Prosecutors deliver bad news to family of woman whose death was ruled suicide despite suffering 20 stab wounds
Family of Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old teacher, believe she was murdered
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Prosecutors in Philadelphia have delivered bad news to the family of a woman found dead from more than 20 stab wounds back in 2011, ruling that no criminal charges will be brought in the case.
Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old teacher, was found dead on January 26 2011 by her fiancé Samuel Goldberg at their Manayunk neighborhood apartment. She was slumped against the cabinets, her legs splayed out in front of her. The beloved elementary school teacher had been stabbed at least 20 times including multiple times in the back, neck and the back of her head. A 10-inch knife was lodged in her chest.
Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide. But police considered her death a suicide and publicly challenged the findings, prompting her death to be reclassified as suicide without explanation.
For more than a decade now, the Greenberg family has been fighting to finally get answers about what happened to her and to have her manner of death changed from suicide back to either homicide or undetermined.
But now, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office has announced that it cannot move forward with criminal charges in the case.
The DA’s office – which has been looking into the case since 2022 – said in a statement on Friday that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed and so the investigation has been put into inactive status.
“This standard of proof – beyond a reasonable doubt – makes the criminal investigation different than other legal cases or issues that surround Ms. Greenberg’s death,” a spokesperson said.
“Because we cannot meet our burden of proof with the information and evidence presently available, we placed this investigation in an inactive status.”
There is no statute of limitations for criminal homicide in Pennsylvania so charges could still be brought down the line.
Greenberg’s parents Joshua and Sandra Greenberg released a statement saying that the DA’s conclusion has not altered their belief that their daughter was murdered.
“Our conviction about Ellen having been murdered does not change due to the announcement by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. Admittedly, the investigation conducted by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office was extremely limited and constrained,” family attorney Joseph Podraza Jr told NBC Philadelphia.
Podraza said that the DA’s office “did not investigate the core issues which we have raised which establish Ellen was murdered, and that evidence remains unchallenged.”
“Another highly experienced homicide prosecutor while employed at the Philadelphia DA’s Office conducted his own independent review of this case, thoroughly investigated all the issues surrounding Ellen’s death, and reached the opposite conclusion, that Ellen was murdered,” the attorney said.
“We now look forward to an upcoming trial where a full and forthright examination of the core issues surrounding Ellen’s murder may be publicly conducted before an independent Judge and jury of our peers.”
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear Greenberg’s case to consider whether “executors and administrators of an estate have standing to challenge an erroneous finding recorded on the decedent’s death certificate where that finding constitutes a bar or material impediment to recovery of victim’s compensation, restitution or for wrongful death, as well as private criminal complaints.”
The Greenbergs have also filed two civil lawsuits over the years including against members of the medical examiner’s office, the police department, and the DA’s office.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.