The day of the homicide, Robert Atkins went again to his house lined in blood and informed his spouse they had been leaving.
The story of Pleasure Hibbs acquired the Dateline therapy, and reporter Blayne Alexander mentioned this was one of many extra emotional circumstances to cowl. In a dialog with NBC Insider, Alexander mentioned, “I feel viewers will actually be struck by the persistence of this household, particularly Pleasure’s son David.” Nearly each individual concerned on this tragic story grieved for Hibbs in their very own approach. Most of those people by no means received the possibility to fulfill her, but their disappointment is palpable.
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Hibbs was murdered in 1991 and it took authorities over 31 years to meet up with the person that did it. His identify is Robert Atkins, and he was a suspect since day one, however police could not discover the proof they wanted to arrest him. Lastly, one courageous individual got here ahead after years of retaining the reality of what occurred locked away. The place is Robert Atkins now? Here is what we all know.
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The place is Robert Atkins now? He’s spending the remainder of his life in jail.
In Might 2022, Bucks County District Lawyer Matthew Weintraub introduced that Robert Francis Atkins, age 56, was being arrested in reference to the homicide of Hibbs, per NBC Philadelphia. The outlet was capable of catch Atkins being escorted into the police station, handcuffed and flanked on either side by regulation enforcement. He didn’t make any statements and solely seemed down, stone-faced whereas chewing gum.
Nearly two years later in February 2024, NBC Philadelphia once more reported that Atkins was “convicted of first-degree homicide, arson, and different offenses for the 1991 homicide of Pleasure Hibbs.” He was then given a life sentence with out parole in addition to an additional 15 to 30 years. He’s presently incarcerated on the State Correctional Establishment at Camp Hill in Camp Hill, Penn.
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A press release from Hibbs’s household thanked District Lawyer Matt Weintraub, Chief Deputy DA Jennifer Schornm, and Detective David Hanks for doggedly looking for solutions. Additionally they expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of affection and help from the group and ask that you simply respect our privateness throughout this troublesome time.”
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What occurred to Jennifer Hibbs?
The picture of coming house to his home on fireplace will stick with David Hibbs ceaselessly. Based on NBC Philadelphia On April 19, 1991, 12 year-old David was set free of faculty early and arrived house to seek out the kitchen of their home was engulfed in flames. Terrified, he ran subsequent door to his neighbor’s home so they may name the hearth division. As soon as the hearth was out, authorities found Hibbs’s physique in her son’s room. Initially, they thought it was an accident.
An post-mortem would later reveal that Hibbs had been stabbed a number of instances. Though she died from asphyxiation, no smoke was present in her lungs, and Hibbs’s ribs had been damaged. Previous to her dying, Hibbs had cashed her paycheck however authorities couldn’t discover any cash on the crime scene. Witnesses noticed a blue Chevrolet Monte Carlo parked outdoors their house throughout the time Hibbs was most certainly killed. Authorities linked it to Robert Atkins, a former neighbor.
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Atkins used to often promote marijuana to Hibbs and her husband, however in a wierd twist, he was additionally a confidential informant for “Bristol Township Police Division on the time of the homicide, and had a ‘good relationship’ with Bristol Township narcotics detectives.” It is doable this stored the authorities off of him till there was a break within the case in January 2022.
The case was handed over to the Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury, and Atkins’s ex-wife April was referred to as to testify. She informed the grand jury that on the day Hibbs was killed, her then-husband got here house lined in blood. He informed April what occurred and demanded she “name out of labor and get their kids as a result of they had been taking a visit to the Poconos.” April remained quiet till she was lastly compelled to speak.