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Ellen Greenberg’s death has once again been ruled a suicide, following a new review by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, according to media reports.
Per People, the report reaffirms that Greenberg, a 27-year-old Philadelphia schoolteacher, died by suicide despite sustaining 20 stab wounds to her back, neck, and head, with a knife found protruding from her chest.
Greenberg, who taught first grade at Juniata Park Academy, was found dead in her locked apartment on January 26, 2011, after returning home early from work due because of a snowstorm.
Her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, said he discovered her body after forcing open the door when she didn’t respond. Goldberg was never a suspect and was never charged with any crime.
The circumstances, including multiple stab wounds and no signs of forced entry, have fueled years of debate and legal challenges from her family over whether her death was self-inflicted.
The new ruling sparked backlash, with the Greenberg family attorney Joseph Podraza Jr. saying in a statement that the review was “a deeply flawed attempt to justify a predetermined conclusion.”
“It includes false claims like the assertion that a stab wound in Ellen’s spinal column was made during the autopsy, a theory rejected by every credible expert, including the City’s own neuropathologist,” Podraza said in a statement to Fox New Digital.
“By ignoring key evidence that contradicts suicide, the extensive 3D photogrammetry, a recreation which proves Ellen could not self-inflict all the wounds, unexplained bruises, missing surveillance footage, an intact lock, accounts of a toxic relationship,” he said.
Greenberg’s death was initially ruled a homicide in 2011, before Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Marlon Osbourne changed the manner of death to suicide after meeting with Philadelphia Police investigators.
Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon led the most recent review as part of a settlement with Greenberg’s parents, who have spent years contesting the suicide finding.
In Feb. 2025, Greenberg’s family settled lawsuits with the City of Philadelphia and others, asking them to reevaluate Ellen’s manner of death. The family said it should be changed to homicide or undetermined.
Per People, the new report said that “while the distribution of injuries is admittedly unusual, the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself,” noting she was a “young woman suffering from anxiety.”
The Chief Medical Examiner wrote that “the fiancé’s DNA was not detected on the knife used to inflict the injuries” and that there was no evidence of an abusive relationship or a struggle at the scene.
“With all of this information considered, it is the opinion of the undersigned that the manner of Ellen Greenberg’s death is best classified as ‘suicide,’ the report said.
In his statement, Podraza said Simon’s report was “an embarrassment to the City, and an insult to Ellen and her family.”
“Ellen’s family just wanted the truth. It is clear the truth will not come from Philadelphia’s law enforcement machinery. Though Ellen’s city turned its back on her, we will continue through other avenues to get justice for her murder, by any means necessary,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office and the City of Philadelphia Law Department for comment.
The post Ellen Greenberg’s controversial death ruled suicide again, new report ‘deeply flawed’ says lawyer appeared first on Fox News.
