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It sounds like a bad movie plot, but for the family of Ellen Greenberg, it’s been a fifteen-year nightmare that just won't end. Picture this. A 27-year-old first-grade teacher is found on her kitchen floor in the middle of a blizzard. She has 20 stab wounds. Ten are in the back of her neck and head. There’s a serrated knife still buried in her chest.
And yet, the official word from the city is that she did it to herself.
When people ask what happened to Ellen Greenberg, they aren’t just asking about the logistics of that snowy night in 2011. They’re asking how the legal system in Philadelphia managed to look at a body with two dozen wounds—some of which supposedly hit the spinal cord—and call it a suicide. Honestly, if you've followed true crime for more than five minutes, you know this case is the one that makes even the most skeptical people pause.
The Night Everything Froze
January 26, 2011. Philadelphia was getting hammered by a massive snowstorm. Ellen left her school early, filled her car with gas, and went back to the Venice Loft apartment she shared with her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg. By all accounts, she was a beloved teacher at Juniata Park Academy. She was also dealing with some serious anxiety—something the city has leaned on heavily to explain away her death.
Goldberg told police he went to the gym in the apartment complex around 4:45 p.m. When he came back, the swing lock was engaged from the inside. He couldn't get in. He texted her repeatedly. No answer. Eventually, he broke the door down and found Ellen on the floor.
The scene was gruesome.
Police initially treated it as a suicide because the door was locked and there were no signs of a struggle. But the next day, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, an assistant medical examiner, performed the autopsy and saw the sheer volume of injuries. He ruled it a homicide.
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Then, everything got weird.
After meeting with the Philadelphia Police Department, Osbourne changed the ruling. Without any new physical evidence, "homicide" was crossed out and "suicide" was written in. Just like that, the investigation effectively stopped.
Why 20 Stab Wounds Don't Add Up
You’ve gotta be kidding, right? That’s usually the first reaction people have when they hear the number. Twenty.
It wasn't just the amount, though. It was the location. Several wounds were to the back of her head and neck. Dr. Wayne Ross, a forensic pathologist hired by Ellen’s parents, Josh and Sandee Greenberg, argued that at least one of these wounds would have incapacitated her immediately. It supposedly nicked the cranial nerves or the spinal cord. If you can't move, you can't keep stabbing yourself.
The Medical Examiner's Flip-Flop
- Initial Ruling: Homicide (based on 20 wounds and 11 bruises).
- The Change: Suicide (after police input about the locked door).
- 2025 Update: Dr. Marlon Osbourne signed an affidavit stating he now believes it's "something other than suicide."
Despite the original pathologist changing his mind, the city hasn't budged. In October 2025, Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon released a 32-page report reaffirming the suicide ruling. She basically argued that while the distribution of wounds is "unusual," Ellen was physically capable of doing it. She also suggested that the spinal cord damage might have been caused by a probe during the autopsy, not the knife.
The Legal Battle of 2025 and 2026
The Greenbergs haven't stopped fighting for a single day. They’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on independent experts and 3D photogrammetry to prove their daughter was murdered. In February 2025, it looked like they finally caught a break. The city settled a lawsuit and agreed to a fresh review of the case.
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But that "fresh review" turned out to be the Simon report that doubled down on suicide.
It’s frustrating. You’ve got a case where the original ME says he was wrong, where 3D modeling shows she couldn't have reached certain angles, and where her body was covered in bruises at various stages of healing—which often points to domestic abuse—yet the "suicide" label stays.
Sandee Greenberg told reporters recently that they’re "done with Philadelphia." They don't trust the city's machinery anymore. As of early 2026, the case is technically "closed" in the eyes of the city, but the family is pushing for state or federal authorities to step in. They’re looking for someone—anyone—outside the Philly zip code to look at the evidence with fresh eyes.
What the Evidence Actually Says
If you look at the 911 call, things get even more polarizing. Goldberg sounds panicked, sure, but he also seems to be following instructions in a way that some find "off." However, surveillance footage and keycard swipes did back up his story about being at the gym. And his DNA? It wasn't on the knife.
The city uses this to say, "Look, if he didn't do it, and the door was locked, she must have done it."
But the family points to the "swing lock" itself. They’ve shown it’s possible to engage those locks from the outside with a simple tool or even a credit card if the gap is right. Plus, there was a missing piece of surveillance footage from the hallway. Why was it missing? Nobody seems to have a good answer.
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The Anxiety Factor
The city leans hard on the fact that Ellen was taking medication for anxiety. They claim she had "an increase in energy to act on her anxious thoughts." But her family and friends say she was making plans. She had just filled her car with gas. She was looking forward to her wedding. People with anxiety don't typically decide to end their lives by stabbing themselves in the back of the neck ten times. It's just not a common method. At all.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think this is just a "he-said, she-said" mystery. It’s not. It’s a "forensics-vs-bureaucracy" battle.
The biggest misconception is that there’s no evidence of a struggle. While the kitchen looked tidy, Ellen’s body was covered in bruises. The medical examiner dismissed these as "incidental contact" from her job as a teacher. Anyone who has worked with first-graders knows you might get a bruise or two, but 11 distinct bruises on the arms and legs? That's a lot of "incidental contact."
Practical Next Steps for Following the Case
If you want to stay updated on what’s happening with the quest for justice, there are a few things you can do. The case isn't just a static story anymore; it's a moving legal target.
- Watch "Death in Apartment 603": This Hulu docuseries, which premiered in late 2025, covers the case in massive detail. It features interviews with the parents and experts who explain the 3D wound recreation.
- Follow the Justice for Ellen Page: The family runs a dedicated site and social media presence where they post court filings and updates on their push for a federal investigation.
- Monitor the PA Supreme Court: Even though the city closed the case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been involved in deciding whether the parents even have the "standing" to challenge a death certificate. This legal precedent could change how all suspicious deaths are handled in the future.
The reality of what happened to Ellen Greenberg remains a polarizing void. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a tragic, self-inflicted end for a woman struggling with her mental health. To her parents and thousands of supporters, it’s a cover-up for a brutal murder. Until a court or a federal agency forces a change to that death certificate, the "suicide" label will continue to haunt her legacy.
Keep an eye on the Chester County District Attorney’s office and federal filings through 2026. That is where the last hope for a "homicide" or "undetermined" ruling currently lives.