2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: News
As Robb sentencing approaches, looking back on a victim's life
Anthony Campisi
The thing that Gary Gregory will always remember about his sister's death is how close she was to leaving her husband when he killed her.
Gregory was down from Massachusetts to bring his sister, Ellen Robb, and her daughter Olivia up to Boston with him for Christmas. He planned on picking her up from the house she shared with her husband, then-Penn Economics professor Rafael Robb. After more than 13 years in an unhappy marriage, Ellen had finally decided to file for divorce.
Gregory had also planned a surprise for her 50th birthday just days later. His idea was to take her to Boston to see a show and stay downtown overnight in a hotel suite overlooking the skyline.
But as Gregory pulled up to his sister's three-bedroom ranch in Wayne the afternoon of Dec. 22, 2006, to take her home with him, he knew something was horribly wrong. He saw yellow police tape cordoning off the house and an ambulance parked outside that was being loaded with a stretcher carrying Ellen.
Thinking she was hurt, Gregory jumped out of his car and was running toward the house when a police officer pulled him aside. After Gregory explained who he was, the officer broke the news: His sister had been killed.
Police later arrested Robb in connection with the killing, and he pleaded guilty at a November hearing to voluntary manslaughter in connection with her death.
He testified that on Dec. 22, while Ellen was wrapping Christmas presents at the kitchen table and packing for Massachusetts, he had gotten into a fight with her because he was afraid their daughter would miss school by accompanying Ellen to Massachusetts. The argument spun out of control, and Robb said that Ellen pushed him against the kitchen table. Robb explained he then "lost it," and, taking an exercise bar lying nearby, he began to hit her with it, ultimately killing her.
Now, outraged that Robb will likely face a sentence of only four-and-a-half to seven years for his actions under state sentencing guidelines, Ellen's friends and family have decided to speak out. They argue that the heinousness of Robb's crime - Ellen's skull caved in under the force of the blows - justify a much harsher sentence, especially when put into the context of a relationship in which they say Ellen suffered verbal abuse for years at Robb's hands.
Gregory was down from Massachusetts to bring his sister, Ellen Robb, and her daughter Olivia up to Boston with him for Christmas. He planned on picking her up from the house she shared with her husband, then-Penn Economics professor Rafael Robb. After more than 13 years in an unhappy marriage, Ellen had finally decided to file for divorce.
Gregory had also planned a surprise for her 50th birthday just days later. His idea was to take her to Boston to see a show and stay downtown overnight in a hotel suite overlooking the skyline.
But as Gregory pulled up to his sister's three-bedroom ranch in Wayne the afternoon of Dec. 22, 2006, to take her home with him, he knew something was horribly wrong. He saw yellow police tape cordoning off the house and an ambulance parked outside that was being loaded with a stretcher carrying Ellen.
Thinking she was hurt, Gregory jumped out of his car and was running toward the house when a police officer pulled him aside. After Gregory explained who he was, the officer broke the news: His sister had been killed.
Police later arrested Robb in connection with the killing, and he pleaded guilty at a November hearing to voluntary manslaughter in connection with her death.
He testified that on Dec. 22, while Ellen was wrapping Christmas presents at the kitchen table and packing for Massachusetts, he had gotten into a fight with her because he was afraid their daughter would miss school by accompanying Ellen to Massachusetts. The argument spun out of control, and Robb said that Ellen pushed him against the kitchen table. Robb explained he then "lost it," and, taking an exercise bar lying nearby, he began to hit her with it, ultimately killing her.
Now, outraged that Robb will likely face a sentence of only four-and-a-half to seven years for his actions under state sentencing guidelines, Ellen's friends and family have decided to speak out. They argue that the heinousness of Robb's crime - Ellen's skull caved in under the force of the blows - justify a much harsher sentence, especially when put into the context of a relationship in which they say Ellen suffered verbal abuse for years at Robb's hands.
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