Mom and dad of Ellen Greenberg think new evidence submitted to the Philadelphia Attorney General’s Business will verify their daughter’s 2011 demise was murder, not suicide

The Greenbergs explain to Dateline that from the moment they got the phone their daughter experienced been uncovered stabbed to death at her Philadelphia residence on a cold winter evening in January of 2011, the thought of suicide hardly ever crossed their minds. They knew another person experienced killed her.

A nor’easter blew in that day, blanketing the condition in snow. Educational facilities shut for the day and Ellen arrived house early.

According to the investigation report, Ellen’s fiancé, Sam Goldberg, arrived property from the health and fitness center on the night of January 26, 2011, to explore he was locked out of the apartment, unable to use his keys due to the fact the apartment’s swing bar lock was engaged from the inside of. He told police he banged on the door and tried out to access Ellen by phone, but bought no response.

Goldberg was eventually in a position to power open up the door, according to the ME’s investigation report, and identified Ellen just inside the front door in the kitchen area with her higher entire body propped from the cabinets and her legs splayed out in entrance of her. When he called 911, in accordance to the report, Goldberg was “instructed to get started CPR till he seen a knife in her chest, then was instructed to stop.”

Ellen experienced 20 stab wounds — which includes 10 to her neck and head, together with bruises in “various stages of resolution” on Ellen’s arm, abdomen and proper leg,” in accordance to the autopsy report.

When police arrived at the scene that night time and noticed no compelled entry into the apartment, no protection wounds and no evidence of a wrestle, they mentioned that it appeared Ellen died by suicide.

But when the autopsy was executed, the Philadelphia Healthcare Examiner’s Office environment initially dominated Ellen’s death a murder. Ellen’s father, Josh Greenberg, told Dateline he thinks the professional medical examiner determined to reclassify her loss of life as a suicide to align with law enforcement investigators. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the health care examiner was explained to that authorities were “leaning” towards suicide and searching “mental issues” she may possibly have had.

Ellen graduated from Penn Condition as a communications significant, and viewed as getting to be a speech pathologist, but made a decision to consider a different path and went to Temple College at night to earn her teaching qualifications.

About three years immediately after she began her instructing job, she had a excellent occupation at Juniata Park Academy and was engaged to be married. In 2010 when she quickly preferred to return dwelling to Harrisburg, it did not make feeling to her mothers and fathers.

Ellen’s cousin, Debbie Schwab, instructed Dateline her commonly “bubbly” cousin experienced been dealing with nervousness for months prior to her loss of life and experienced been prescribed anti-anxiousness medicine. She extra that Ellen’s psychiatrist’s notes from a session before Ellen’s loss of life stated, in accordance to the report, that “there was never any emotion of suicidal feelings.”

On March 7, 2011, when the health care examiner’s business office reversed the ruling and transformed the method of Ellen’s dying to suicide, the household was devastated. But they kept combating.

The Greenbergs enlisted their own teams of professionals, together with famed forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht and forensic scientist Henry Lee. After investigations of their own, they disputed the professional medical examiner’s ruling of suicide.

One particular of the attorneys the Greenbergs experienced employed, Larry Krasner, became Philadelphia’s District Legal professional in 2018. They asked him to reopen their daughter’s case, but citing a conflict of fascination, Krasner recused himself and referred the case to the Pennsylvania Legal professional General’s Workplace.

According to a statement acquired by Dateline that was produced in January 2021, the Attorney General’s Business office carried out its have investigation which resulted in proof on Ellen’s personal computer and cellphone that supported the suicide ruling, even however the ME’s investigation report from 2011 said nothing indicative of suicide was located on her personal computer.

In October 2019, the Greenbergs’ attorney, Joseph Podraza Jr., submitted a civil lawsuit on their behalf against each the Philadelphia Health care Examiner’s Business office and the pathologist who done the autopsy, to get officials to improve Ellen’s fashion of dying from suicide to undetermined or back again to murder.

In January 2020, the judge dominated that the situation could move forward. The courtroom proceedings ended up on keep because of to the coronavirus pandemic, but started shifting forward in 2021.

Following months of pre-demo testimony and media protection, the Greenbergs’ attorney stated that on December 10, 2021, his crew presented “numerous further supplies to the AG’s Business office in reaction to the AG’s assertion to the push that the AG would overview new substance if the product was provided.”

