Ex-Penn professor, wife-killer, released from prison

Ten years after bludgeoning his wife to death with an exercise bar in the their Montgomery County home, former University of Pennsylvania professor Rafael Robb was released from prison Sunday.

Robb, 66, and his late wife, Ellen Gregory Robb, were in the midst of a divorce when he —in a fit of rage — beat her repeatedly with a pull-up bar as she wrapped Christmas presents on Dec. 22, 2006.

Robb attempted to cover up the killing as a burglary, but admitted his guilt in 2007. The following year, he was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison on a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The Ivy League professor was denied a chance at parole in May, but has completed his 10-year sentence.

Now a free man, it’s unclear if Robb will resume residency at the Upper Merionhome he shared with his wife. The home, on the 600 block of Forest Road, is owned by Robb and his late wife’s estate, according to county real estate records.

According to NBC10, there is speculation Robb will relocate to Allegheny County near Pittsburgh.

Robb will be on parole until January 2027. The court has ordered the former economics professor to pay $124 million into a trust fund for the couple’s daughter, Olivia, who was 12 when her mother was murdered.

Last January, a judge denied Robb’s attempt to recover $3 million in assets which included his IRA and a pension from UPenn in excess of $2 million.