Death of Ellen Greenberg

Ellen Rae Greenberg (June 23, 1983 – January 26, 2011) was an American woman who died after sustaining 20 stab wounds. Her death was ruled a suicide, but has been widely described as suspicious.

Ellen Rae Greenberg was born on June 23, 1983, to Josh and Sandee Greenberg.^[1] She earned a degree in communications from Penn State University and her teaching credentials from Temple University.^[2] She was a first-grade teacher at Juniata Park Academy in the Juniata neighborhood of Philadelphia.^[3][4] She lived in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, where she shared an apartment with her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg.^[5]

On January 26, 2011, a blizzard hit Philadelphia, prompting Greenberg to leave work and return to her apartment.^[5] At approximately 6:40 p.m., Greenberg was pronounced dead as a result of 20 stab wounds, including 10 to her back and neck.^[6][7] There were also 11 bruises in various stages of resolution^[8] on her right arm, abdomen, and right leg.^[9]

Her body was discovered by her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, who returned from a gym to find their apartment deadbolted, and knocked down the door after trying for an hour to reach her.

The crime scene was initially treated as a suicide by the police investigators,^[5] but after the autopsy the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office ruled the case as a homicide.^[10] The next day, the Philadelphia Police Department differed with that conclusion, saying, "the death of Ellen Greenberg has not been ruled a homicide [...] Homicide investigators are considering the manner of death as suspicious at this time."^[10] The medical examiner's office then changed its conclusion, saying the death was a suicide in February 2011.^[4]

On March 15, 2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer released a front-page investigative report reviewing the suspicious circumstances surrounding Greenberg's death.^[5] Pittsburgh forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht, who challenged the single-bullet theory of the John F. Kennedy assassination, reviewed the case, determined it was "strongly suspicious of homicide", and said he did not "know how they wrote this off as a suicide".^[5] Similarly, forensic scientist Henry Lee, who testified for the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder trial, reviewed the case files and concluded, "the number and types of wounds and bloodstain patterns observed are consistent with a homicide scene".^[5]

One significant point of contention were the stab wounds that allegedly penetrated Greenberg's brain. Wayne K. Ross, an investigator hired by the family, wrote that the wounds to the brain and spinal cord would have caused severe pain, cranial nerve dysfunction, and traumatic brain injuries.^[9] The original medical report stated that an esteemed consulting neuropathologist, Lucy Balian Rorke-Adams, had determined there was no such wound. But when asked about the case seven years later by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rorke-Adams responded, in writing, "I have no recollection of such a case", and "I would conclude that I did not see the specimen in question although there is a remote possibility that it was shown to me."^[9] The newspaper examined the records and determined that "there was no bill, invoice, or report from Rorke-Adams for this case".^[9]

In October 2019, Greenberg's parents filed a civil suit against the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office and Marlon Osbourne, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.^[6] The suit seeks to change the manner of death to "homicide" or "undetermined", citing new information and the fact that Osbourne admitted to changing the manner of death at the insistence of the police.^[6] Photogrammetry, which was unavailable at the time of Greenberg's death, created a 3D anatomical recreation of her wounds and demonstrated that not all her stab wounds could have been self-inflicted.^[11]

In January 2020, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas allowed the case to proceed past the motion to dismiss stage.^[12] The trial was set to begin in 2021.^[13] In August 2022, the Chester County District Attorney's office announced it would reopen the investigation into Greenberg's death, shortly after the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office relinquished the case due to an "appearance of" conflict of interest.^[14] On July 30, 2024, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District granted a petition for allowance of appeal to review the challenges to Greenberg's cause of death.^[15]

Following The Philadelphia Inquirer investigation, the case became a sensation in the true crime community. The incident was featured in the Dr. Oz Show,^[16] People Magazine,^[17] 48 Hours,^[9] Inside Edition,^[18] The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS Philadelphia,^[13] Good Day Philadelphia (FOX29 Philly),^[19] ABC Harrisburg, CBS Harrisburg, Penn Live, NBC's Oxygen network,^[20] the Daily Mail, and Law.com.^{[citation needed]} The suspicion surrounding Greenberg's death was also the lead episode in second season of the true crime television show Accident, Suicide or Murder.^[20]

A number of podcasts have also detailed Greenberg's death, including the Criminology Podcast featuring Cyril H. Wecht, Crime Junkie, and Morbid: A True Crime Podcast.^{[citation needed]}