• June 23, 1983

Ellen Rae Greenberg, born on June 23, 1983, in New York City, was the only child of Joshua and Sandra Greenberg. 1994 The family moved to the Harrisburg from NY, Ellen attended Susquehanna Township Middle schools.

After graduating high school, Ellen Attended Pen State University. While at Penn State University, she worked as a “Lionizer,” where she introduced athletes and their parents to the campus and even helped out on the football field. Ellen graduated from Penn State with a degree in communications. She planned on becoming a speech pathologist, but realized it wasn’t the right career path for her. She then attended Temple University at night to earn her teaching credentials. After Ellen obtained her teaching credentials. Ellen began her career as a first-grade teacher at Juniata Park Academy.

• 2007

In 2007 Ellen met her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, through a mutual friend and they went on a blind date.

• Summer 2010

In the Summer 2010, After three years of dating, Sam proposed to Ellen on the beach during a trip to California. Ellen accepted his proposal, marking the beginning of their journey towards marriage in August 2011. Ellen Greenberg and Sam Goldberg moved to a modern apartment on the 6th floor with views of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

• December 2010

December 2010, the month leading up to her death, Ellen Greenberg’s parents and friends began to notice a significant change in her behavior. Ellen, who had always been cheerful and composed, became increasingly anxious and stressed. When questioned about these changes, Ellen attributed her anxiety to work pressures and the stress of planning her wedding, scheduled for August. In December 2010 Her anxiety reached a point where she even expressed a desire to quit her job and move back home with her parents. Ellen wanted to come home, surprising her parents with a text:

 “I want to leave this place. Get me out.” (Exhibit 2022-12-08)

• December 18, 2010,

Ellen’s computer revealed She search results for suffocation and suicide methods. Ellen asked her parents if she could move back home to Harrisburg. They thought it odd, given her impending marriage in August, but their daughter assured them it had nothing to do with Goldberg, her fiance. As Ellen’s anxiety continued to escalate and began affecting her sleep, her family urged her to seek professional help. Following their advice Ellen saw a psychiatrist on three occasions, who prescribed her Klonopin and Ambien. Klonopin, a long-acting benzodiazepine, was intended to help manage her anxiety and panic attacks, while Ambien was prescribed for her insomnia.

• January 8, 2011

Ellen texted her mom, Sandra, “I’m starting the med I know u don’t understand but I can’t keep living with feeling this way,”

• January 10, 2011 

a few weeks before her death, her computer revealed searches for quick death. She also opened an article on euthanasia and browsed a website about painless suicide.

• January, 22, 2011

On the January, 22, 2011 Ellen sent out her save-the-date cards for the wedding as they had set a date to get married in August 2011. That day She was also helping her close friend with upcoming wedding, That Saturday they went dress shopping for bridesmaids dress. While looking for bridesmaids dress Ellen began crying and told her friend “I’m so sorry, I know I’m not myself. But I’ll get it together.”‘

• January 26, 201
• 7:00 AM Ellen spoke to her mother.
• 12:00 PM Ellen received an text from a friend “Yah, you are getting out early” and replied with “Thank Goodness”
• 1:15 PM Ellen Greenberg left her job early as schools closed due to severe weather
• 1:26 PM Ellen stopped for gas. Topping off her tank ensured her fuel lines wouldn’t freeze during the massive winter storm. Ellen had used her Visa card at a gas station on Umbria Street, not far from Venice Lofts. She had spent $41.20 at Pump #4, filling her tank with 12.878 gallons of unleaded gasoline.
  
• 2:30 PM she makes a call to a local restaurant
• 2:33 PM – Ellen called someone call lasted 30 seconds
• In her apartment, she remotely entered the grades for her first-grade students
• 3:47 PM: Ellen Sends Her Final Text
• 4:45 PM Goldberg left the couple’s home around 4:45 p.m., surveillance at their apartment building captured Sam entering the on-site gym.
• 4:46 PM, Ellen uses her laptop.
• 5:30 PM Sam Goldberg exits the gym on the first floor of Venice Lofts Apartments (surveillance video). When he returned at 5:30 p.m., he found that he couldn’t enter the apartment because the door had a hotel room-style latch engaged from the inside. Despite using his key and banging on the door, Ellen did not respond or unlock it.
• 5:30 PM until 5:42 PM Sam calls Ellen and sends her texts from
• 5:32 PM – 5:54 PM Sam emailed and texted Ellen.

Samuel Goldberg sent Ellen text message:

• Hello
• open the door
• what r u doin
• im getting pissed
• hello
• you better have an excuse
• what the fuck
• ahhh
• u have no idea

Samuel then went downstairs to the lobby and asked Phil Hanton, the security guard, to help him break the lock. Phil refused as he told him it was against policy.

