Sergeant Mike Slaughter, a police detective in suburban Philadelphia, had been attempting for almost a year to interview retired police chief Thomas Mills in connection to a decades-old unsolved homicide. Finally, in December 2015, Mills agreed to a recorded interview and revealed that he had been instructed to stay away from a possible suspect in the case, Robert Atkins, due to his status as a confidential informant. Atkins was eventually charged, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Joy Hibbs. The revelation that Atkins may have been protected by authorities left Slaughter and the victim’s family furious.
David Hibbs, son of the victim, long believed that Atkins was involved in his mother’s killing. His suspicions were fueled by a $20 marijuana deal between his mother and Atkins that ended in an argument. After his mother’s violent death in 1991, authorities initially believed it was an accidental fire until an autopsy revealed she had been stabbed, beaten, and likely strangled. David Hibbs’ father was also under suspicion, despite having alibis and witnesses to confirm his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
Upon reexamining the case in 2014, Detective Slaughter found that there were minimal interviews and forensic evidence available. He interviewed Atkins, who denied any involvement in the killing, but admitted to being a confidential informant for the police department. Slaughter also discovered that Atkins’ wife had little connection to the victim and denied any involvement in her death. Despite reaching out to retired detectives involved in the case, Slaughter faced resistance and reluctance to cooperate in solving the crime.
After sharing the information he had learned from Mills about Atkins with the district attorney’s office, Slaughter was later approached by April Atkins, who provided crucial information about her former husband’s involvement in the murder. April revealed that Atkins had come home on the day of the killing wearing bloodstained clothes, confessed to the crime, and later threatened her to keep quiet about it. She also recalled a suspicious incident with a bag that Atkins asked her to hide. After enduring abuse and threats from her husband, April decided to speak out to Slaughter, leading to Atkins’ eventual arrest in 2022 for Joy Hibbs’ killing.
The arrest of Atkins more than five years after April’s revelations prompted questions about the delay in charging him. The district attorney declined to comment on the reasons citing ongoing legal matters, but suggested that the thoroughness of the investigation conducted in 2022 played a role. The handling of the case raised concerns about possible police corruption and a lack of accountability in the initial investigation. Despite the challenges faced by authorities and delays in the case, the arrest of Atkins provided a glimpse of justice for Joy Hibbs and her family after decades of uncertainty and frustration.
