Judge dumbfounded by error at site of 'suicide' where teacher was found stabbed 20 times

The parents of 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg, a Philadelphia teacher whose 2011 death was ruled a suicide after she was found with nearly two dozen stab wounds and covered in bruises, appeared in court last week, where a judge told them the city's suicide declaration was "puzzling."  

Greenberg was found in her kitchen with 20 stab wounds and a knife in her chest with a half-made fruit salad on the countertop during a blizzard Jan. 6, 2011. Her parents, Dr. Josh and Sandee Greenberg, have been entangled in legal battles with the government since their daughter's death, fighting the determination that it was a suicide. 

Oral arguments were heard Dec. 11 in a Philadelphia courtroom as part of a 2022 lawsuit the Greenbergs filed that accuses local officials and the medical examiner's office of covering up their daughter's death and participating in a "concealed conspiracy for the purpose of disguising Ellen’s homicide as a suicide," according to legal documents. This was the first time the Greenbergs sat in a courtroom and listened to arguments in their daughter’s case. 

"I feel like we're advocating for her," Sandee said in a statement to Fox News Digital after the hearing. "We are getting closer to justice for Ellen. We are very determined and not giving up."

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At the time of her death, Greenberg had sent out save-the-date notices for her wedding with Sam Goldberg, who said he returned home from a gym, broke down the door and found his fiancée's body in their shared apartment in Manayunk, a quiet neighborhood in Philadelphia. 

In the hour before Goldberg called 911, he sent Greenberg a series of calls, emails and eerie text messages, according to court records. 

Between 5:32 p.m. and 5:54 pm, Goldberg's last nine texts to Greenberg included the following: "Hello," "open the door," "what r u doin," "im getting pissed," "hello," "you better have an excuse," "what the f***," "ahhh," and "u have no idea." 

Goldberg called 911 at 6:33 p.m., and Greenberg was pronounced dead by medics shortly thereafter. 

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A forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner's office at the time, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, initially ruled Greenberg's death a homicide, according to court documents. Then he reversed course after meeting with police behind closed doors and officially ruled it a suicide.

The Greenbergs have argued that officials involved in their daughter’s case "grossly botched" the investigation and conspired to cover it up as a result. The Greenbergs also accused them of intentionally causing the couple emotional distress. 

"I don’t think anyone disagrees the crime scene should have been handled differently," Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Erdos said during the Dec. 11 hearing, Greenberg family attorney Joe Podraza confirmed with Fox News Digital. "The fact the death certificate still lists the cause of death as suicide is puzzling."

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The Greenbergs and outside investigators have questioned why authorities allowed the crime scene to be professionally cleaned and sanitized before detectives arrived with a search warrant, according to court records. 

"Just as Dr. Osbourne was conducting his autopsy … ultimately concluding Ellen’s death was a homicide, the premises where Ellen was murdered were thoroughly cleaned," documents state. 

The Greenbergs have also questioned why Goldberg's uncle, James Schwartzman, a prominent Pennsylvania judge, was allowed to enter the apartment and remove a number of Ellen's belongings, including her computer and cellphone. 

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During last week's hearing, Erdos dismissed one of the defendants in the lawsuit against city officials involved but withheld judgment on the other four defendants. Erdos asked Podraza to file briefs outlining how he intends to show a jury that the remaining defendants directly and intentionally, not just recklessly, inflicted emotional distress upon the Greenbergs.

"It’s a steep climb but not an impossible climb. … You have a fighting chance," Erdos said during the hearing in reference to the Greenbergs' lawsuit. 

The defendant dismissed was Lyndsey Emery, a former pathologist with the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office who was asked in 2019 to examine a section of Greenberg’s preserved spinal column. The other four defendants named in the lawsuit include Osbourne, the former city pathologist who conducted Greenberg’s autopsy; former Chief Medical Examiner Sam Gulino; retired Homicide Sgt. Tim Cooney; and Homicide Det. John McNamee. 

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Over the years, forensic pathologists, crime scene experts, former law enforcement officials and attorneys have expressed doubts about Greenberg's suicide ruling. And Goldberg recently broke his silence on the death of his bride-to-be, seemingly believing otherwise. 

"When Ellen took her own life, it left me bewildered. She was a wonderful and a kind person who had everything to live for. When she died, a part of me died with her," Goldberg told CNN in his first public statement about Greenberg's death. 

"Unimaginably, in the years that have passed, I have had to endure the unimaginable passing of my future wife and the pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth. Mental illness is very real and has many victims." 

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Greenberg's 20 stab wounds included 10 from behind, at least one of which could have been inflicted after she was already dead, according to court documents. She was also found covered in bruises in different stages of healing, implying she had received them over the course of some time, according to the autopsy report. 

"My daughter was being abused," her father previously told Fox News Digital. "She had injuries on her body consistent with abuse." 

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Dr. Cyril Wecht, a famed forensic pathologist who conducted an independent review of the autopsy, found the evidence "strongly suspicious of homicide."

Wecht, who died in May, previously told Fox News Digital that after looking at the forensic evidence, he believed the idea that Greenberg could have died by suicide was "highly, highly unlikely."

Greenberg's parents previously said that while a psychiatrist, Dr. Ellen Berman, had diagnosed the 27-year-old with anxiety before her death, the psychiatrist also noted that Greenberg did not have suicidal thoughts or feelings. 

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In addition to their latest lawsuit, the Greenbergs previously filed another active lawsuit in 2019, aiming to have the designation of "suicide" on her death certificate replaced with "homicide" or "undetermined." That case is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Philadelphia Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. They have previously declined to discuss the case. Goldberg did not immediately respond for comment.

A representative for Schwartzman previously responded to the claims that he removed items from the scene on his behalf, telling Fox News Digital that police gave Schwartzman permission to go in and take Greenberg's belongings, confirming he had removed her computers and cellphones. 

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.