KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - Economics professor Rafael Robb will stand trial for first- and third-degree murder charges on Nov. 26, Montgomery County Judge Paul Tressler ruled on Monday.
Tressler ruled to delay the trial from May 7 to November due to case-related evidence that is currently undergoing forensic analysis.
Robb, 56, is the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Ellen, 49. Ellen was found fatally bludgeoned to death in the couple's Montgomery County Township home on Dec. 22.
Though he maintains his innocence, he was arrested on Jan. 8 and has been held in jail without bail since. He will remain in custody until the trial.
If the defense indicates that it is ready to go to trial earlier, the court date could be moved up.
Frank DeSimone, Robb's main defense lawyer, said his team of lawyers filed to postpone the trial date - a move known as a motion of continuance - because they are still waiting for the results of evidence analysis.
The defense is specifically waiting on the analysis of a bloody footprint found next to the victim's body.
Since the February hearing, the Economics professor's defense lawyers have argued that the size of the footprint - likely the assailant's - is too small to match Robb's size-12 shoe.
In April, DeSimone filed two motions to dismiss the case. He specifically cited the shoe size and the prosecution's "insufficient" and largely circumstantial evidence as reasons why the case should be dismissed and not go to court.
Still, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, the main prosecuting lawyer, said he does "not think [the shoeprint analysis] will be of value in the case."
Castor and his team believe that Robb's motive to kill rested on the knowledge that his wife was about to divorce him, a move that could have forced him to pay spousal and child support for the couple's adolescent daughter.
Since his arrest, the Economics professor has been on indefinite academic leave from the University, where he taught undergraduate and graduate level courses. He specializes in Game Theory, Industrial Organization, Law and Economics and Public Economies.
