by Tara Dublin

No Closure

The grieving parents of Ellen Greenberg, the beloved Philadelphia teacher who was slain twelve years ago, have never stopped fighting to clear their daughter’s name after her brutal stabbing death in 2011 was ruled a suicide.

Josh and Sandee Greenberg have never stopped believing Ellen was murdered, and their fight has dragged on for far longer than any grieving parents should ever have to endure.

According to the Greenbergs’ Change.org petition, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Officer, at the insistence of the Philadelphia Police, “suspiciously reversed itself” regarding the cause weeks after Ellen’s death was ruled a homicide.

Ellen Greenberg was just 27 when she was found by her fiancé Sam Goldberg on January 26, 2011, after he returned from the gym but couldn’t get back inside of their apartment because the swing bar lock was in use from the inside.

After he forced himself inside, Goldberg discovered Ellen’s body in the kitchen with more than 20 stab wounds to her chest, abdomen, head, and neck, according to the investigation report.

The weapon, a 10-inch knife, remained in Greenberg’s chest. Later, the coroner counted eleven separate stab wounds to the back of Ellen’s neck.

Homicide or Suicide?

Ellen’s death was initially ruled a homicide, but later was changed to a suicide. Police investigators only found Greenberg’s DNA on the knife and on her clothes, and there were no signs of foul play.

Ellen was struggling with depression and after visiting her psychiatrist on January 12th, 17, and 19th, Ellen was prescribed Zoloft. She then switched to a “low dose” of Xanax. After “no success,” she was prescribed Ambien and Klonopin.

The question of whether or not antidepressant drugs can cause suicidal ideation is a debatable one. But that is likely what influenced the M.E.’s decision to reverse the cause of death to suicide.

But top forensic pathologists all agreed the case was highly suspicious of murder. In fact, the City’s own neuropathologist, based on her own exam of Ellen’s spinal column injury, testified the wound was consistent with Ellen being stabbed after she was already dead, which rules out any possibility that Ellen stabbed herself.

Ellen’s case was reopened in September 2022, and her parents are seeking to have her cause of death adjusted  to “Homicide” or “Undetermined.”

According to former homicide prosecutor Guy D’Andrea, Ellen’s cause of death should already have been changed to “undetermined.”

 Key Evidence

Four key pieces of evidence led D’Andrea to question the M.E.’s reversal to rule Ellen’s death a suicide:

• Ellen had a wound on the top of her head, not something she could’ve inflicted on herself.
• She was found seated upright with blood that had dripped sideways across her face, indicating that she had been moved. 
• She had a large number of bruises at different stages of healing. 
• Her fiance claimed that he broke the locked door down when crime scene photos show the latch still attached to both the door and the frame.

Goldberg claimed he had to break down the door. But the lock was still intact when police arrived.

“Reviewing the file and the crime scene photographs and the medical examiner’s photographs, I don’t know how you come to that conclusion (of suicide),” D’Andrea said. “In all my years of

experience, and all of the homicides that I’ve done, and suicides, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Multiple Suits and Millions of Dollars

The Greenbergs have brought two civil suits in the last few years, and they estimate they’ve spent half a million dollars trying to bring some closure to the unimaginable. The second of the Greenbergs’ civil suits accuses the police, prosecutors and ME officials involved in the case of “individual and willful misconduct and participating in a conspiracy to cover-up the murder of Ellen R. Greenberg.” That suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The Greenbergs continue to lean on their community as well as the online “netizens” who’ve been vigilant about keeping Ellen’s name and story in the news.

Holding their local politicians accountable via social media has also proven to be an effective way to make sure more people are aware of Ellen’s story.

To support the Greenbergs in their continuing fight for justice for Ellen, please sign their petition.