Penn Economics professor Rafael Robb has been named the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor announced last week at a press conference.
Ellen Robb, 49, was murdered in her Main Line home outside Philadelphia on Dec. 22, when her body was found bludgeoned to death in her kitchen.
Castor told the press that he believed Rafael Robb's pending divorce could have provided a motive, and that current evidence strongly points to him.
Rafael Robb denies any involvement in the crime.
According to a Montgomery County District Attorney press release, Ellen Robb sought out both a divorce lawyer and a real-estate agent to escape a marriage that neighbors in the weeks leading up to the murder called estranged.
Rafael Robb's attorney, Francis Genovese, said it is not surprising that his client is currently facing such scrutiny.
In murder cases where no other clear suspect emerges, "they always start with the family members first," Genovese said.
Nevertheless, Rafael Robb, 56, will not be returning to teach at Penn this semester, University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said.
Doyle added that arrangements have already been made for another faculty member to teach Robb's economics class.
Despite his leave of absence, Robb is still a paid member of Penn's College of Arts and Sciences faculty, Doyle noted.
Castor also released an affidavit detailing behavior and testimony of Rafael Robb that had been deemed suspicious and inconsistent by detectives working on the case.
The affidavit called for Robb's cooperation in DNA testing, to which he has since complied.
To date, Robb has given DNA samples, which are still undergoing testing.
As of yesterday evening, Robb had not been arrested.
Castor said he is waiting for additional non-circumstantial evidence before moving forward with an arrest.
According to the press release, Robb called authorities at 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 22 to report the discovery of his wife's battered body in their home.
At the time, Robb told police that he had last seen his wife that morning before heading to his office at 3718 Locust Walk.
Witnesses have confirmed that, while at Penn, Robb handed in grades for the fall semester, wrote an e-mail and stopped at Wawa for a drink.
In the days following the murder, authorities searched Robb's office for any incriminating evidence.
An autopsy report estimated that Ellen Robb died between 8:20 and 10:15 the morning of Dec. 22 after being beaten with a long, cylindrical object.
So intense were her injuries that investigators believed early on that she had been shot at close range rather than beaten.
Because of this analysis, Rafael Robb's initial phone call to police has aroused suspicion among authorities: he reportedly told police that "her head is cracked."
The victim's wounds revealed that she struggled mightily against her attacker. Though a window in the house was broken, investigators suspect that this was done only to make the murder appear to be the result of a break-in attempt.
The affidavit quoted forensics experts who examined Ellen Robb's body as saying that "obsessive intensity of force used against Mrs. Robb went beyond that necessary to cause her death," leading authorities further to believe that her death was not the result of a burglary.
Genovese said that, despite the Robbs' marriage troubles, Ellen Robb's murder has been emotionally trying for Rafael Robb, who Genovese said was briefly hospitalized for anxiety following the discovery of his wife's body.
He added that the discrepancies that have been alleged by the District Attorney should not be as damning as they may seem.
"It's easy to pull little snippets out of context," Genovese said.
Rafael Robb an expert in game theory has taught undergraduate classes over the last several years in Intermediate Microeconomics and Microeconomic Theory. A native of Israel, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
