Ellen Greenberg Case: Ruling, 2025 Settlement, and Federal Inquiry

The Ellen Greenberg case centers on the 2011 death of a 27-year-old Philadelphia first-grade teacher who was found in her locked apartment with 20 stab wounds and a knife in her chest. The city’s medical examiner first ruled the death a homicide, then reclassified it as suicide within about two weeks. That reclassification has been contested for more than a decade by Greenberg’s parents, several outside forensic experts, and, more recently, the original medical examiner himself. In February 2025 the City of Philadelphia paid the family $650,000 and agreed to a fresh review; in October 2025 the current chief medical examiner reaffirmed suicide; and by early 2026 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania had issued subpoenas asking whether local agencies properly investigated the death.

What Happened on January 26, 2011

Ellen Greenberg lived with her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, in the Venice Lofts building in Manayunk. That evening Goldberg returned from the building’s gym at about 5:28 p.m. and found the apartment’s swing bar lock engaged from the inside. He spent roughly an hour trying to reach Greenberg by phone and asking the doorman, Phil Hanton, for help. Hanton declined to help break the lock. At about 6:30 p.m., Goldberg forced the door open himself.¹

Goldberg called 911. He first told the operator Greenberg was “on her back” on the floor. When the dispatcher told him to lift her shirt to check for injuries, he said, “Oh my God! She stabbed herself!” and then, “She fell on a knife. I don’t know. Her knife is sticking out.” When officers arrived, Greenberg was propped up against corner cabinets in the kitchen, not lying flat.²

The morning after her death, Goldberg’s uncle removed all of Greenberg’s electronic devices from the apartment. They were later turned over to police once the medical examiner’s initial ruling came in. Professional crime-scene cleaners were also brought into the apartment, something the family has argued compromised the scene.¹

The Wounds and What the Autopsy Found

Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Marlon Osbourne performed the autopsy. He documented 20 stab wounds: ten to the neck, ranging from superficial nicks to about three inches deep; eight to the chest, including a four-inch-deep wound with the knife still embedded; one two-inch wound to the stomach; and a 2.5-inch gash on the scalp. He also noted 11 bruises in various stages of healing on Greenberg’s arm, abdomen, and leg.²

A 2025 review by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon identified three additional superficial stab wounds and 20 additional bruises that were not in the original autopsy, raising the totals to 23 stab and incised wounds and 31 bruises.³ Authorities initially pointed to the absence of defensive wounds as evidence the injuries were self-inflicted.

A separate 2019 examination of preserved spinal tissue by pathologist Lyndsey Emery identified two sharp-force injuries to the spinal column and dura that had not been performed during the original autopsy. Emery noted no hemorrhaging around those injuries and testified that a “lack of hemorrhage means no pulse,” which could mean the wounds were inflicted after Greenberg was already dead.²

Why the Ruling Was Changed From Homicide to Suicide

Osbourne’s initial ruling was homicide. Within two weeks he changed it to suicide. He later testified that the reclassification rested on several pieces of information: police reports indicating no signs of an intruder, the door locked from the inside, the absence of defensive wounds, and Goldberg’s account of forcing the door. He also relied on his understanding that the building’s doorman had gone upstairs with Goldberg and watched the door being broken open.²

The doorman account did not hold up. Phil Hanton signed a declaration saying he never went to the apartment and never saw the door broken. Lobby surveillance video confirmed he stayed downstairs. In a deposition, Osbourne conceded the case was “very, very weird” and said that had he known the doorman’s account was disputed, he would not have ruled suicide, and would have leaned toward “undetermined.”²

A second pillar of the reclassification also weakened. Osbourne testified he had asked Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams, a pediatric neuropathologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, for an informal opinion on whether a spinal-cord injury might have incapacitated Greenberg. He described carrying a section of spinal cord to her during a snowstorm for a “curbside exam” and said she found no lost motor function. No report was written. No bill was found. When the Philadelphia Inquirer contacted Rorke-Adams in 2018, she said she had no recollection of the exam.²

In late January 2025, Osbourne filed a sworn statement saying that, based on additional information he had reviewed over the years, the manner of death “should be designated as something other than suicide.” He had left the Medical Examiner’s Office in 2014 and no longer holds a Pennsylvania medical license, so he cannot amend the death certificate himself.⁴

What Independent Experts Concluded

Every outside forensic expert retained by the Greenberg family has disputed the suicide ruling.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht in 2012 called the death “strongly suspicious of homicide,” noting that suicides by stabbing are rare and typically involve a single wound, that the wounds entered from different angles, that there was no note, and that Greenberg’s psychiatrist had not judged her suicidal.⁵
Forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee in 2018 found the wounds and bloodstain patterns “consistent with a homicide scene,” said some wounds on the back of the head would have been difficult to self-inflict, and reported that bloodstains indicated Greenberg was in different positions when different wounds were inflicted.⁵
Forensic pathologist Dr. Wayne Ross concluded to a “reasonable degree of medical certainty” that the manner of death was homicide, listing 60 reasons that included bloodstain inconsistencies, signs of possible strangulation, and bruising he described as “consistent with a repeated beating.”⁶
Crime scene analyst Detective Scott Eelman reported that bloodstain flow patterns on Greenberg’s face were inconsistent with the position in which she was found, suggesting the body may have been moved.⁷
BioMx Corp performed a 3D computer analysis of the stab wound trajectories in 2021 and concluded the death was “not biomechanically consistent with suicide.”⁵

The Family’s Lawsuits and the 2025 Settlement

Joshua and Sandra Greenberg sued the Medical Examiner’s Office and Dr. Osbourne in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas in October 2019, seeking a writ of mandamus to change the death certificate to “homicide” or “undetermined.” A trial court allowed the case to proceed in October 2021. In September 2023, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court reversed 2-1, holding the family lacked standing to force a medical examiner to revise a professional opinion. The majority nonetheless wrote that it was “acutely aware of the deeply flawed investigation of the victim’s death” by the Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.⁸ The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed in July 2024 to hear the appeal. The family also filed a separate suit alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress against members of the three agencies.

