The Death of Ellen Greenberg

 Ellen Rae Greenberg (June 23, 1983 – January 26, 2011) was a 27-year-old American woman who died on January 26, 2011, after sustaining 20 stab wounds; her death was ruled suicide but has been described by news media as "suspicious".

Background

Ellen Rae Greenberg (born in New York City, New York on June 23, 1983) was a 27-year-old first grade teacher at Juniata Park Academy in Juniata, Philadelphia. She lived in Manayunk, Philadelphia, where she shared an apartment with her fiancé.

Incident

On January 26, 2011, a blizzard hit Philadelphia, prompting Greenberg to leave work and return to her apartment. At approximately 6:40 p.m., Greenberg was pronounced dead as a result of twenty stab wounds, including ten to her back and neck. There were also eleven bruises in various stages of resolution on her right arm, abdomen, and right leg.

The crime scene was initially treated as a suicide, but following the autopsy the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office initially ruled the case as a homicide. The next day, the Philadelphia Police Department backtracked and stated that, "the death of Ellen Greenberg has not been ruled a homicide [...] Homicide investigators are considering the manner of death as suspicious at this time." The case was reversed and officially ruled a suicide in February 2011.

Further investigation

On March 15, 2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer released a front-page investigative report reviewing the suspicious circumstances surrounding Greenberg's death. Pittsburgh forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht, who challenged the single-bullet theory of the John F. Kennedy assassination, reviewed the case and determined it was "strongly suspicious of homicide" and stated that he "[didn't] know how they wrote this off as a suicide." Similarly, forensic scientist Henry Lee, who testified for the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder trial reviewed the case files and concluded, "the number and types of wounds and bloodstain patterns observed are consistent with a homicide scene."

One significant point of contention was the stab wounds that penetrated Greenberg's brain. Wayne K. Ross wrote that the stab wounds to the brain and spinal cord would have caused severe pain, cranial nerve dysfunction, and traumatic brain injuries. The original medical report stated that neuropathologist Lucy Balian Rorke-Adams had determined there was no such wound. However, when interviewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rorke-Adams stated that it was possible she saw the body and made comments as she had contracts with the medical examiner during the time Greenberg's body was observed; however had no records of the examination, therefore could not confirm any reports in question.

Legal action

In October 2019, Greenberg's parents filed a civil suit against the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office and Marlon Osbourne, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The suit seeks to change the manner of death to "homicide" or "undetermined" citing new information and the fact that Osbourne admitted to changing the manner of death at the insistence of the police. Photogrammetry, which was unavailable at the time of Greenberg's death, created a 3D anatomical recreation of her wounds and demonstrating that not all her stab wounds could have been self-inflicted.

In January 2020, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas allowed the case to proceed past the motion to dismiss stage. The trial was set to begin in 2021. In August 2022, the Chester County District Attorney's office announced it would reopen investigation into Greenberg's death, shortly after the Pennsylvania Attorney General relinquished the case due to a conflict of interest.

Media coverage

Following The Philadelphia Inquirer investigation, the case became a sensation in the true crime community. The incident was featured in the Dr. Oz Show, People Magazine, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS Philadelphia, Good Day Philadelphia (FOX29 Philly), ABC Harrisburg, CBS Harrisburg, Penn Live, NBC's Oxygen network, the Daily Mail, and Law.com. The suspicion surrounding Greenberg's death was also the lead episode in second season of the true crime television show, Accident, Suicide or Murder.

A number of podcasts have also detailed Greenberg's death, including the Criminology Podcast featuring Cyril H. Wecht, Crime Junkie, and Morbid: A True Crime Podcast.