happened. Judge
(15:42):
Bateman said the pain for this family was made worse
the case was not investigated, and they did not know why.
Joy's son was as pleased with the outcome of the
trial as he could be, saying, today's verdict is bittersweet
for our family. It's thirty two years overdue, but justice
has finally prevailed despite this case being solved. I think
(16:05):
it's important to share this story. I've been told several
times by families that I work with that they believe
a person of interest in their case might be a
confidential informant, and it's always to explain what they see
as some form of protection. This story shows us that
it's a real concern that it does happen. Why was
(16:26):
Robert Atkins protected? Joy's murder was certainly not committed to
benefit his CI work, and could he really have been
so valuable to his narcotics handlers that it's worth letting
a horrific murder slide. Sergeant Slaughter also can't wrap his
head around this. He told Dateline to hear that this
may have been a murder suspect that was traded in
(16:47):
exchange for drug deals, which are not a dime a dozen,
they're a penny a pound. We get drug intel all
the time. It doesn't make in my brain. In nineteen
ninety one, they knew that Bob Atkins was an informant
our police department. They were told to stay away from
Bob Atkins, and they did, and they have to look
in the mirror at that. A Michigan Daily article about
(17:10):
police corruption also brings up an important point. There are
no police for the police, only we the people. So
how can we help to prevent or expose cases like Joy's?
How can we hold the police responsible? Well, we can
share stories of these cases and bring attention to them.
(17:30):
We can call out possible police corruption like Joy's son
David did, and support the work of caring detectives like
Sergeant Slaughter. We can encourage those with information on a
case to call it in, no matter how many years
have passed. Charlie Hibbs read a victim impact statement in court,
saying Joy was my high school sweetheart, my first love,
(17:52):
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'm supposed to forgive, and I am finding
difficulty in doing so. But I hope that mister Atkins
lives to be a very old man and thinks about
the choices he made that day and all the things
(18:15):
he has missed while spending time incarcerated. As this nightmare
comes to an end for my family, his is about
to start. Do you have any insights for a case
you'd like to suggest, Feel free to send it to me.
You'll find a comment form and case submission link at
Lordenarts dot com. Thank you to the Huffington Post, Phillybirds
(18:36):
dot Com, Dateline, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia Inquirer,
NBC Philadelphia, the Justice for Joy website, the Michigan Daily, Wikipedia,
YouTuber Gavin Fish, and YouTube channel Heavy case Files for
information contributing to today's story. This episode was written by
Kira McQueen, edited by John Lordon, and produced by Lord
(18:56):
and Arts. Thank you to our audience here for the
live recording session and hosted on the YouTube channel Lord
and Art's Studio two. Special thanks to seriously mysterious financial
supporters Kira McQueen, Casey Schaeffer, Mel Stephen, Mike w Luciana,
Viv raven Nix, Christy Earnhardt, Chris Donovan, Robert Martin, SHAWNA. Blackwood,
(19:17):
Bridget Misty Kate, Sharon Ayers, Marianna plus three and Badger, Badger,
Badger Poppy. Most of all, thank you for listening. I'm
John Lord. Please join us again next week for another
case I know you'll find seriously mysterious
When the school bell echoed through the halls earlier than
usual on Friday, April nineteenth, nineteen ninety one, twelve year
old David Hibbs excitedly tossed everything in his book bag
and checked to be sure his honor role certificate was
still there. He knew that if he hurried home, he'd
be able to show it to his mom before she
left for work. As David approached their house in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania,
(00:43):
he saw his mom's car out front and knew that
he had made it a time. As he rounded the
side of the house to enter through the back door,
he noticed something seriously mysterious. There was dark smoke oozing
from event. His excitement quickly shifted to panic as he
flung the back door open, releasing a plume of black smoke,
and just past the smoke, he could see flames. Neighbors
(01:07):
heard his frantic screams and quickly jumped into help, pulling
him away from the home and calling nine to one one.
