Rafael Rob Economic Professor Charged With Wife Murder

Rafael Rob was the Professor of Economics at University of California at Los Angeles. This inprofessor was charged with the bludgeoning death of his estranged wife, who was on the verge of divorcing him.

Rafael Robb hailed originally from Israel. He, at last, surrendered to authorities after being charged with first- and third-degree murder. He was also charged with possession of an instrument of crime.

Rafael Robb was 56 years old when he was charged with this murder. In fact, initially he had told investigators that he was in Philadelphia when his wife, Ellen, was killed. Ellen was killed on 22nd December in their suburban home. She was alone at that point of time.

Rafael Robb had at first denied involvement and had set up an alibi saying that he took their 12-year-old daughter to school that morning. He had told the investigators that he last saw his wife alive at their Upper Merion Township home. He said this before driving to work at about 9:30 a.m. Even though it was a murder of passion, Robb showed calculated criminal precision as he arranged the crime scene to make it look as if Ellen Robb was killed during a burglary.

Rafael Robb allegedly killed his wife because of his wife's recent plans to divorce him and obtain a significant portion of his wealth. Once he confessed he was arraigned on murder charges and jailed without bail.

Rafael Robb had battered Ellen Robb so badly that initially the authorities thought that the injuries were due to a shotgun blast to the face. However, despite extensive search the murder weapon has not been found. Earlier, the murdered woman had told her family members and others that she had hired a divorce attorney. She planned to divorce Robb and was expecting $4,000 a month in spousal support after she moved out. Ellen had planned to move into a $1,500-per-month apartment by january1. Unfortunately she was killed before that.

Rafael Robb, despite being known as a cultured and decent man, was involved in what the media described as an exceedingly bloody crime scene. The attack was definitely a cold and calculated move and for sure it was not a random attack. The specific target for the attack was Ellen Robb. What did not act to his favor was that Rafael Robb had not reported anything missing from the house. Nonetheless, he kept on insisting to the police that it was a burglary. Therefore, though the murder scene was made to look like a burglary yet the police got suspicious and finally nabbed him.

Rafael Robb has been at Penn for at least four years. He was a popular teacher at school and the university. After his arrest, the university had arranged for someone else to teach Robb's graduate seminar in game theory. Cbsnews