Podraza explained to Dateline in an email very last week that the components involved the apartment setting up surveillance online video, the declarations of two constructing staff, and the videotaped depositions of Drs. Gulino, Osbourne and Emery of the Philadelphia Healthcare Examiner’s Workplace. It was Dr. Emery, a pathologist in the Health-related Examiner’s Place of work in 2019 trained in neuropathology, who formerly testified that a specimen of Ellen’s cervical spine retained from the unique autopsy contained one of Ellen’s stab wounds.

“In accordance to Dr. Emery, the preserved wound Emery examined in 2019 was administered when Ellen had no pulse – she was now useless,” Podraza explained.

He went on to demonstrate that “this wound was not the final stab wound Ellen sustained simply because a knife was discovered embedded in Ellen’s chest when crisis staff arrived on the scene.”

“We continue to be dumbfounded about how a man or woman could self-inflict at minimum two individual stab wounds when useless,” he added.

Josh Greenberg informed Dateline that the proof evidently factors to the point that his daughter was stabbed soon after she had died, and that she had not died by suicide.

“If they are postmortem that suggests they ended up accomplished after loss of life and Ellen could not have performed them,” he mentioned.

With the the latest submission of new evidence, the Greenbergs named on Pennsylvania Legal professional Standard Josh Shapiro to evaluation and reopen their daughter’s scenario.

Shapiro did not reply to concerns from Dateline with regards to Ellen’s situation. In an e-mail sent to Dateline this 7 days, a spokesperson for the Lawyer Common confirmed to Dateline that they have been given new evidence, which they are examining.

“We did obtain evidence from the Greenbergs’ legal professional earlier this thirty day period that is becoming reviewed,” the spokesperson wrote. The AG’s workplace included that they could not confirm facts of the proof submitted.

They also reiterated a assertion previously sent all around the 10th anniversary of Ellen’s loss of life.

“Our hearts go out to the Greenberg spouse and children on the anniversary of Ellen‘s traumatic death. At the urging of the household and following a conflict referral from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office environment in 2018, our office reviewed the circumstance and executed an in depth investigation that did not uncover proof to adjust the clinical examiner’s discovering of suicide. There is no statute of limitation on murder, however, and if any new evidence is introduced forward we consider it should be reviewed by the correct authorities. At this time, no this sort of information has been shared with our business.”

The group of supporters all around Ellen has in no way stopped their combat for justice and are hoping the AG’s overview of recently submitted proof will be the response they’ve been ready for.

“I’ve been in this enterprise given that 1966 and I have hardly ever witnessed something like it,” reported Tom Brennan, a retired 25-12 months Philadelphia Condition Police veteran and former Main of Dauphin County detectives, who has been functioning Ellen’s case for totally free for the earlier 8 decades.

He informed Dateline they have collected adequate evidence he believes will confirm that Ellen’s death was not suicide – but murder.

“Every time we consider we’re building headway, some thing blocks our path – we consider two techniques ahead and one particular phase back again,” Brennan mentioned. “But I feel there is much more than sufficient ample proof to establish our situation in courtroom. And that is what we intend to do.”

Brennan advised Dateline that no make any difference how prolonged it usually takes, he’ll keep going right up until it’s fixed.

“Our next action is to get the lead to of death altered,” Brennan mentioned. “Then we can go about the whodunnit.”

Ellen’s dad and mom advised Dateline they imagine the proof is more than enough to reopen the circumstance and hope to hear from the AG’s business in a issue of months.

But for now, Ellen’s cherished types keep on to share her tale with the hope of a person day getting justice.

Ellen’s cousin Debbie advised Dateline they have been given and are grateful for the overwhelming volume of enjoy and support from the community. Extra than 125,000 people today have signed a Improve.org petition that calls on the Pennsylvania Legal professional Typical to revisit the case.

There is also a Fb webpage in Ellen’s honor named “Justice for Ellen” that at this time has a lot more than 32,000 fans.

“I just just cannot imagine it’s been 10 years,” Debbie informed Dateline again in January. “Ten a long time and we’re no closer to justice. But we’re just likely to retain fighting.”

This holiday break year, just a month shy of the 11th anniversary of Ellen’s dying, her mothers and fathers say the time is a painful reminder of their decline.