On February 2, 2025, the Greenbergs settled both suits with Philadelphia. The city agreed to pay $650,000 and to have the current chief medical examiner independently review the file and reach a new conclusion on the manner of death. The family agreed to drop the pending litigation and waived the right to sue the city again over the case.⁹¹⁰

The 2025 Reaffirmation of Suicide

On October 13, 2025, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon issued a 32-page report concluding the death is “best classified as ‘Suicide.'” Simon reviewed the original autopsy, police records, expert testimony, and the Hulu docuseries about the case. She wrote that Greenberg was physically capable of inflicting the wounds herself and described many as “hesitation wounds.” Simon acknowledged that a stab wound to the back of the neck was “unusual” but found no signs of a struggle or an intruder.¹¹

Simon attributed the death to Greenberg’s job-related anxiety, writing that she had “an increase in energy to act on her anxious thoughts.” The report stated that Goldberg’s gym alibi was corroborated by surveillance video, keycard logs, phone records, and police interviews, and that his DNA was not on the knife. Simon also found no evidence Greenberg was in an abusive relationship.¹²

The family rejected the findings. Their attorney William Trask called the report “a deeply flawed attempt to justify a predetermined conclusion” and “an embarrassment to the City,” arguing it ignored 3D photogrammetry evidence, unexplained bruises, missing surveillance footage, and evidence of a “toxic relationship.” Trask said the family would “continue through other avenues to get justice for her murder.”¹¹ On October 15, 2025, a judge closed the record in the case following the reaffirmation.¹³

Why No Criminal Charges Have Been Filed

The criminal side of the case has moved between offices because of conflicts. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner had represented the Greenberg family in private practice, so the case was referred to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in 2018.¹⁴ In July 2022 the Attorney General’s Office returned the case to Philadelphia, citing an “appearance of a conflict.”¹⁵ It was then handled by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.

On November 8, 2024, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe announced his office could not pursue charges. The investigation was placed in “inactive status” because prosecutors concluded they “cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed” with the available evidence. The office noted that Pennsylvania has no statute of limitations for criminal homicide, so the case is not closed.¹⁶

Family attorney Joseph Podraza Jr. called that review “extremely limited and constrained,” criticized the qualifications of the independent forensic expert consulted by the DA, and pointed to an earlier review by a homicide prosecutor at the Philadelphia DA’s Office that had concluded Greenberg was murdered.¹⁷

The Federal Inquiry

In December 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania requested documents from the Philadelphia Police Department and other agencies. By early 2026, the office had issued subpoenas as part of an inquiry into whether Greenberg’s death was properly investigated by local Philadelphia agencies.³

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment, saying its “standard practice” is “to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.” The Philadelphia Police Department also declined, saying it “does not comment on ongoing legal matters.” Podraza said that “hearing the news of a federal investigation into any part of Ellen’s murder is the greatest gift Sandee and Josh could ever receive. They have waited so long for this.”¹⁸

Sam Goldberg’s Status

Sam Goldberg has never been named a suspect and has never been charged in connection with Greenberg’s death.⁹ He cooperated with police on the night of the incident and was treated as a witness. The 2025 medical examiner’s report stated that his alibi was corroborated by surveillance footage, keycard records, and phone logs, and that his DNA was not found on the knife.

Goldberg has spoken publicly about the case once, in a December 2024 statement to CNN. He described himself as “bewildered” by Greenberg’s death and called the ongoing scrutiny “pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions and falsehoods.” He added, “I hope and pray that you never lose someone you love like I did to a terrible disease and then be accused by ignorant and misinformed people of causing her death.” He is married with children and has no contact with the Greenberg family.¹

1
People. Where Is Ellen Greenberg’s Fiancé Now
2
The Philadelphia Inquirer. A Civil Suit Reveals New Details in the Case of Ellen Greenberg
3
ABC News. Ellen Greenberg’s Family Celebrates Prospect of Federal Investigation Into Death
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CNN. Ellen Greenberg Philadelphia Case Update
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Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Osbourne v. Greenberg, 1461 C.D. 2021
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CNN. Ellen Greenberg Death Philadelphia
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Lamb McErlane. Ellen Greenberg Died by Suicide With 20 Stab Wounds
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The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ellen Greenberg Parents Philadelphia Civil Lawsuit Ruling
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6ABC. Ellen Greenberg Case Bombshell Decision
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Lamb McErlane. Judge Blasts the City in Ellen Greenberg Case
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CNN. Ellen Greenberg Death Philadelphia Reaffirmed Suicide
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ABC7. Philadelphia Medical Examiner Reaffirms Ellen Greenberg’s Death Was Suicide
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Court TV. Ellen Greenberg
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6ABC. Ellen Greenberg Death Investigation Chester County DA
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CBS News Philadelphia. Ellen Greenberg Case Pennsylvania AG Philadelphia DA Office
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Chester County. Update to Ellen Greenberg Investigation
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NBC Philadelphia. Investigators Find No Evidence of a Crime in Ellen Greenberg’s Death
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NBC Philadelphia. Federal Government Joins Investigation Into Death of Ellen Greenberg