Former Penn Prof, King of Prussia Man, Denied Parole After Killing Wife: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA -- An Ivy League economics professor who was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of his wife has been denied parole, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele has announced.

Rafael Robb, a former professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, has been in jail since pleading guilty in 2007.

Robb and his wife, Ellen, allegedly got into an argument on December 22, 2007, over whether Ellen and their daughter, Olivia, would be taking a trip, according to previous statements from the DA's office.

In what former DA Bruce Castor would later call a "classic heat of passion killing," Robb beat his wife to death with a pull-up bar.

Since his incarceration, Robb has tried for parole several times. In 2013, he nearly succeeded. At the time, State Representative Mike Vereb (R-150) sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole in response to its decision to parole Robb.

“There is no reason this professional manipulator and convicted wife and mother killer should serve one day less than the maximum sentence handed down,” Vereb wrote in the letter. “There is a reason Pennsylvania offers legislation with minimum and maximum sentencing. If this wife and mother killer is not the epitome of a max sentence, then who is?”

Robb plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal negotiated between his attorney and county prosecutors. Robb was sentenced to the maximum penalty under the guidelines for the crime – five to 10 years in prison.

Vereb, a former police officer, said that this decision would have sent the wrong message to victims across Pennsylvania.

“I understand that Mr. Robb participated in some ‘want to be good guy’ programs, but no program or good behavior can erase the gruesome details surrounding his case and emotional horror this has been brought to the victim’s friends and family,” Vereb said. “I believe by granting parole to Mr. Robb after having served only half of his sentence sends the wrong message to victims of crime across Pennsylvania, and his maximum sentence of 10 years should be seriously reconsidered.”

On Monday, as Robb was up for parole again, Steele echoed Vereb's comments from 2013.

“The District Attorney’s Office is dedicated to achieving justice and protecting the safety of our community. Justice was served by declining this inmate’s request for an early release and keeping Rafael Robb behind bars until 2017,” Steele said.

Vereb’s has worked closely with Ellen's brothers, Art and Gregory Robb, to advance legislation, House Bill 492, which will change the Crime Victims Act to allow a victim or victim representative to appear personally before the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole to provide testimony regarding an inmate’s application for parole.

“My legislation will make it clear that the decision to appear and be heard by the board is up to the victims or representatives, not the board. And if they so choose, they can appear by any electronic means made available by the board, such as video conference, rather than by telephone,” said Vereb.

Olivia Robb, who was 13 when her mother was killed, was taken in by Ellen's brothers, who reside in Haddonfield, NJ.

After he is released in 2017, Rafael Robb will be on 10 years of supervised probation.