Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old elementary school teacher, was found dead in her Philadelphia apartment on January 26, 2011. She had approximately twenty stab wounds on her body, with ten to the back of her neck and head. A 5-inch serrated kitchen knife was found embedded in her chest. Her death was ruled a suicide and was reviewed twice by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro, once in 2019 and again in 2022. His office upheld the controversial ruling both times. Three days after the final suicide ruling, Shapiro recused himself from the case.
Ellen’s parents, Joshua and Sandra Greenberg, were shocked by AG Shapiro’s ruling, stating “He stole four years from us, holding the case in his office, and we have no evidence of him doing anything”. In 2022, a Youtuber posted a video alleging that Shapiro has connections to Ellen’s fiancé’s family including political donations, as well as how it seems physically impossible for Ellen to have stabbed herself in the back of the head and neck.
Podcasts like Crime Junkie and Morbid have covered this case extensively, also questioning the suicide ruling.
Ellen’s fiancé, Sam Goldberg, found Ellen in the Manayunk apartment they shared. In his 911 call, he reported that he had come back from the gym and realized the swing lock on the apartment door was engaged, and Ellen was not responding to his calls to let him in. He claimed he kicked the door in and damaged the lock to get inside, and then he found Ellen lying on her back on the kitchen floor, unresponsive in a pool of blood. When the 911 operator started walking him through performing CPR, he realized a knife was sticking out of her chest and immediately stated “Oh my God, she stabbed herself”.
Contrary to Sam Goldberg’s 911 call, Ellen was not found flat on her back. She was propped up almost in a slumped sitting position against the lower kitchen cabinets. A trail of blood had run from her nose horizontally across her cheek to her ear, and according to the laws of gravity, this would indicate she was at one point on her back or side. There was no sign of a burglary or a struggle, and there was no suicide note.
Before the Medical Examiner had a chance to perform an autopsy, police had already privately ruled Ellen’s death a suicide and allowed the apartment to be professionally cleaned, contaminating a possible crime scene. They also allowed Sam Goldberg’s uncle, James Schwartzman, to enter the apartment after it was cleaned and remove Ellen’s laptops, phone, purse, and car keys, breaking the chain of custody of these items. These were later turned over to the police and Ellen’s parents. Jim Schwartzman is a high-ranking Pennsylvania Judge and was also the first call Sam Goldberg made when he entered the apartment, before calling the police.
According to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s autopsy report, all of the stab wounds were smooth. However, the knife that was found in her chest was a serrated blade. Two of her wounds went deep into her brain from the back of her head. Dr. Marlon Osborne performed her autopsy, and he noted that Ellen had 11 bruises “in various stages of resolution” on her right side. Dr. Osborne originally ruled her death a homicide. Just a few months later on April 4, 2011, Dr. Osborne changed his ruling to suicide after a meeting with police and prosecutors, where they informed him that Ellen had recently started taking anti-anxiety medication prescribed by her psychiatrist.
In 2013, the Greenbergs began hiring a team of experts to look into their daughter’s case. This included Private Investigator Thomas Brennan, Jr., a veteran Pennsylvania State Police officer and retired Dauphin County detective who trained with the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit. They also commissioned Dr. Wayne K. Ross, a veteran forensic neuropathologist from Lancaster to review Ellen’s cause of death. In his 2017 report, he wrote: “It is my opinion that the investigating authorities should pursue this case as a homicide.”
Dr. Wayne Ross, another neuropathologist hired by the city of Philadelphia, also concluded that Ellen’s death was a homicide. He noted the multiple bruises on her body were consistent with a repeated beating, and that one of the stab wounds in the back of her neck severed her spinal cord, which would have at least partially paralyzed her. He also found evidence of strangulation from marks and bruises on her neck. He would testify that Ellen was likely, not alive when at least one of the stab wounds was inflicted because there was no evidence of hemorrhaging to that wound.
In July 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted the Greenberg’s appeal to hear the case to reverse the suicide ruling. This comes after lower court judges in 2023 acknowledged the “deeply flawed investigation” of Ellen’s death by the Philadelphia Police, the DA, and the Medical Examiner’s office. Their family attorney, Joe Podraza, says, “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court only takes cases which it decides are significant enough from a social standpoint for it to consider.”
