Parole Revoked For Penn Prof. Who Bludgeoned Wife in 2006
By Brad Segall, Walt Hunter
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Sources tell CBS Philly that the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole has voted to rescind the parole for former University of Pennsylvania economics professor Dr. Rafael Robb.
The decision to release Robb on January 28th created a firestorm of controversy (see related story) when local lawmakers and prosecutors found out that he was getting out of jail after serving just six years of his 5-10 year sentence for killing his wife, Ellen.
Her family went before members of the parole board in Harrisburg Tuesday to make their case for keeping Robb behind bars longer (see related story).
The board also received a letter from the sentencing judge in the case, which said in part:
"I fear his prison conduct and your judgment about him not being a threat to the public is another example of his manipulation, this time of the Parole Board."
The victim's brother, Gary Gregory, says the family is extremely pleased about this outcome.
"The fact that the parole board reconsidered and revoked his parole is a very significant event," he said. "We asked them to do the right thing and they did the right thing."
"We have a great day, today, to celebrate the fact that this guy is now unpacking his bags to stay for another year and a half," said Pennsylvania state representative Mike Vereb.
Robb pleaded guilty in 2007 to voluntary manslaughter for bludgeoning his wife to death in their Upper Merion home a year earlier.
Later Wednesday, Vereb, who fought hard alongside Montgomery County DA Risa Ferman to get the board to take another look, said it's now time to take a closer look at the parole process.
"We cannot keep opening the doors of our prisons and sending these predators and killers back into the neighborhoods for cost savings or for feel-good decisions," Vereb said.
The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole says Robb's next review will be September, 2014.
Stay tuned to KYW Newsradio 1060 and CBSPhilly.com for updates on this developing news story.
