An expatriate Israeli confessed to killing his wife.
Rafael Robb, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said he beat his wife, Ellen, to death during an argument over the couple’s daughter on Dec. 22, 2006. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a heat-of-passion killing, on Monday, the day his trial was scheduled to begin.
Robb apologized to his 12-year-old daughter, who was not in court and who he has not seen since his arrest in January. He faces a prison term of four to seven years when he is sentenced in a few months.
The University of Pennsylvania has asked for the tenured economics professor’s immediate resignation. Robb is a naturalized U.S. citizen and thus cannot be deported.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