David thought his mom and their new puppy would probably
be taking a nap in her bedroom, but upon breaking
that window, the neighbors found her room empty. When firefighters arrived,
and extinguished the blaze. It became horrifically clear that David
(01:27):
was partially correct. His mom was indeed inside during the blaze.
When he learned that their puppy had somehow escaped, he
couldn't help, but wonder how was it possible that the
puppy had survived and his mom hadn't. The world of
the Hibbs family was divided into two vastly different realities
in a single afternoon. There was life with Joy and
(01:49):
life without Joy. I'm John Lordon, and today we're exploring
the salved murder of Joy Hibs. Joy Anne Auville was
born in nineteen fifty five to Albert and Tommy Auvil
in Okala, Florida, and grew up in Chiefland, Florida, as
one of nine siblings. Shortly after graduation, she married her
high school sweetheart, Charlie, a loyal and hardworking man, and
(02:12):
they had two children, April and David. Despite moving to Pennsylvania,
Joy never lost her delightfully endearing Southern accent and fondness
for saying things like give me some sugar when she
wanted to kiss on the cheek. She was a social butterfly,
beloved by both patients and coworkers at the medical office,
where she worked as an assistant. Charlie had a career
(02:34):
in construction, and by all accounts, the two seemed to
live a normal, comfortable life. In spare moments away from
motherhood and work. Joy like treasure hunting at flea markets, gardening, cooking, hiking, camping,
and watching football. You'd often find her listening to Van
Halen or The Rolling Stones on weekends. She enjoyed riding
(02:54):
on the back of Charlie's motorcycle, even if it messed
up the hair that she was always focused on styling
just right. Her son David, told The Huffington Post she
had a really good spirit. She was graceful, polite and
easy going. It seemed like she was a woman of dichotomies, strong,
sassy and gregarious, but gentle, maternal and kind. Initially, the
(03:19):
Hibbs family believed that Joy's death was a horrific accident,
but that changed when the medical examiner released his findings. Shockingly,
Joy was found on David's bed with five stab wounds
and a computer cord wrapped tightly around her neck. The
perpetrator had also stomped on her chest, crushing her rib cage.
The lack of smoke in her lungs confirmed that her
(03:40):
death preceded the fire. This was no accidental tragedy, but
a visceral, violent homicide. It felt personal. The fire itself
was said to have four places of origin, two in
the kitchen, one in David's bedroom, and one in the hallway.
Although the arson was surely a means of covering up
her it had tragically also turned every family photo and
(04:03):
reminder of Joy into ash. The cruelty of the crime
was unfathomable and bewildering. Her husband, Charlie said, I don't
believe in God anymore. If there was a God, this
wouldn't have happened. She never hurt anyone in her life.
She had me on a diet and not smoking. Now
I'd die tomorrow and I don't care. I'm sick to
(04:26):
my stomach all the time. The investigation into the baffling
homicide began by detailing the timeline of Joy's movements that day.
The medical office she worked at open late and closed
late on Fridays. After Charlie went to work and both
kids went off to school, Joy went to the bank
to cash a paycheck. Bank records show that she left
the bank at nine to fifty three AM. A receipt
(04:48):
from a grocery store then shows that she went shopping
and checked out at ten fifty four AM. Neighbors spotted
her out with her dog sometime just passed eleven, after
which two people from a stopped by Reverend Fury Orlando
said she was considering joining their church after she'd attended
once for Easter, and confirmed that they spoke until eleven
(05:10):
forty five or eleven fifty am. Both Reverend Orlando and
the church member with him were questioned and eliminated as suspects.
David arrived home around one oh five PM, so investigators
estimated the murder took place between eleven fifty and twelve fifty.
