November 27th, 2007 – 11:17pm
The Daily Pennsylvanian
By Emily Babay
Last December, Economics professor Rafael Robb “lost it” during a fight with his wife, Ellen, about whether their daughter would return from an upcoming vacation in time to attend school.
That day, Dec. 22, 2006, Ellen Robb was found bludgeoned to death in the couple’s Upper Merion home – a crime for which Rafael Robb admitted guilt yesterday.
Robb, 57, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, saying he used a chin-up bar to beat to death his wife of 16 years. Robb’s trial on first- and third-degree murder charges was scheduled to begin yesterday.
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November 8th, 2007 – 11:20pm
The Daily Pennsylvanian
By Emily Babay
WILMINGTON, Del. – Jurors debating the fate of accused murderer and Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya communicated for the first time in 10 days yesterday, when they released a note seeking clarification on case evidence.
The note stated that the jury spent the first seven days of deliberations reviewing the evidence and has spent the bulk of this week discussing the case, which Delaware attorneys have called one of the longest jury deliberations for a murder case in state history.
The jury also asked for clarification on differences between direct and circumstantial evidence. Judge James Vaughn will address these questions this morning.
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