• 5:44 PM Neighbors heard Goldberg call Ellen’s name several times.
• Unknown Time: Sam Goldberg called Kamian Schwartzman to let him know he was locked out of his apartment and that Ellen was not responding to repeated telephone calls and texts to let him in. Kanin suggested to ask Security Doorman for help.
• 6:00 PM Sam went downstairs in the lobby requesting help from the doorman Phil Hanton, The doorman tells Sam that it is against policy for him to break down doors, but he can call Ellen. 
• 6:07 and 6:10 PM Ellen’s cell gets two calls from Venice Lofts, but no one answers. The doorman Phil Hanton offers to call the police.
• 6:14 PM Sam Goldberg calls Kamian Schwartzman to tell them that the security guard could not help.
• 6:23 PM: Sam Goldberg seen on surveillance camera enter elevator
• 6:26 PM: Sam Goldberg Answers a Phone Call from his cousin and uncle, His cousin and uncle instructed him to call 911.
  
• 6:28 PM Sam Goldberg is seen on the video going upstairs 
• 6:30 PM Sam went back up to the apartment and Kamian and James instructed Sam to force his way in. Sam stayed on the phone when he broke the door and forced his way into the apartment.
  
• 6:31 PM – Just inside the door, Samuel found Ellen slumped on the floor in the kitchen leaning against the cabinets. James and Kamian heard Sam scream. They instructed Sam Goldberg to call 911.
• 6.33 PM: Sam Goldberg called 911
• Samuel was instructed to remove Ellen’s sweater and to administer CPR, Goldberg lifted the Victim’s slouched head in order to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). At that moment, Goldberg discovered the knife lodged in the Victim’s chest. Operator instructed Sam Goldberg to stop administering CPR and Paramedics are on the way.
• 6:36 PM Emergency Responders Arrive On-Scene
• Emergency responders arrived at 6:36 p.m. and found Ellen in a semi-upright position between two corner cabinets. Ellen had been discovered seated on the kitchen floor inside her locked Manayunk apartment with a serrated knife plunged four inches into her chest.
• A strainer filled with blueberries and an orange, appearing freshly sliced, rested on the counter. Two clean knives were in the sink. And 20 stab wounds, with 10 alone to the back of Ellen’s neck, covered her body.
• 6:40 PM she was pronounced dead. When medics arrived they found Ellen in a semi-upright position between two corner cabinets.
  
• 7:30 PM James and Kamian Schwartzman arrived at the Venice Lofts Apartments, after they received multiple calls from Sam Goldberg
• 7:31 PM Officer Jamie Budd arrived, and requested the medical examiner
• 8:27 PM Detective arrived to the scene (20:27)

Detective arrived to the scene at 20:27 and was met by Fifth District Police, Snipes 6358 and Young 6960, holding the log. NWDD Sgt. Ferguson 446, Det Veal 9216 and Det Reve 9020, the assigned. DC 11-05- 001577. Homicide Sierra 9103 and Peters 851 arrived a short time later.

The decedents fiancé Samuel Goldberg DOB along with his family and some friends are also present.

• Ellen’s body was found on the hardwood kitchen floor, located just inside the door entrance.
• The decedent is found supine with her head and some of her upper body/shoulders resting against the lower half of the white kitchen cabinets next to the range.
• Her body, starting with the head is facing north and the legs west.
• She is clad in a zipper up dark colored shirt over-top a t-shirt, grey sweatpants, underwear, and light brown UGG boots.
• A pair of eyeglasses are on the floor to the right of the decedent.
• A white towel is grasped in her left hand.
• A hair tie or scrunchie is on her right wrist.
• There are no personal effects on the body.
• January 27, 2011
• 3:00 AM Ellen’s body was removed from the Venice Loft apartments and transported to a morgue for an autopsy.
• 7:41 AM LE Interviewed Josh and Sandra Greenberg
• Before Ellen’s autopsy was completed and the results of the professional examination known, the fiancé’s lawyer uncle (James Schwartzman) and the uncle’s son (Kamian) called the apartment building’s property manager, requesting access to Ellen and her fiance’s apartment.
• 9:00 AM a Dr. Marlon Osbourne performed an autopsy on the decedent. In his examination, he noted “multiple stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, and back of neck. Marlon Osbourne Creates Draft Autopsy Report, Finds Homicide
• Melissa Ware, the property manager, contacted the police department because James Schwartzman, attorney and Sam’s uncle asked for access to the apartment to get a suit for his nephew. The police department told Melissa it wasn’t an active crime scene and went so far as to give Melissa the number of a crime scene clean-up crew.
• Ware called the fiancée’s Uncle and told him he could have access to the premises and relayed the PPD’s recommendation of a crime scene clean-up service. Without hesitation, Schwartzman agreed for the fiancé’s family to pay the costs for the crime scene clean-up service and Ware arranged for the services to be completed before Schwartzman and his son arrived at the complex. Arrangements were made with the Crime Scene Cleanup to clean up the apartment on the same day.
  
