Penn Professor Who Killed Wife Will Be Paroled

Rafael Robb, the former Penn professor of economics who killed his wife in “a moment of madness,” is set to be paroled.

Robb was sentenced in December 2008 to 5 to 10 years in prison in the December 2006 death of his wife, Ellen, in suburban Philadelphia. Robb pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2007.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman says she recently learned that Robb is set to be released on parole later this month. She says she’s asked the state parole board to reconsider the decision.

If you’re unfamiliar with the case, here’s the synopsis of Cruel Games, a 2009 book about the murder: “University of Pennsylvania professor Rafael Robb was in a class of his own. An expert on game theory, his colleagues and students marveled over his brilliance. But his wife, Ellen, knew his dark, calculating side…and in December 2006, after years of alleged psychological abuse, she was finally ready to leave him. Her divorce papers were nearly in order and she was about to sign a lease on a new home—and a new life. Until she was found dead in the home she shared with Rafael and their daughter, Olivia.” No word on Robb’s post-release plans. [AP]