The murder of Ellen Robb by her husband, Rafael Robb, is spotlighted on Homicide City on Investigation Discovery.
On the evening of December 22, 2006, Ellen was wrapping Christmas presents in the Family’s home in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, when Rafael bludgeoned her to death with a metal exercise bar.
Ellen was so badly beaten that police officers initially thought she had been shot in the face with a high-profile rifle.
Rafael, who worked as an economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, admitted to killing Ellen and was therefore arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
However, in 2007, he took a plea deal and pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter after telling a judge he had lost his cool on the day he brutally murdered his wife.
Just days before the killing, Ellen filed for a divorce. She claimed to have suffered years of emotional and verbal abuse and was making arrangements to move out of the family’s home.
Rafael was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. After serving 10 years, he was released in 2017 and will be on parole until 2027.
The victim’s family weren’t too thrilled about Rafael being released back into society, claiming that his sentence was too lenient.
They ultimately filed a civil lawsuit against him, and Rafael now has to pay $128 million in compensatory and punitive damages to his daughter, Olivia Robb, who was 12 years old at the time of the murder.
Homicide City — The Professor’s Wife, airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.