39°
Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. handed down a guilty verdict on Thursday, Feb. 1 following three days of testimony, said the Bucks District Attorney's Office.
Hibbs, a 35-year-old mother of two, was found dead in her son's bedroom after a fire at her Spencer Drive home on April 19, 1991, prosecutors said.
Investigators initially thought she died in an accidental fire, but an autopsy the next day revealed she had been repeatedly stabbed, had fractured ribs, and was likely asphyxiated, they said. The autopsy also showed no smoke in her lungs, indicating that she died before the fire, according to the pathologist.
For the next 30 years, Atkins — who lived a few doors down and occasionally sold marijuana to her and her husband — remained a person of interest in her murder, but always denied any involvement, according to the DA's office.
He was finally charged in May 2022 after a five-month grand jury investigation that included revealing testimony from Atkins' ex-wife.
April Atkins testified that her then-husband came home covered in blood on April 19, 1991, and admitted to stabbing someone and lighting their house on fire, the DA's office said.
"He then told her to call out of work and gather the kids because they were taking a trip to the Poconos," then-DA Matt Weintraub said in 2022. "She said he put his bloody clothes in the wash and showered."
It wasn't until they got back two days later that April learned it was Hibbs who had been killed, she testified. She claimed she kept quiet because she was afraid of her then-husband.
Witnesses also reported seeing a blue Chevrolet Monte Carlo — the same kind of car Atkins drove — parked near Hibbs' home on the day of the murder, prosecutors said.
DA Jennifer Schorn called Atkins' conviction on Thursday "a powerful moment."
“This family has suffered for so long and we were able to give them at least this peace," she said. "Obviously, their loss is unimaginable, but we are proud that we were able to do this, and I could not have worked with a better team."
His sentencing was scheduled to begin on Friday, Feb. 2.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lancaster and receive free news updates.
