Ivy League Professor Admits Killing Wife “I lost it”

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A former Ivy League professor pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter for killing his wife as she wrapped Christmas presents last year, telling a judge he “just lost it” during an argument.Rafael Robb, once a tenured economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faces a likely prison sentence of 4 1/2 to seven years for bludgeoning his wife, Ellen, on Dec. 22.

Robb, 57, said Monday that he got into an argument with his wife about a trip she was taking with their daughter and whether they would be returning in time for the daughter to return to school.

“We started a discussion about that. The discussion was tense,” Robb said. “We were both anxious about it. We both got angry. At one point, Ellen pushed me. … I just lost it.”

Ellen Robb, 49, was beaten to death in the kitchen of their home in Upper Merion Township, outside Philadelphia. Partly wrapped Christmas presents were nearby.

“It’s a classic heat-of-passion killing,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who offered Robb the chance to plea guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Robb’s attorney and prosecutors say Robb feared his wife was leaving him and would keep him away from their daughter

Source: Fox