Authorities reaffirm death of teacher stabbed 20 times as a suicide despite family doubts
A medical examiner has ruled that a first-grade teacher who was found dead by her fiancé with 20 stab wounds, took her own life.
Ellen Greenberg was discovered dead in her apartment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with punctures across her body, including the back of her neck, head and back - before the knife was found plunged through her chest directly into her heart, on January 26, 2011.
The 27-year-old's death was immediately ruled as a homicide by Assistant Philadelphia medical examiner Marlon Osbourne.
However, two weeks later he updated the manner of death to that of a suicide following a meeting with the Philadelphia Police Department - ultimately, bringing the criminal investigation to an end.
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Along with the 20 stab wounds suffered from a 10-inch blade, she also had 11 bruises covering her body.
Her fiancé Sam Goldberg was never a suspect in her death, alleging that the door was locked from the inside and that he tried to text and ring her when he returned from the gym - located in their apartment.
After having been unable to gain entrance, he went downstairs to ask the doorman if he had a key for their apartment. When he was told that company policy wouldn't allow him to open the door, Goldberg alleges that he went upstairs and kicked down the door himself.
Police told Osbourne that the doorman witnessed Goldberg kick the door down, which he testified played into his thinking in the case, when in actual fact nobody was there when Goldberg gained entry.
Ellen's parents, Joshua and Sandee Greenberg, have fought tirelessly against the ruling in the belief that their daughter was murdered.
"Ellen stabbing herself 20 times before dying is bulls**t. She died from a very vicious, very painful knife attack," her father told the Daily Mail.
Now, after 14 years waiting for Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office to review and reassess the case, its chief medical examiner Lindsay Simon reaffirmed on Friday (October 11) that Ellen's death was self-inflicted.
The determination came before a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court hearing scheduled for today - which judge Linda Carpenter has previously shared her frustration over the length of time the reexamination has taken.
Despite the ruling, multiple experts disagree with Simon - including Osbourne, who signed a statement attesting his prior decision.
Ellen's parents have also hired renowned experts to take a look at the case - including forensic neuropathologist Dr Wayne Ross, who believed her death was staged and found evidence of strangulation, as well as forensic pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht.
Wecht's verdict concluded that Ellen's wounds were not self inflicted.
The couple have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting for the cause of death to be reversed, and for their daughter's death to be reinvestigated.
"Sandee and I both believe Ellen was going to go home that day," Joshua told the publication.
"She had taken off the engagement ring, had packed up her makeup, which was very valuable to her, and she was planning to leave.
"And I think things didn't work out well, and she never made it home."
Goldberg, who has since moved on and has a family of his own, said in a statement to CNN earlier this year speaking of 'the pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth'.
He added: "Mental illness is very real and has many victims."
UNILAD has contacted Sam Goldberg and Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office for comment
Topics: Pennsylvania , Crime, US News
Joe Yates