Ex-Penn professor gets 5-10 years in wife's 2006 death

Rafael Robb wasn't a cold-blooded killer - he was hot-blooded.

Those were the words that Judge Paul W. Tressler used yesterday to describe the rage that was behind the killing of Ellen Robb by her husband, a former University of Pennsylvania economics professor, Dec. 22, 2006.

Yesterday, Tressler sentenced Robb, 58, of Upper Merion, to five to 10 years in Graterford state prison for bludgeoning his wife to death in their Main Line home.

Calling it the "worst physical bludgeoning I have ever seen in my life," Tressler also sentenced Robb to an additional 10 years probation. He also ordered the ex-prof to pay for counseling that his daughter, Olivia, has been receiving since her mother's death and to set up a trust fund to pay for her college education.

Gary Gregory, Ellen Robb's brother and legal guardian for Olivia, presented a letter to Tressler that Robb sent his daughter Tuesday, in which he threatened to withhold Christmas presents from his daughter until he received a picture of her and a copy of her report card.

"You are not going to manipulate your daughter," Tressler said, admonishing Robb after he reviewed the letter from Gregory and before handing down his sentence.

Robb had pleaded guilty last year to voluntary manslaughter after facing first- and third-degree murder charges.

At his plea hearing last year, he told Tressler that he had argued with his wife over a trip she planned to take with Olivia, who was 12 at the time.

The fight was heated and Robb said, "I just lost it" at last year's hearing.

Yesterday, defense attorney Frank DeSimone had a psychologist testify - after interviewing Robb and reviewing his medical records and those of his wife - that Robb simply snapped after 10 years of living with a wife with mental illness and dealing with the resulting issues it caused their daughter.

According to medical records from health professionals who treated Ellen Robb and that were reviewed by the psychologist who testified on behalf of the defense, she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Dr. Robb was storing up anxiety over his daughter and his wife and, in fact, he understated the level of severity of what was going on this household," testified Dr. William Russell, a forensic psychologist.

Before Robb was sentenced, he apologized to Ellen Robb's family and to Olivia.

"It was a dark and lonely existence and it occurred in a moment of madness," Robb said.

"I and I alone am responsible for Ellen's death and I stand ready to be punished."

Reactions to the verdict were mixed yesterday as attorneys for both sides and Ellen Robb's family exited the courtroom.

"From a family perspective, I can say that we are disappointed," said Gregory.

Sentencing guidelines for voluntary manslaughter can range from 3 1/2 to 20 years in prison.

"It's apalling and it insults our intelligence," said Gregory. *