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Pennsylvania Mom's Brutal Murder An Enduring Mystery | HuffPost Latest News
''When David Hibbs exited the school bus on April 19, 1991, he was anxious to find his mom. It was a sunny Friday afternoon in Bristol Township, Pa. -- more importantly, it was report card day -- and the 12-year-old boy had just made the honor roll. Unfortunately, that happy moment in time proved to be short-lived. When the boy approached his house, a horror unlike any other he had ever experienced began to unfold before his eyes.''
''Firefighters were soon on the scene and a paramedic placed a still-hysterical David Hibbs in the back of an ambulance.''
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'Firefighters found the body of 36-year-old Joy Hibbs in her son's bedroom.
According to retired Bristol Township Detective Lt. Richard Bilson, the scene inside the bedroom was horrific.
"She was lying face-up on a mattress that was nothing but springs," Bilson told HuffPost. "Her body was black -- completely burnt beyond recognition. She looked like a mummy and the entire room was charred."
"The coroner advised us she died before the fire started," Bilson said. "He located five stab wounds, to her neck and chest, and there was a computer cord wrapped around her neck. At that point, it became a homicide investigation."
Unfortunately, there were few clues to be found in the home. The fire had gutted much of the interior and anything that wasn't scorched was watered down or unwittingly trampled upon by firefighters.
"There was nothing we could dust for prints or get DNA from," said Bilson. "We were literally without any physical evidence."
Fire investigators determined the fire was started in the same bedroom where Joy Hibbs' body was found.''
''Hibbs' body was too badly burned for the coroner to determine if a sexual assault occurred; however, an item found at the scene suggested she was not.
"When we examined her, her clothes were burned off, but the snap that was on her jeans -- the waist snap -- was intact and still closed," Bilson explained. "If her jeans had been pulled off, it is unlikely that the [perpetrator] would have took the time to redress her."
Bilson added, "The fire was set by the [perpetrator] to cover his tracks. The fire was strictly an afterthought, to destroy evidence."
In addition to the lack of evidence, authorities were having trouble establishing a motive.''
"She loved the outdoors," her husband, Charlie Hibbs, then 36,
told the Philadelphia Inquirer in July 1991. "She liked to fish, to work in the garden and to cook. We spent a lot of time together. We went everywhere together."
''Anyone with information about the murder of Joy Hibbs is asked to contact the Bristol Township Police Department at (215) 788-8289.''
