The father of a teacher found dead with 20 stab wounds said his family is “very excited” that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review their case.
Ellen Greenberg’s case was ruled a suicide, which her family has denied. They believe she was murdered and want the case reopened.
The bloodied body of 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg was found on the kitchen floor of her Philadelphia apartment on January 26, 2011. She had ten stab wounds to the back of her head and neck, and ten to her abdomen, stomach, abdomen and chest. The 10-inch knife was still in her body.
Justice For Ellen Facebook page (with permission)
Her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, told police that when he couldn’t get into the apartment, he broke down the door and found her lying on the floor. His 911 call was later released by police.
In it, the operator repeatedly tells him to stay calm. He tells her that he has just discovered a knife still in her chest. The operator advises him not to perform CPR because it would be dangerous for Ellen to move the knife. She then tells him that the paramedics are on their way.
Her father, Joshua Greenberg, told Newsweek that he and his family were pleased that the court had taken the unusual step of reviewing the case. The court announced on Tuesday that it would examine whether the family had the right to challenge the medical report.
“We’re very excited about it, but we have no legal background. We’re just moving forward because of Ellen,” said Joshua Greenberg.
He said the court would only examine their legal status, not the facts of the case. Nevertheless, this was a significant step forward.
Greenberg and his wife sued the medical examiner’s office in 2019, but the Pennsylvania state court dismissed their case last September. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted their appeal, finding it a “matter of statewide importance.”
The court will examine whether “executors and administrators of the estate have the right to challenge an erroneous entry on the deceased’s death certificate.”
The court found that the coroner’s findings “constitute an obstacle or a substantial obstacle to the recovery of compensation or reparation for the victim or to the filing of a criminal complaint for wrongful death or to private criminal complaints.”
A Philadelphia deputy medical examiner initially ruled the death a homicide, but changed the diagnosis to suicide after discussing the case with police and prosecutors.
Joshua Greenberg said his family never believed Ellen committed suicide.
“She just wasn’t that kind of person and she hated pain – she wouldn’t even get her ears pierced when she was a girl,” he said. “All the research I’ve seen shows that women don’t commit suicide by force, they usually do it with pills or similar methods. Nothing about this case ever made sense to us.”
He said he and his wife were skeptical when a private investigator said he would take on the case for free.
“The first thing he said was, ‘I don’t want any money.’ And that was true. He never asked for anything. I just pay him for parking and (gas) mileage and stuff like that. That’s also what helped us keep going,” Greenberg said.
He added that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court only accepts about 100 of 3,000 petitions each year, so the family feels their case is being taken seriously. Their attorney is preparing briefs to submit to the court.
