U. Penn. Prof Charged In Wife's Murder

Found Beaten To Death After Telling Friends She Wanted A Divorce

(CBS/AP)  A University of Pennsylvania professor was charged Monday in the bludgeoning death of his estranged wife, who told friends she was preparing to divorce him.

Rafael Robb, an economics professor originally from Israel, surrendered to authorities after being charged with first- and third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime.

Robb, 56, had told investigators he was in Philadelphia when his wife, Ellen, was killed Dec. 22 in the kitchen of their suburban home.

But prosecutors said his alibi did not hold up, and they had pressured him in recent days to prove his innocence.

Robb had said he took the couple's 12-year-old daughter to school that morning and last saw his wife alive at their Upper Merion Township home before driving to work at about 9:30 a.m.

District Attorney Bruce Castor said the crime scene was arranged to make it look as if Robb's wife, Ellen Robb, was killed during a burglary.

Robb "lied to the police about an obvious motive for this murder, his knowledge of his wife's recent plans to divorce him and obtain a significant portion of his wealth," police said in court papers.

He was arraigned on murder charges and jailed without bail.

Authorities said Ellen Robb's injuries were so extensive they initially thought she was killed with a shotgun blast to the face. The murder weapon has not been found.

Ellen Robb, 49, had told family members and others that she had hired a divorce attorney and was expecting $4,000 a month in spousal support after she moved out on Jan. 1, prosecutors said in court papers.

She was planning to move into a $1,500-per-month apartment by New Year's Day, the Philadelphia Enquirer reports.

Rafael Robb denied any involvement in the slaying last week when he was questioned by a reporter outside the courthouse, where he was complying with a search warrant for blood and fingerprint samples.

Castor has previously described it as "an exceedingly bloody crime scene" and said the attack was not random.

"Mrs. Robb was the specific target of this assault," Castor said.

A window in a door had been smashed, but Castor said several pieces of evidence led authorities to believe the scene was staged to look like a burglary. For example, broken glass from the door window had not been crushed underfoot or tracked throughout the house, Castor said.

"That strikes me as very unusual," he said.

Castor also noted Rafael Robb has not reported anything missing from the house.

Investigators have taken forensic evidence from the Robbs' home — including computers and financial records — and searched the couple's cars and the professor's office at Penn, Castor said.

Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor has said the murder scene was staged to look like a burglary.

Castor said investigators were interested in talking with members of the public who could discuss the professor's "personality, his habits, the way he interacts with people."

Shortly after Robb's wife was found dead, Robb's lawyer, Francis Genovese said: "It's not unusual in these investigations that they first start off closest to home. He is hopeful, as am I, that (authorities) are continuing to pursue all leads and not just focusing solely on him."

Robb has been at Penn for at least four years, according to a resume posted on his university Web site. Penn officials said earlier that they had arranged for someone else to teach Robb's graduate seminar in game theory this semester.

Game theory is used to understand consumer behavior. It is also used by military experts to develop nuclear warfare strategies.

[agnim]

"Agnim, HAHAHAHA

Now I know you're not trying to women mad ARE YOU??
What a CHILD!

Posted by linfinster at 12:03 AM : Jan 09, 2007"

Actually, I'm trying to save those women who can be saved from men who would delude them that women can just mess challenge men with impunity.

The 'mad' women are doomed to repeat the folly of the man female victims and wind up being victims themselves.
The way the real world works is that in any confrontation, THE DOMINANT GENDER COMES OUT AHEAD MOST OF THE TIME. And THOSE ODDS WILL NEVER CHANGE!

Therefore, the woman's strategy in dealing with the DOMINANT GENDER cannot be one of confrontation. The courts can't be relied on to protect women sufficiently!

[agnim]

"The example of your so-called 'dominent gender' is now in prison with the lowest of the low facing beatings, rape and disease for the rest of his life.
........
And both men and women do wrong things in marriages

Posted by nyckate at 07:24 PM : Jan 08, 2007"
At least THE DOMINANT GENDER USUALLY HAS A LIFE! And just how much time he'll spend in prison is up in the air.

The female on the other hand is spending time in a hole being ravished by worms in addition!

If you comment about 'both men and women do wrong in marriage' is meant give the illusion of 'equality', then you are wasting your time and need to look at the facts of life: Females who challenge males ALMOST ALWAYS get the worse of it, naturally. No 'equality' there!

[gladys_over]

Has the professor been tried and convicted yet ?

It's a little early to be depriving him of the presumption of innocence.

[kailumego1]

Some people got to have it, oh yes some people really need it, good things, good things, the %u201Cgreen%u201D, talkin bout, money cash money dollar bills.

For the love of money, a man will slaughter his precious wife, for the love of money, with a gun or knife.

For the love of money, a woman can%u2019t even turn her back, for the love of money, for she won't be able to see that man yield that axe.

For the love of money, he'll hire a high price attorney, for the love of money, to make sure the judge doesn%u2019t award her all his money.

For the love of money, as he%u2019s stomping and screaming, for the love of money, you%u2019ll be lying helplessly on the floor bleeding.

%u201CCAUSE OF THAT MEAN, OH MEAN, MEAN GREEN%u201D

[linfinster]

Agnim, HAHAHAHA

Now I know you're not trying to women mad ARE YOU??
What a CHILD!

7:13 PM Isn't it past your bedtime?

[oleander8]

To Agnim:

You aren't a real person are you? Are you paid to stir up the boards?

[hermit22]

who was it who said: "man is the head, and woman is the neck that turns the head."

Mallici (how ever you spell that) says: "God hates divorce."

When a divorce shows up, does a man feel like his leg is being cut off, or does he feel like his pocketbook is threatened, or does he actually miss his wife?

[nyckate]

To Agnim - dominant gender? shaking down the husband? The example of your so-called 'dominent gender' is now in prison with the lowest of the low facing beatings, rape and disease for the rest of his life. if that's what we can expect from your 'dominant gender' man are we ever in trouble!!

And both men and women do wrong things in marriages - a man isn't shaken down when divorced but assets are split and the 'dominant' partner must actually support the children they bring into this world. If you the 'dominent gender' had to pay for full-time child care, housekeeper, child's nurse, driver, cook and personal assistant to take care of your chorse you'd be working 24/7.

[shrek27-2009]

what exactly is econimics

[agnim]

We have to blame the male lunatics who make the dumb divorce laws, which delude and endangering these women who are stupid enough to believe that they should be able to just up, get a divorce from the DOMINANT GENDER, and then turn around and shake him down for all he's got.

Some men will be pissed enough to do something about it, regardless of what the spiteful and myopic laws may say.

[myjewishbook]

The last line of the article is curious and bad journalism. "Game theory is used to understand consumer behavior. It is also used by military experts to develop nuclear warfare strategies." Why mention military and nuclear uses of game theory? A simple look at the man's C.V. and research work shows that his focus was on corporate and consumer behavior. Why jump to military and nuclear issues? It is a red herring and serves no purpose in your story.

What next? How about a story on the 'gas smell' in NYC this morning. And mention how meteorologists were queried on wind directions. And then add a sentences on how meteorologists also study the weather patterns on the planet Mars. or perhpas any story about someone who took high school Physics should include a sentence on how Physics was used to create the atomic bomb.

I just wonder what ulterior motive the author had in adding that final sentence.

MyJewishBooks.com