Officials will reopen their probe into the mysterious death of Ellen Greenberg after the medical examiner took back its previous conclusion that she had died by suicide.
The city of Philadelphia and Greenberg’s family settled two civil lawsuits on Monday after over five years of legal battles, and just before jury selection was to begin.
The settlement will see the medical examiner review her cause of death, and also includes an undisclosed monetary amount, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Greenberg, 27, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her apartment in Philadelphia in the middle of a blizzard on January 26, 2011.
Former assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide, but changed it to suicide after a meeting with police and prosecutors.
Osbourne has since admitted in a sworn statement that he should not have ruled Greenberg’s death a suicide.
‘It is my professional opinion Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide,’ Dr. Osbourne stated in the filing.
Osbourne said the determination was made after he became aware of new information that drew the initial ruling into question.
‘For example, whether Ellen’s fiancé was witnessed entering the apartment before placing the 9-1-1 call on January 26, 2011; whether the door was forced open as reported; and whether Ellen’s body was moved by someone else inside the apartment with her at or near the time of her death,’ Osbourne wrote.
Osbourne also cited the findings of MD Lindsey Emery, who conducted a neuropathological evaluation of Ellen’s cervical segment sample.
A medical examiner ruled 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg’s death to be ‘something other than a suicide,’ according to a new court filing on Saturday
Judge Michael Erdos told Ellen’s parents in 2024 that the decision to switch the death ruling had baffled him as well – citing the number and severity of the stab wounds
Ellen’s fiancé found her dead on the kitchen floor of her Philadelphia apartment in the middle of a blizzard in 2011 with 20 brutal stab wounds but her death has been ruled as a suicide for years
A civil lawsuit filed by Ellen’s parents accused the city of Philadelphia of falsely labeling their daughters stabbing death a suicide as a way to cover up a botched homicide investigation.
A judge ruled on Friday that their emotional distress civil case against the city can officially go to trial.
The new ruling also orders that medical examiners Osbourne and Sam Gulino as well as homicide detective John McNamee must testify as all of them took part in orchestrating the the alleged cover-up.
‘I’m hoping we’re going to prove that Ellen did not commit suicide,’ Josh Greenberg, Ellen’s father, told NBC10. ‘That’s what this is all about. Justice for Ellen.’
On January 6, 2011, Ellen was found dead by her fiancé in the kitchen of her apartment on Flat Rock Road.
The first-grade teacher had suffered 10 stab wounds to her neck and the back of the head, and 10 to her stomach, abdomen and chest – with a 10-inch knife still plunged into her heart.
The knife went through her chest and pierced her liver, slashed her aorta and severed the dura mater, the membrane surrounding her spinal column.
Another wound was more than three inches deep, near the base of her skull, and caused a bleeding stroke.
Former assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne said that the new ruling was based off of new information that he became aware of that drew his suicide ruling into question
The new ruling is a major step forward in Ellen’s parents’ decades-long fight to change Ellen’s manner of death from suicide to either homicide or undetermined
For the last decade, Josh and Sandee Greenberg, Ellen’s parents, have sought to change the ruling back to homicide and have filed two civil lawsuits against the city of Philadelphia
Samuel Goldberg, Ellen’s fiancé, called 911 saying he found her in a pool of blood after forcing his way inside the apartment when she wouldn’t answer.
Both the Philadelphia Police and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office investigated her death.
Because the apartment door was locked from the inside and her fiancé – who claimed to have broken down the door – had no defensive wounds, police determined her death to be a suicide.
Despite her death originally being ruled as a homicide – citing the large number of stab wounds – police publicly challenged the findings. Osbourne ultimately switched the ruling to suicide without any real explanation.
For the last decade, Josh and Sandee Greenberg, Ellen’s parents, have sought to change the ruling back to homicide. They filed a lawsuit against the city, which the city objected.
They argued that state law ‘makes clear that a medical examiner can be wrong as to the manner of death yet cannot be compelled to change it,’ according to NBC.
From then on, the fight to get justice for their daughter was in limbo. In 2018, the investigation was turned over to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for review.
The first-grade teacher had suffered 10 stab wounds to her neck and the back of the head, and 10 to her stomach, abdomen and chest – with a 10-inch knife still plunged into her heart
Because the apartment door was locked from the inside and Goldberg – who claimed to have broken down the door – had no defensive wounds, police determined her death to be a suicide
In 2022, the investigation was turned over to Chester County detectives as a way to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
In December of 2024, Ellen’s parents appeared in court for the first time and listened as their lawyer presented the arguments made in the lawsuit against the city.
Judge Michael Erdos told the family that the decision to switch the death ruling had baffled him as well.
As the years have dragged on, pathologists, crime scene experts, law enforcement and lawyers have expressed doubts over the suicide ruling.
Goldberg has spent the past decade as a target of suspicion by those convinced Ellen was murdered.
For the last 13 years, Goldberg has always stuck to his story that he returned from the gym in the building and realized he had locked himself out.