The cash Joy had received from her paycheck was nowhere
(05:30):
to be found, and Joy's wallet was stuffed in the
couch in the living room. Her purse was emptied and
thrown in the kitchen. While it was impossible to be sure,
police did not think that sexual assault had occurred because
the charred jeans that Joy was wearing were still buttoned
up at the top. The fire eliminated fingerprints and other
physical evidence, but they did have one clue A neighbor
(05:52):
named Christina Rodenbush told police that she noticed a blue
Chevrolet Monte Carlo parked haphazardly outside the Hibs home on
her way to work sometime between twelve and twelve thirty pm.
Bristol Township Detective Lieutenant Richard Bilson told Huffington Post there
was a suspect that developed to some degree of Robert Atkins,
(06:12):
he drove a Mony Carlo, and Charlie Hibbs readily admitted
he had purchased small amounts of marijuana from this guy.
Joy's son, David, recalls hearing Atkins yelling at his mom
over the phone just a few weeks before his mom
had been murdered. My mom was shaken by that conversation,
but I don't think she took it seriously because it's
a twenty dollars marijuana deal, he said. When asked if
(06:35):
there was anyone who would want to hurt his mom,
he just responded, he's the only person that came to mind,
and he heard Atkins say I will kill you and
blow up your house to his mother. Robert Atkins and
his wife April had been their neighbors for a time,
and April and Joy were friends. But just when this
who done it was feeling a little too obvious, the
(06:57):
police seemingly backed off Robert Atkins. He was in the Poconos,
said Detective Bilson. I sent two detectives up there where
he was staying, along with a photo of him, and
my detectives came back and said that they had verified
he had been there at the time of the murder.
It seemed like this hot lead and the murder of
Joy Hibbs had just hit a dead end. Soon the
(07:30):
police began to focus on Joy Hibbs's husband, Charlie, despite
the fact that he had a strong, verifiable alibi. He
was at a job site in Philadelphia with multiple witnesses. Also,
there were no known marital or domestic issues between the
high school sweethearts. Detective Bilson told the Huffington Post. I
spoke to people that knew them. I asked if she
(07:52):
was running around or if he ever complained about her.
Every time the people would just say no, no, no.
Everyone said they were happy and in love. Joy's husband
admitted that they purchased a small bag of marijuana here
and there to take the edge off, but other than
that they were law abiding citizens with no criminal histories.
Charlie was an avid biker at the time, and he
(08:13):
thinks that his tough, scruffy biker look made him look
a lot scarier and more dangerous than he really was.
He also admitted to having a bit of a temper,
but insisted he tried to keep it under control, especially
around his family. He maintained that Joy was the love
of his life and he would never hurt her. Interestingly,
(08:34):
there had also been vandalism incidents at the Hibs home
in the two months prior to the fire. On one occasion,
someone threw a brick through a window, and another time
their front door had been kicked off the hinges. Joy's
tires had been slashed in their driveway. She was scared,
but no one in the family had any idea who
would have done these things. David told Dateline. I was
(08:57):
asked by my parents if I was feuding with any
of my girlfriends or any friends that would want to
do this. We came up empty handed, no answers, and
so Joy's case sat nearly forgotten for decades by the
general public. Her kids, David and Nanjie, grew up. David
went to college in New York, moved to Oregon and
(09:17):
became a nurse practitioner, and you got married, started a
family and worked at an industrial safety company. They never
wanted the case to go cold, but there wasn't much
that they could do. In March of twenty fourteen, David
Lord the Huffington Post wrote an article about Joy and
rekindled some interest in the case. Joy's son, David, took
(09:37):
the opportunity to express that he suspected corruption and mishandling
of the investigation. I honestly believe they know who did it,
He's quoted as saying in the article. Detective Bilson admitted
in the article that Robert Atkins was a suspect, but
repeated that he had an alibi vacationing with his family.
(09:58):
The Huffington Post even interviewed row Atkins, who said, we
left for the mountains that Friday and came back Sunday.
Detectives I knew and respected came to my home that
Sunday or Monday, I believe, and told me what happened.
I honestly couldn't believe it because she wouldn't hurt anyone.
