Rafael Robb
{{Short description|Israeli-American convicted murderer (born 1950)}}
{{Infobox economist
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| name = Rafael Robb
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| native_name =רפאל רוב
| native_name_lang =he
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|10|31}}
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| spouse = Ellen Gregory Robb
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| field = Game theory
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| alma_mater = Hebrew University of Jerusalem
University of California, Los Angeles
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| repec_prefix = f
| repec_id = pro566
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Rafael Robb ({{Langx|he|רפאל רוב}}; born October 31, 1950){{cite web |title=Probable Cause Affidavit: Commonwealth of Pa. v. Rafael Robb |url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/pennrafaelrobb010806aff4.html |work=Findlaw.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404170958/http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/pennrafaelrobb010806aff4.html |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |page=4 |url-status=dead}} is an economist and former professor at the University of Pennsylvania who confessed to killing his wife in 2006.
Academic career
Robb received his bachelor's degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.{{cite news |last1=Schwedel |first1=Heather |title=Students speak out about Robb |url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2007/01/students_speak_out_about_robb |access-date=January 16, 2020 |work=The Daily Pennsylvanian |date=January 16, 2007}} He went on to obtain a Ph.D. in economics at UCLA. Robb joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty in 1984, and was a tenured professor at the time of his arrest in 2007.{{cite news |last1=Boccella |first1=Kathy |title=Portrait of a doomed marriage |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20070131_Portrait_of_a_doomed_marriage_.html |access-date=January 16, 2020 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=January 31, 2007}}
Robb specialized in game theory, a mathematical discipline used to analyze political, economic, and military strategies. He has published numerous papers on game theory and other economic topics with scholars from Greece, Israel, Japan, and the US. In most of the papers, his family name is spelled as "Rob".{{cite web |title=Rafael Robb |url=https://ideas.repec.org/f/pro566.html |website=IDEAS |publisher=RePEc |access-date=January 16, 2020}} He is also a fellow of the Econometric Society, one of the highest honors in economics.{{cite web |url=https://www.econometricsociety.org/society/organization-and-governance/fellows |title=Fellows of the Econometric Society 1950 to 2018 |access-date=January 16, 2020 |quote=RAFAEL ROB, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, ...}}
Personal life
Robb grew up in Israel, and emigrated to the US to pursue graduate studies.{{cite news |last1=Volk |first1=Steve |title=Did This Game Theory Expert Plot the Perfect Murder? |url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/07/29/rafael-robb-ellen-murder/ |access-date=January 16, 2020 |work=Philadelphia |date=July 29, 2017}} He met Ellen Gregory Robb, a sales manager, in 1987, and they married in 1990. They have one daughter.
Killing of wife
Robb pleaded guilty in November 2007 to voluntary manslaughter in the high-profile death of his wife, Ellen Gregory Robb. She had been bludgeoned to death.{{cite news|url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2008/11/robb_sentenced_5_to_10_years_in_prison_for_killing_his_wife|title=Robb sentenced 5 to 10 years in prison for killing his wife|last=Jagoda|first=Naomi|date=November 20, 2008|work=The Daily Pennsylvanian|access-date=January 16, 2020}} Her death occurred on December 22, 2006, during an argument over the couple's divorce and the plans for their home in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania.{{cite news|url=http://chronicle.com/article/Penn-Professor-Pleads-Guilty/40004|title=Penn Professor Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter|last=Wasley|first=Paula|date=November 26, 2007|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education|access-date=17 January 2011}}
Robb was arrested on January 8, 2007, and charged with murder. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney (later County Commissioner specially appointed as prosecutor) Bruce Castor.
Robb pleaded guilty to manslaughter on November 26, 2007, and resigned from the university.{{cite news|title=Ex-Penn Professor Pleads Guilty In Wife's Death |url=http://cbs3.com/local/Rafael.Robb.University.2.595083.html |agency=Associated Press |publisher=cbs3.com |date=November 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423034211/http://cbs3.com/local/Rafael.Robb.University.2.595083.html |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }} Robb was sentenced on November 19, 2008, to a 10-year prison term, though the prosecutor asked for a sentence of 10 to 20 years. He sought parole after five years, as allowed by his sentence. The state board initially approved, and then rescinded, the request.
= Civil case =
Following Robb's guilty plea, Ellen Gregory Robb's family brought a civil wrongful death suit against him. In 2014, Robb was ordered to pay $124.26 million in compensatory and punitive damages to his deceased wife's estate, of which the sole beneficiary is his daughter. Robb then made an appeal to reduce this to $100 million, claiming that some of the evidence presented against him during the civil trial should not have been permitted as it unfairly influenced jurors against him.{{cite news |last1=Araiza |first1=Karen |title=Wife Killer Rafael Robb Wants $124M Award to Daughter Reduced |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/wife-killer-rafael-robb-wants-124m-award-reduced-ellen-olivia-mongeluzzi-duffy-levin/76708/ |access-date=January 16, 2020 |work=NBC 10 Philadelphia |date=December 11, 2014}}
Near the end of his prison sentence, Robb also requested access to frozen assets in order to pay for living expenses. Upon his release, he formally withdrew this plea.{{cite news |title=Montgomery County Wife Killer Rafael Robb Withdraws Plea for Spending Cash Upon Release |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/rafael-robb-wife-killer-money-release/2041608/ |access-date=January 16, 2020 |work=NBC 10 Philadelphia |date=December 20, 2016}}
= Release =
Robb was released from prison on January 8, 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Montgomery-County-Wife-Killer-Rafael-Robb-Released-Prison-410014665.html|title=Montgomery County Wife Killer Rafael Robb Released from Prison|last1=McCrone|first1=Brian X.|last2=Smith|first2=Manuel|last3=Weckerly|first3=Anastasia|date=January 8, 2017|work=nbcphiladelphia.com|access-date=17 February 2019}} After release, he moved to a suburb of Pittsburgh.
Notable publications
- Michihiro Kandori, George J. Mailath, and Rafael Robb: "Learning, Mutation, and Long Run Equilibria in Games", Econometrica, Vol. 61, No. 1 (Jan. 1993), pp. 29–56
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://investigation.discovery.com/tv/stolen-voices-buried-secrets/episode-guide.html Discovery Communications: Investigation Discovery: Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets: Episode Guide] ("Checkmate", second episode on page)
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Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society
Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty
Category:American people convicted of manslaughter
Category:Prisoners and detainees of Pennsylvania
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:People from Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania
Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni