PA - Joy Hibbs, 36, Bristol Township, 19 April 1991

[ilovemew]

"Essentially, Joy Hibbs only had one enemy – the one who killed her – and for more than two decades, authorities have been unable to determine just who that someone is. This, to David Hibbs, is unacceptable. "I honestly believe they know who did it and they botched the investigation. All of the detectives who worked on it retired shortly thereafter. These were cops who had put their time in and were waiting to retire. They didn't know what they were doing."

Bilson says he understands David Hibbs is angry, but does not believe there is anything more he could have done. "I know the son thinks we did a ****** job, but it was his mother and if it had been my mother, nobody would have done it good enough, either. What he does not understand is, if you don't have evidence or probable cause, you don't have anything."

 

[ilovemew]

http://whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/1416/unsolved-brutal-murder-joy-hibbs

 

[ilovemew]

Here's the thing about the church people. Just so...strange...

" Shortly thereafter, the Rev. Furie Orlando, a minister at Bensalem Baptist Church, visited Joy Hibbs at her home. The 71-year-old minister was accompanied by another church member. Orlando, who died in 2004, discussed the visit in a July 1991 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. He said he came calling on Joy Hibbs after she expressed interest in joining the church when she stopped in at Easter. "I asked her if she was 100 percent sure that if she died, she'd go to heaven," Orlando told the Inquirer. "She looked a little disturbed to think that spiritually she was not ready for heaven, but we prayed there in the living room and she had tears of joy, for she knew then that she would go to heaven.” According to Orlando, she was "saved and born again that day."

 

[ilovemew]

Is the second person that accompanied the reverend ever mentioned by name in any articles? Not that I could find...the reverend was 71, but I'll bet his companion was a lot younger. Probably drove the reverend, 71's kinda old to be driving himself around to minister.
Hopefully someone can find some clue or LE will release a little more of what they have. They always hold back something! Which makes sense in the beginning but when a case gets so cold, I don't understand why they don't just give it all up, I mean, I do...but I don't.

 

[ilovemew]

If anyone has twitter this man, Ben Finley has written about Joy before. He may know if the knife was brought or was from the house.

Ben Finley
@Ben_Finley

 

[Solitaryone]

Thank's for posting this article.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/cri...cle_d768484e-3e8d-5e6f-b66b-929c93906330.html

This article is well written, something most media are unfamiliar with. I'd like to see more pieces written like this. There's so many cold cases that need attention. This case sounds vaguely familiar to me, though I don't live in PA. How horrifying! The witness that was taken to the "pot dealer's" apt. complex parking lot said the Monte Carlo parked there was not the car that was seen parked outside of the Hibb's residence. The dealer also had an alibi, being out of town. If the witness is correct, someone else could very well be responsible for committing this heinous murder.

The son David said he spoke to retired LE years later, and though he didn't want to say what was said, it sounds like the retired LE told him who the killer was thought to be. I got the impression he was speaking of the pot dealer, but that's just my take on it. Earlier on the day Joy Hibbs was killed, two people from the church Joy was thinking of joining visited Joy. Have all the parishioners been looked at? Joy had attended Easter services after being invited by a co-worker. Who is this co-worker? Has this co-worker and the rest of the people Joy worked with been investigated? How about the neighbors?

Joy's husband Charlie was cleared of any involvement, and there were no problems in the marriage. Joy's son David said he has no faith in the local LE there ( paraphrasing). The jeans Joy was wearing were still snapped, so LE does not think she was sexually assaulted. I think someone who knew Joy killed her. Whoever did this wanted any evidence that could link him to the murder destroyed, that's why the fire was set. If the killer was not the pot dealer, it was someone else who knew Joy. Has the reverend who was quoted in the article been investigated? Not accusing, just wondering if everyone Joy and Charlie knew were investigated. I also wonder if all who her childeren knew from school or the neighborhood was investigated?