Twenty fourteen would be the year that police Sergeant Michael Slaughter,
(10:19):
a detective in Philadelphia was assigned to review the cold case,
yes a real life Sergeant Slaughter. Initially, he called it
a block of ice and didn't believe that he could
solve it, but figured he'd check it out. He found
that there were only a few notes about interviews, but
no records and little hard evidence thanks to the fire.
(10:40):
He tried to talk to now retired police chief Thomas
Mills about the case, but was initially refused. Mills finally
agreed to speak briefly in twenty fifteen, and in doing
so dropped the most critical piece of information in the
case so far. Robert Atkins had been a confidential informant
for the narcotics department in nineteen ninety one, and he
(11:01):
was told to stay away from him because of his status.
He was told to let narcotics handle Atkins, and the
files show that atkins interview in nineteen ninety one was
indeed done by two narcotics agents. A confidential informant is
any civilian working with the police, but in Robert Atkinson's case,
(11:21):
it was part of a deal to work off criminal
charges related to methamphetamine and steroids. With this information, Atkinson's
comment to the Huffington Post about detectives that he knew
and respected made a lot more sense. Sergeant Slaughter pointed
out to Dateline that even though Atkins was a CI,
this shouldn't have affected his status as a suspect. Why
(11:44):
a person who could be the murder suspect would be
protected just because of their role as a drug informant
for our police department. That doesn't make sense in any
kind of cop math, he said. With this new information,
Sergeant Slaughter went and interviewed anyone who was still alive.
He and Joy's husband, Charlie, spoke at length, and he
was confident that Charlie had nothing to do with Joy's murder.
(12:06):
Robert Atkins admitted to being a SI and fighting with
Joy over the small marijuana sail, but pointed again to
his alibi. He and his wife, April, were now divorced,
but she maintained in an interview with Sergeant Slaughter that
he was home with her earlier in the day, received
a phone call on his land line proving this, and
then they had gone to the Poconose. So that was
(12:29):
that until finally, in September of twenty sixteen, April had
a change of heart and told Sergeant Slaughter she was
ready to tell the truth. She said that on the
day of the murder, Robert had come home covered in
blood and said, I stabbed somebody and lit a house
on fire. He told her to call out of work
(12:49):
and get the kids ready to go to the Poconos
as soon as possible. Frozen in fear, she complied silently.
He'd originally told police that they arrived at their motel
in the early aftern noon, but records show that they
actually checked in at four fifty three PM. The drive
from his home to the motel would have taken less
than two hours, so it was clear that no one
(13:09):
had checked the actual records back in nineteen ninety one.
He also told officers that they'd planned the trip weeks prior,
but April's work said she called out unexpectedly. No one
had verified the info with her workplace in nineteen ninety
one either. The phone call that proved Robert was home
during the time of the murder prior to leaving for
the Poconose was looked into. Sergeant Slaughter found that the
(13:31):
person who made the call said it could have been
as late as one thirty pm. April added that while
in the Poconose. Robert had disposed of a bag in
a trash can while on a family walk somewhere near
the motel. She thought maybe it was his sneakers. She
was so afraid to ask questions that she didn't even
know the victim was her friend Joy until they returned home.
(13:53):
April claims Robert was physically and sexually abusive to her
over the course of their relationship, and used methamphetamines and
steroids that made him extra volatile. She called the police
a few times to report the abuse, but when nothing happened,
she gave up, feeling that he was being protected. They
eventually separated and divorced, but she kept up his alibi
(14:14):
because they shared children and she still had to interact
with him regularly. Despite the new information Sergeant Slaughter gave
to the district attorney regarding Atkinson's status as a CI
and April's allegations, it took until May of twenty twenty
two for him to be arrested and charged. When Atkinson's
extended family heard about his charges, they brought attention to
(14:35):
the fact that he had committed a strangely similar crime
against his aunt Charlene back when he was about fifteen
years old and she was thirty five. An article in
the Philadelphia Inquirer states that Charlene was a spitting image
of Joy Hibbs, from her slender frame and brunette hair
to her gentle Southern drawl to the women's identical ages.
