Posted on 01/08/2007 2:21:55 PM PST by Pharmboy
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A University of Pennsylvania professor was charged Monday with bludgeoning his wife to death in their suburban kitchen after she told friends she was going to divorce him.
Rafael Robb, 56, taught economics at the Ivy League school and is an expert in game theory, the study of how people and governments make decisions by calculating what others might do.
Robb told investigators he was in Philadelphia when his wife was killed Dec. 22. But prosecutors doubted his alibi.
District Attorney Bruce Castor said the crime scene was arranged to make it look as if Robb's wife, Ellen Robb, was killed during a burglary.
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," police said in court papers.
He was arraigned on murder charges and jailed without bail.
Authorities said Ellen Robb's injuries were so extensive they initially thought she was killed with a shotgun blast to the face. The murder weapon has not been found.
Ellen Robb, 49, had told relatives and others that she had hired a divorce lawyer and was expecting $4,000 a month in spousal support, prosecutors said in court papers.
Robb had said he took the couple's 12-year-old daughter to school that morning and last saw his wife alive before driving to work. He said he returned home later that day and found her body.
Robb's lawyer, Francis Genovese, said the arrest warrant was largely based on circumstantial evidence. "I was expecting I would see more hard evidence _ maybe forensic evidence _ come before pointing to Dr. Robb as the killer," Genovese said.
Robb, who is originally from Israel, has been at Penn for at least four years, according to a resume posted on his university Web site.
University officials said only that that someone else would be teaching Robb's graduate seminar in game theory this semester. Game theory is used to understand consumer behavior. It is also used by military experts to develop nuclear warfare strategies.
professor plum , in the bedroom, monkey wrench
Leni
Now he can really see how Prisoners' Dilemma works... in prison!
Why don't they mention the Wharton School? That's where he had to be teaching that course as far as I can see.
Plum. Kitchen. Lead Pipe.
I checked out their site and either they removed his name or he is attached to the undergraduate school since his name is not listed among the Wharton faculty.
"Rafael Robb, 56, taught economics at the Ivy League school and is an expert in game theory, the study of how people and governments make decisions by calculating what others might do."
I guess he pretty much failed the class in the real world app of the game theory??
Mmmm...he looks a bit like Rod Steiger, eh?
"You know, education - if you make the most of it - you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you end up in the SLAMMER!"
Prolly suffered from thinking he was too smart for the dumb detectives and asst. DAs. Well, surprise surprise.
Must have missed the section in the SATs on "Thou shat not kill." Call the NEA and the College Testing Service and complain.
Ouch.
Weird. An economics prof that not in the business school. That surprises me.
Didn't see anything in the item about any real evidence. He didn't share his marital problems with the police. So what? He said he was in Philadelphia at the time of the crime. Was he or wasn't he? Police "doubt" his alibi. Doubt? Is that all it takes to make an arrest these days?
...bludgeoning his wife to death in their suburban kitchen after she told friends she was going to divorce him.
Guess she should not have decided to divorce him based on what he might do.
Go figure!
You're right--it appears that everything is circumstantial. But if they can bust his alibi, they'll probably have enough to indict.
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