How long had the Hibb's lived in the neighborhood? What about that bloodstained flannel shirt that was in the closet? Does LE still have that? If so, they should test it. LE needs to find that shirt and get it tested. LE also needs to investigate everyone who knew Joy Hibbs. The killer was someone known to Joy Hibbs.

Sorry for the length of this post! Thank's again for posting this case! I wishe I could remember why this case is familiar. Was this case ever profiled on any show if anyone knows?

 

[ilovemew]

Hi, tanks for responding, was begginging to hear an echo in here! All your questions are right on, I just need to add one very important one...was the knife brought, or from inside the house.
The reverend was 71, not saying that clears him but...
I also got the impression that LE and the son were talking about the pot dealer. But than I just can't get past the unknown person who accompanied the reverend. Were they ever separated, like at the end the reverend goes out to the car alone and...???
They could never find an excellerant and both the son and the neighbor said all the burners of the stove were on and the oxygen the son let in by opening the back door really set the blaze off. The neighbor doing yard work right across the street didn't even notice the fire until the son started yelling. Could it have been left to slowly start (burners, stove going/gas) when the church folk left. That wasn't that much earlier. Like half an hour. What are the odds a THIRD person came to the house in that short of a time and killed her, set the house on fire and left unseen...I know I'm repeating myself but WHO was the second person that came with the reverend. This church was new to Joy, essentially, this second man would have been a stranger in her house, seeing her for possibly the first time...invited in...asking her if she felt she would go to heaven if she died that day. I'd wanna know who that person was and cross them off BEFORE moving on... Did anyone from that church at the time drive a Monte Carlo?

 

[Solitaryone]

Hi, tanks for responding, was begginging to hear an echo in here! All your questions are right on, I just need to add one very important one...was the knife brought, or from inside the house.
The reverend was 71, not saying that clears him but...
I also got the impression that LE and the son were talking about the pot dealer. But than I just can't get past the unknown person who accompanied the reverend. Were they ever separated, like at the end the reverend goes out to the car alone and...???
They could never find an excellerant and both the son and the neighbor said all the burners of the stove were on and the oxygen the son let in by opening the back door really set the blaze off. The neighbor doing yard work right across the street didn't even notice the fire until the son started yelling. Could it have been left to slowly start (burners, stove going/gas) when the church folk left. That wasn't that much earlier. Like half an hour. What are the odds a THIRD person came to the house in that short of a time and killed her, set the house on fire and left unseen...I know I'm repeating myself but WHO was the second person that came with the reverend. This church was new to Joy, essentially, this second man would have been a stranger in her house, seeing her for possibly the first time...invited in...asking her if she felt she would go to heaven if she died that day. I'd wanna know who that person was and cross them off BEFORE moving on... Did anyone from that church at the time drive a Monte Carlo?

Good question about the knife! Was the knife ever recovered? If it was left there even with the damage caused by the fire and firefighters, wouldn't it still be somewhat intact? I can't recall if the article said anything about the knife. I bet it wasn't left there though. I'm curious about the two people from the church too. Who are they, and were they investigated? I'm still catching up on all the great posts and links, so I might have missed something.

Do you or anyone know if this case has ever been featured on tv? Maybe some show like AMW or Unsolved Mysteries? Maybe some other show? This case sounds vaguely familiar to me, and I'm sure I've seen or read something about this case, but I can't remember where.

 

[ilovemew]

I could not find it on Unsolved Mysteries, America's Most Wanted or the show Disappeared. I came across it in the Huffington Post while reading about another case they have cold cases and pictures on the bottom you can click on: this picture pulled at my heartstrings and so I clicked,

 

[ilovemew]

We have the Reverend ' name, and the church name, just not the second person's name...I'm sure LE does though-or they really did mess up.
Can u archive search for this interview he gave in 1991, I'd really like to read it!

"..the Rev. Furie Orlando, a minister at Bensalem Baptist Church, visited Joy Hibbs at her home. The 71-year-old minister was accompanied by another member of the church.

Orlando, who died in 2004, discussed the visit in a July 1991 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. He said he came calling on Joy Hibbs after she expressed interest in joining the church when she stopped in at Easter."

