The shocking 2011 death of Ellen Greenberg, a cherished teacher in Philadelphia, who was discovered with 20 stab wounds, has once more been classified as a suicide. This latest conclusion has drawn sharp criticism from her family’s attorney, who denounced the findings as “nonsense.”
A new report issued by the coroner’s office on Friday asserts that, following a thorough re-examination of the evidence, the 27-year-old Greenberg likely took her own life in her apartment on January 26, 2011, as reported by People Magazine.
Her body was found with multiple stab wounds, affecting areas such as the back of her head and her heart.
Philadelphia’s Chief Medical Examiner, Lindsay Simon, commented that “while the pattern of injuries is distinctly unusual, Ellen was physically capable of inflicting these injuries on herself,” according to the publication.
Simon characterized Greenberg as a “young woman coping with anxiety.”
“Taking all this information into account, it is the opinion of the undersigned that Ellen Greenberg’s death is best classified as ‘suicide,’” Simon stated on Friday, adding that the opinions expressed in the report are made with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
This latest ruling marks another twist in an already complicated case that has seen Greenberg’s grieving parents suing the city and the medical examiner on two occasions, alleging mishandling of the investigation.
In a vehement statement to The Post, attorney Joseph Podraza from the firm Lamb McErlane, representing Greenberg’s family, condemned the recent report from the Medical Examiner as “nonsense.”
Podraza argued that the report includes inaccurate claims, such as the assertion that a stab wound found in her spinal column was inflicted during the autopsy—a claim dismissed by every credible expert, including the city’s neuropathologist.
He criticized Simon’s review as “seriously flawed,” noting that it overlooked unexplained bruises, missing surveillance footage from the scene, and findings from a reconstruction showing Greenberg could not have inflicted the wounds herself.
“Simon constructs a weak argument based on twisted representations of Ellen’s mental health, supported by disingenuous distortions of her managed anxiety, a condition that affects over 40 million Americans daily,” the attorney expressed. “Shame on you, Simon.”
Greenberg was discovered dead in her apartment by her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, during a significant snowstorm.
An autopsy revealed that she had numerous bruises and suffered 20 stab wounds, including significant injuries to her neck, back, head, and heart, with the murder weapon discovered lodged in her chest.
Goldberg has never been categorized as a suspect.
Initially, Marlon Osbourne, the assistant coroner at the time, classified Greenberg’s death as a homicide.
However, shortly thereafter, he revised his ruling to suicide after meetings with Philadelphia police, generating significant controversy over the case.
This year, an appellate court described the police investigation into the teacher’s death as “deeply flawed,” yet upheld the Medical Examiner’s ruling of suicide.
Osbourne later changed his perspective once more, suggesting in February that the death was “something other than suicide.”
Sandee and Josh Greenberg, the deceased woman’s parents, have consistently challenged the suicide ruling and initiated lawsuits while also retaining two forensic experts to contest the Medical Examiner’s conclusion.
In February, the Greenbergs reached a settlement in their claims for an undisclosed sum and secured a commitment from the city to re-examine their daughter’s case, according to People.
