KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - January 8, 2007 - 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, 56, surrendered to authorities after being charged with first- and third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. His arraignment was scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Robb, an economics professor originally from Israel, 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.
"Dr. 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," according to the affidavit signed by Upper Merion police Detective David Gershanick.
Rafael Robb was also charged with tampering with evidence and lying to authorities.
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. He said he returned home later that day to find his wife's body.
Yet Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor has said the murder scene was staged to look like a burglary. Ellen Robb's face was beaten so badly that Castor said her killer must have hated and specifically targeted her, something authorities wouldn't see in burglary case.
A murder weapon has not been found but investigators believe it was a narrow metal object, such as a crowbar or tire iron.
Authorities now say Rafael Robb killed his wife and allegedly spent about 15 minutes changing out of bloody clothing and staging a burglary before going to his car - bypassing phones in the house - and calling police from his cell phone.
Robb dialed the local 10-digit number for police rather than calling 911.
"We think he erroneously thought the regular police number wasn't taped," Castor said Monday.
In reporting his wife's death, Robb told a 911 dispatcher, "Her head is cracked," indicating that he believed Ellen Robb was beaten. But authorities said Ellen Robb's injuries were so extensive they initially thought she was killed with a shotgun blast to the face.
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.
Rafael Robb denied any involvement in the slaying when he was questioned by a reporter outside the courthouse last week, where he was complying with a search warrant for blood and fingerprint samples.
Rafael Robb earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981. He 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. They declined further comment Monday. His lawyer, Francis Genovese, did not immediately return a call for comment Monday morning.
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The above is from local ABC station. See italics added by me. This makes no sense. They now think he committed the murder after he got home, just before he called police??? No, can't be, not at all consistent with evidence of rigor mortis and other facts.
Rafael Robb, 56, surrendered to authorities after being charged with first- and third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. His arraignment was scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Robb, an economics professor originally from Israel, 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.
"Dr. 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," according to the affidavit signed by Upper Merion police Detective David Gershanick.
Rafael Robb was also charged with tampering with evidence and lying to authorities.
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. He said he returned home later that day to find his wife's body.
Yet Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor has said the murder scene was staged to look like a burglary. Ellen Robb's face was beaten so badly that Castor said her killer must have hated and specifically targeted her, something authorities wouldn't see in burglary case.
A murder weapon has not been found but investigators believe it was a narrow metal object, such as a crowbar or tire iron.
Authorities now say Rafael Robb killed his wife and allegedly spent about 15 minutes changing out of bloody clothing and staging a burglary before going to his car - bypassing phones in the house - and calling police from his cell phone.
Robb dialed the local 10-digit number for police rather than calling 911.
"We think he erroneously thought the regular police number wasn't taped," Castor said Monday.
In reporting his wife's death, Robb told a 911 dispatcher, "Her head is cracked," indicating that he believed Ellen Robb was beaten. But authorities said Ellen Robb's injuries were so extensive they initially thought she was killed with a shotgun blast to the face.
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.
Rafael Robb denied any involvement in the slaying when he was questioned by a reporter outside the courthouse last week, where he was complying with a search warrant for blood and fingerprint samples.
Rafael Robb earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981. He 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. They declined further comment Monday. His lawyer, Francis Genovese, did not immediately return a call for comment Monday morning.
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The above is from local ABC station. See italics added by me. This makes no sense. They now think he committed the murder after he got home, just before he called police??? No, can't be, not at all consistent with evidence of rigor mortis and other facts.