 

[ilovemew]

Hey, Ben Finley's article: http://m.phillyburbs.com/news/crime...84e-3e8d-5e6f-b66b-929c93906330.html?mode=jqm

 

[ilovemew]

From article (really there is stuff in this I haven't read anywhere else and more details).

Questions remain

David Hibbs remains skeptical of police efforts. Several years back, he met with a Bristol Township police lieutenant who has since retired and passed away, he said. David Hibbs declined to go into the details about what he was told.

But, he said, "From that experience, I didn't get anything more than doubt about Bristol Township's ability to conduct an appropriate investigation," he said. "And it led me to believe that they do know who the killer is, and that they did have enough but this investigation was botched."

 

[ilovemew]

More from article:
Guilt consumed her son. She died in his room. He thought he did something wrong, like leave his computer on too long, causing her to die trying to extinguish the blaze. (how horrible!)

But an autopsy the following day revealed that Joy Hibbs was strangled and stabbed five times - in the neck, back, stomach and abdomen. Smoke from the fire never entered her lungs.

 

[ilovemew]

I'm slow...this article has already been linked. It's just that good, it had to be mentioned again

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

So she went to the store, came home and took the dog for a walk, not long after the priest show up?.....I have been reading, so I take it she put the groceries away and they were not left out, and then she took the dog for a walk.......What kind of dog was this? Inside outside dog, big little?.......Taking her dog for a walk i would bet she didn't lock the door she went in and out of to walk the dog.....Was it a backyard dog?

The fire is interesting. It is set to destroy possible evidence. Which is what happened to the crime scene after the fire dept arrived and put it out.

All four gas burners on the stove were burning according to the son. Was the killer trying to blow up the entire house?......What was the product used to start the fire. Where they able to determine.

Were they renting this house or did they have a mortgage to a bank?

Maybe the person was there for another reason and she came in after walking the dog and he hide awhile. Than the priest showed up and the killer waited until they left.

Seems there was no one with a personal problem with the woman. No motive to kill her like that, and than burn the body. Perhaps he was instairs in the boys room and made a noise she went to investigate and he strangled her with the computer cord and stabbed her when she became unconiuse. After setting her on fire he left through the rear door, sliding door i believe it was and turned on all the burners on his way out. As if to blow up the entire house. Was there evidence a gas line inside the home had been cut to cause an explosion?

 

[ilovemew]

I can tell you in all my reading, everything I can find on Google, no excellerant was found.

 

[APIMaple]

New to this one here. EXTREMELY sad.

Here is a thought on it.
The computer and the boy's bed room. Seems an odd place to "finish" a murder. In 1991 computers were expensive and more rare than they are now. It seems to me that maybe someone... (garbage man? maybe who really knows?) may have got in the house while she was out with the dog. She comes in and he is quiet... maybe the pastor and friend pulled in right as she was getting in. Anyway... when they are gone, the burglar starts to get out and well, the rest is sad.
Reason I say this is because... well seems like they engaged each other in the room. And the cord was probably already out as the thief was trying to disassemble the PC and get it out.

Does this sound reasonable?

 

[Really?]

a computer in 91 was rare indeed. Add to that it was a kids????

....didn't the article above by Ben mention she had turned a dealer in to the police?...there is a motive, perhaps.

 

[AuggiesMom23]

Saw this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today. Reward in Joy's case has been increased.

The reward in a 30-year-old Bucks County cold-case murder was increased to $50,000

 

[Filly]

Does anyone know if Joy lived in Bristol proper or in Croydon?

Just seeing the Bristol Township police did the investigation. Wasn't sure if Croydon has it's own force? Although Croydon is the kind f place has it's own everything.

Odd I had never heard of this case and in those years I stayed with my grandparents alot. They lived right in back of the police station which is on bath road.

If they were not at work let me tell you none of those neighbors missed a trick. Especially cars. Ya gotta drive up there. They know cars.

So very sad for Joy's son. Maybe the reward will help?