Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: News

Then, speaking softly, he explained the circumstances of the killing. Robb said he came home after taking Olivia, his daughter, to school that morning. He and Ellen both became angry as he expressed anxiety that Olivia wouldn't return from an upcoming trip with her mother before Christmas break ended.

"I just lost it," said Robb, who then grabbed the nearby chin-up bar and started waving it. "And this is what happened," he said.

Robb said he was "very remorseful" for Ellen's death, and he apologized to Ellen's family, his family and Olivia.

"I know she liked her mother," he said. "And now she doesn't have a mother."

More than a dozen friends and members of Ellen Robb's family were present in the courtroom, though Olivia was not. Many wept both as Rafael Robb spoke and as Ellen's brothers, Art and Gary Gregory, talked to reporters outside the courtroom about the family's healing process.

The family would continue to grieve for Ellen and Olivia, the brothers said. Art Gregory added that, "with a little bit of closure, we can start moving forward."

Robb's lawyers also spoke of putting the killing in the past, saying that Robb hoped he would reunite with Olivia, who is now 13, after serving his sentence.

Robb spoke with Olivia on the phone over the weekend and told her he was responsible for her mother's death, DeSimone said.

Castor said he was pleased with the guilty plea, calling Ellen Robb's death a "classic heat-of-passion killing."

"The evidence tends to support what [Robb] says," Castor added.

On the advice of his lawyers, who said they needed more time to prepare, Robb waived his right to be sentenced within 90 days. The sentencing will likely take place in about four months, DeSimone said.

< prev Page 2 of 2

Article Tools