• Once apartment was cleaned, she called James Schwartzman who showed up and removed not only a suit from the apartment but also Ellen’s purse, cell phone, and laptop.
• Police Apply for Search Warrant Search Warrant
  
• January 28, 2011

Autopsy Findings:

• Dr. Marlon Osbourne classified the death as a homicide. Dr. Marlon Osbourne’s findings from the autopsy on January 27, 2011, provide critical details about the cause of death and the nature of the injuries sustained by the decedent:
• Multiple Stab Wounds: The decedent had numerous stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, and back of the neck.
• Critical Injuries: The stab wounds affected vital areas, including the aortic arch, left lung, and cervical spine (c-spine). This indicates severe trauma to essential organs and structures.
• Blade Details: A 12.5 cm (4.9 in) blade was embedded in the wound to the chest, with a depth of 10 cm (3.94 in). This suggests that the weapon used was quite substantial and the wounds were deep.
• Bruising: The presence of multiple bruises at different stages of resolution suggests a pattern of physical altercations or abuse occurring over time.

Search Warrant Executed

The search warrant, issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on January 27, 2011, authorizes law enforcement to search a residential apartment at 401 Flat Rock Road, Philadelphia. The purpose was related to the investigation of a homicide by a cutting instrument involving Ellen Greenberg.

Items Searched or Seized:

• Assorted knives
• Blood samples
• A serrated knife with a black handle
• Assorted paint samples
• A bloody hand towel found in the kitchen
• Other potential evidence items related to the crime scene
• Assorted clothing,
• Blood samples,
• a diamond ring,
• latent prints,
• Rubber Maid container
• The search warrant references Apartment 6, located at the Venice Lofts, which had an off-white door. The search was authorized under Probable Cause provided in the investigation, with Det. Donald Nauro leading the search and filing the warrant. Warrant
• Jan. 29, 2011 Police Released a statement:
  

On Jan. 29, 2011, a police spokesperson said that despite the homicide ruling, authorities were “leaning” toward suicide in Ellen’s case and looking into “mental issues” she might have had.

Lt. Raymond Evers emphasized that the case is still wide open, but he said he wanted to assure residents of Greenberg’s Manayunk neighborhood that there wasn’t “a maniac on the loose.”

Cell Phones and Laptops are Retrieved by Police from James C. Schwartzman

• March 2011 Change the Manner of Death:

March, 2011, the PPD demanded a face-to-face meeting about Ellen’s case with Osbourne and Gulino, Osbourne’s boss, which was also attended by a high-ranking representative from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. following meetings with investigators, Dr. Osbourne made an unprecedented decision to change his original ruling. He reversed his earlier classification of the death as a homicide and concluded that Ellen’s death was actually a suicide.

• March 3, 2011, sometime after the clandestine meeting had ended, Ellen’s Death Certificate Information was quietly updated from homicide to suicide.

Three months later in March 2011, following meetings with investigators, Dr. Osbourne made an unprecedented decision to change his original ruling. He reversed his earlier classification of the death as a homicide and concluded that Ellen’s death was actually a suicide. interference in a sensitive homicide investigation. Ellen’s parents, Josh and Sandra Greenberg, were astounded by the sudden change. It made no sense to them that Ellen would have inflicted 20 stab wounds on herself.

• March 7, 2011 Reversed Manner of Death:
  

After initially ruling Ellen’s death a homicide, on March 7, 2011 the ME’s Office reversed itself and changed the manner of Ellen’s death to suicide, siding with police investigators.

“We couldn’t prove anything else,” McNamee said. “We were just letting things go where it went, and that’s where it went.”

• April 1, 2011 Laptop Forensics
  

Lab provided a search history from Ellen’s computer between Dec. 18, 2010, and Jan. 10, 2011, that was recovered by law enforcement’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL) and turned over to police on April 1, 2011. It included the search terms _suicide methods, quick suicide,_ and _painless suicide._ He provided some of Ellen’s text messages, as well.

• On April 4, 2011,

Osbourne reissued a death certificate reflecting that Ellen’s death had been declared a suicide.

