'Dateline NBC' features 1991 Joy Hibbs murder out of Croydon. What to know before you watch

For more than 30 years law enforcement was unable to make an arrest in the murder Joy Hibbs, a married mother of two killed on a Friday afternoon in her Bristol Township home, which was then set on fire.

Then a Bucks County grand jury in 2022 figured out who was responsible in five months. Its recommendation to charge a former neighbor and drug dealer named Robert Atkins followed an investigation reopened two months before the panel was seated.

It turned out that Atkins was the only suspect police didn't rule out in 1991.

More on the 1991 murder of Joy Hibbs Did police ignore evidence in 30-year-old Bristol Township murder? Family seeks answers

The Hibbs family's long and frustrating journey for justice attracted media attention starting in 2011 with the 20th anniversary the cold case. A popular national blog published a piece in 2014, which included the only media interview with Robert Atkins. It was the first time Atkins was publicly identified as a suspect.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office reopened the case in November, 2021 shortly after Hibbs’ widower, Charlie, 68, and their son, David, offered a $50,000 for information leading to an arrest. The reward brought new national attention to the unsolved murder.

Earlier this year, the long-awaited trial of Atkins attracted national media interest again. The network true crime series, “Dateline NBC" sent a producer and film crew to the four-day bench trial where Atkins, now 58, was convicted of first-degree and arson charges and sentenced to life without parole plus 30 years.

In anticipation of the episode set to air Friday, April 12 at 9 p.m., here are nine key pieces of the Joy Hibbs murder case based on court testimony, media coverage, and public documents including the grand jury presentment.

What happened to Joy Hibbs on April 19, 1991?

Joy Hibbs, 35, was found dead on the floor of her son’s bedroom in her family’s Spencer Drive home, which had been heavily damaged in a fire.

Initially police believed Hibbs’ death was an accident, but within a day the autopsy revealed that she was dead before the fire started. She had been beaten, stabbed five times and appeared to be strangled with a computer cord. The fire was intentionally set to destroy evidence, police said.

How seriously did Bristol Township police look at Robert Atkins as a murder suspect?

It remains unclear. Robert Atkins was identified as a suspect within days of the crime after police learned about a lingering dispute between him and the Hibbs over marijuana he sold them. Atkins was also known to drive a blue Chevy Monte Carlo , the model car witnesses saw outside the Hibbs home shortly before the fire.

Bristol Township narcotics detectives attempted to speak with Atkins two days after the murder, but he refused. In 2022, it was disclosed that Atkins was a confidential drug informant for the department at the time.

Police interviewed Atkins about the murder only once at his Falls Township home five days after the murder. His then-wife April Atkins was present, but police did not question her, though she was close friends with Joy Hibbs. Police did not interview April Atkins until 2014.

Retired Bristol Township Lt. Richard Bilson, who conducted the 1991 interview, recalled in 2022 that Atkins was uncooperative and he refused a polygraph test. Bilson did not answer a question about why April Atkins was not questioned in 1991.

Police told the Hibbs family that Atkins’ alibis for the murder checked out and they couldn’t connect him to the Monte Carlo witnesses saw outside the Hibbs home.

At Atkins' trial, though, current and former detectives testified that they found serious problems with the handling of the original investigation.

A Bucks County Detective found no documentation of the first police interaction with Hibbs as a murder suspect.

Retired Lt. Samuel Wisniewski, the original lead detective, testified that Atkins was the only suspect not cleared in 1991. He also testified that he wanted to interview Atkins about the murder, but never did because higher ups told him multiple times to “stay away” and let the narcotics unit handle Atkins.

Wisniewski testified that he was told the narcotics officers didn’t want “anyone screwing up our narcotics deals.”

What was Robert Atkins’ alibi in 1991 murder of Joy Hibbs?

Robert Atkins claimed that his family was traveling to the Poconos for a planned weekend vacation when the murder happened. A coworker of April Atkins also provided police an alibi for Robert Atkins claiming Robert answered the phone when she called the house around 1 p.m. the day of the murder.

What is known about Robert Atkins' work as a confidential drug informant?

Virtually nothing. Bristol Township police officials have said no records exist showing how long Atkins worked as a confidential informant, how many cases he was involved in or what he was paid.

How many times did authorities reopen the Joy Hibbs case?

In 2014 the case was reassigned to Bristol Township Detective Michael Slaughter who submitted his findings to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office in May 2016. In November 2021, Bucks County Detective David Hanks was assigned the case and six months later the grand jury recommended filing first-degree murder and related charges against Atkins.

Photos: Joy Hibbs murder Joy Hibbs was murder in 1991. For 32 years Robert Atkins was the only suspect.

What new key evidence was revealed in later investigations?

In 2014, it was learned from a former coworker of Joy Hibbs a man called the medical office where she worked and threatened to kill Hibbs five days before her murder.

April Atkins called out of work less than one hour before her scheduled 3-p.m. shift started, and she called out of work on Saturday. Phone records also contradict Robert Atkins’ claim about the timing of the coworker's call on to their home the day of the murder.

The Poconos motel the Atkins family stayed at was a 90-minute drive from Falls, and a copy of the guest registry police obtained in 1991 showed the Atkins did not get to the motel until shortly before 5 p.m. the day of Hibbs’ murder.

In September 2016, April Atkins implicated her now ex-husband in Hibbs’ murder in recorded interviews, claiming the day of the murder he told her that he had stabbed someone and set the house on fire. She also contradicted Atkins' alibi that the Pocono trip was a planned family vacation.

What happened with the Joy Hibbs investigation between 2016 and 2021?

Nothing. At the May 22, 2022 press conference announcing Atkins’ arrest, then-Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, now a Common Pleas judge, acknowledged there was “no great reason” it took six years to bring the case before a grand jury. Weintraub took over as district attorney in September 2016, the same month April Atkins implicated her ex-husband in the murder.

How did the Hibbs family react to the arrest of Robert Atkins?

The Hibbs family has expressed gratitude to the district attorney's office and newer investigators. They have been openly critical of how Bristol Township police investigated the murder and its failure to disclose that Atkins was a confidential drug informant for the department. They believe strong circumstantial evidence implicating Atkins was ignored for decades and the department failed to aggressively pursue leads pointing to Atkins until after recent interest and involvement of news media in the cold case.

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: 'Dateline NBC' focuses on Joy Hibbs murder, Robert Atkins conviction