(14:56):
Robert had strangled Charlene with an electrical cord and and
also stomped on her chest. He left Charlene battered but alive,
and she recovered and seemingly forgave Robert, who blamed it
on bad drugs. In twenty twenty two, April's testimony was
the strongest evidence against her now ex husband and helped
bring closure to this case. Judge Wallace Bateman Junior found
(15:19):
Robert Atkins guilty of first degree murder and two arson
related counts on February second, twenty twenty four. He was
sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and an
additional fifteen to thirty years. The judge also commented on
the delay injustice thanks to Atkins's status as a CI
if its corruption or ego, It's disgusting what happened. Judge
(15:42):
Bateman said the pain for this family was made worse
the case was not investigated, and they did not know why.
Joy's son was as pleased with the outcome of the
trial as he could be, saying, today's verdict is bittersweet
for our family. It's thirty two years overdue, but justice
has finally prevailed despite this case being solved. I think
(16:05):
it's important to share this story. I've been told several
times by families that I work with that they believe
a person of interest in their case might be a
confidential informant, and it's always to explain what they see
as some form of protection. This story shows us that
it's a real concern that it does happen. Why was
(16:26):
Robert Atkins protected? Joy's murder was certainly not committed to
benefit his CI work, and could he really have been
so valuable to his narcotics handlers that it's worth letting
a horrific murder slide. Sergeant Slaughter also can't wrap his
head around this. He told Dateline to hear that this
may have been a murder suspect that was traded in
(16:47):
exchange for drug deals, which are not a dime a dozen,
they're a penny a pound. We get drug intel all
the time. It doesn't make in my brain. In nineteen
ninety one, they knew that Bob Atkins was an informant
our police department. They were told to stay away from
Bob Atkins, and they did, and they have to look
in the mirror at that. A Michigan Daily article about
(17:10):
police corruption also brings up an important point. There are
no police for the police, only we the people. So
how can we help to prevent or expose cases like Joy's?
How can we hold the police responsible? Well, we can
share stories of these cases and bring attention to them.
(17:30):
We can call out possible police corruption like Joy's son
David did, and support the work of caring detectives like
Sergeant Slaughter. We can encourage those with information on a
case to call it in, no matter how many years
have passed. Charlie Hibbs read a victim impact statement in court,
saying Joy was my high school sweetheart, my first love,
(17:52):
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'm supposed to forgive, and I am finding
difficulty in doing so. But I hope that mister Atkins
lives to be a very old man and thinks about
the choices he made that day and all the things
(18:15):
he has missed while spending time incarcerated. As this nightmare
comes to an end for my family, his is about
to start. Do you have any insights for a case
you'd like to suggest, Feel free to send it to me.
You'll find a comment form and case submission link at
Lordenarts dot com. Thank you to the Huffington Post, Phillybirds
(18:36):
dot Com, Dateline, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia Inquirer,
NBC Philadelphia, the Justice for Joy website, the Michigan Daily, Wikipedia,
YouTuber Gavin Fish, and YouTube channel Heavy case Files for
information contributing to today's story. This episode was written by
Kira McQueen, edited by John Lordon, and produced by Lord
(18:56):
and Arts. Thank you to our audience here for the
live recording session and hosted on the YouTube channel Lord
and Art's Studio two. Special thanks to seriously mysterious financial
supporters Kira McQueen, Casey Schaeffer, Mel Stephen, Mike w Luciana,
Viv raven Nix, Christy Earnhardt, Chris Donovan, Robert Martin, SHAWNA. Blackwood,
(19:17):
Bridget Misty Kate, Sharon Ayers, Marianna plus three and Badger, Badger,
Badger Poppy. Most of all, thank you for listening. I'm
John Lord. Please join us again next week for another
case I know you'll find seriously mysterious
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