• April 15, 2011,

the MEO Investigation Report was revised to reflect that when the fiancé “forced entry into the apartment” “an apartment security man was reportedly present during the entry,” the very information Osbourne claimed he received at the clandestine meeting which he now claims convinced him to amend Ellen’s manner of death to a suicide

• January 2012
  

Greenberg Family ordered Ellen’s autopsy report, photos of her body from the autopsy, photos of her body at the scene, and the ME investigation report from the scene.

• Dr. Cyril Wecht’s January 2012 report labeled it “strongly suspicious of homicide.”
• January 2012 report of Cyril Wecht, MD, on the death of Ellen Greenberg
• June 7, 2012

Dr. Wayne K. Ross issued a report stating “The scene findings were indicative if a homicide”

• April 4, 2017 Detective Scott Eelman Provided a report. He state that Ellen’s Body was moved. Report
  

It is my opinion,that Ms. Greenberg wasnot In the position in which she was found at the time that the blood was deposited on her sweat pants, sweat shirt and shoes. lts also my opinion that Ms. Greenberg’s head had been in several positions during the time of blood flow and it remained so for enough time as to have the blood flow across her face and back toward her ear, upward toward her eyes and also downward toward her chin.

It is my opinion that tho blood stain evidence in this case ls inconsistent with positioning which Ms. Greenberg was found. Furthermore. I have serious concerns regarding the patterned blood stain to the loft of Ms. Greenberg’s right leg, the minimal amount of bloodstains on the floor in comparison with those found on the clothing of Ms. Greenberg and the flow patients of the bloodstains on Ms. Greenberg’s face relative 10 the position in which she was found.

June 7, 2012 Dr. Wayne K. Ross issued a report stating “The scene findings were indicative if a homicide”

• 2018

January 28, 2018 Dr. Henry-C.Lee-PhD issued a report stating “The number and type of wounds and bloodstain patterns are consistent with a homicide.

• 2019

August 29, 2019 Dr. Emery completed her examination of Ellen’s remains and determined one of the stab-wounds was administered postmortem. Report

• Dr. Emery’s examination revealed Ellen’s stab wounds were inflicted after she died (postmortem), it would strongly suggest that her death was not a suicide, but the fact that the medical examiner, Gulino, claims he was not informed of this crucial detail by Emery could raise questions about whether the investigation was properly conducted and could potentially lead to a re-evaluation of the case
  

October 15, 2019, the Parents, in their capacity as administrators of the Victim’s Estate, filed a Complaint in the Trial Court, seeking mandamus and declaratory relief. During the course of pre-trial discovery, the parties submitted several exhibits as evidence.

• a written declaration from Mr. Hanton, the security guard who was on duty at the apartment building on the night of the Victim’s death. R.R., Hanton Declaration. Contrary to Mr. Goldberg’s account, Mr. Hanton maintained that he did not escort Mr. Goldberg to the sixth floor, nor was he present when Mr. Goldberg forced open the apartment door. Declaration of Philip Hanton – Doorman
• The Parents also presented still images from surveillance footage, which confirmed that Mr. Goldberg went up to the apartment alone
• The building’s property manager, Melissa Ware, explained that an unnamed PPD representative had advised her to call a third-party service to have the apartment thoroughly cleaned. Declaration
• 2020

January 2020, the judge ruled that the case could move forward. The court proceedings were on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but started moving forward in 2021.

• 2021

Josh and Sandra Greenberg have taken matters into their own hands, hiring attorney Joseph Podraza to help them file a lawsuit against the medical examiner’s office. They seek to have the cause of death officially changed back to homicide.

To support their case, they engaged two neuropathologists to review the autopsy report and examine brain tissue samples from their daughter.

Both experts concluded that suicide is not a viable explanation for Ellen’s death. In October 2021, a Philadelphia judge ruled that the case could proceed to civil court. 

January 2021: Goldberg’s learned about the existence of the surveillance video on January 28, 2021, when a copy was provided to their counsel—but only after counsel, who had been repeatedly told the PPD did not possess videotape from the apartment complex, refused to accept these representations and threatened to involve the Court. Following the threat, the videotape was “miraculously” discovered and produced 11 months after Plaintiff’s counsel’s initial request. That video—a still frame of which is reproduced below—clearly depicts the fiancé enter the elevator by himself at 6:32 PM.

May 2021: Goldberg’ s and their Attorney learned for the first time that the findings and conclusions by Emery from her thorough August 2019 examination of a stab wound in a specimen taken from Ellen at autopsy (an examination ordered by her boss, Gulino, the former Chief Medical Examiner), definitively established that the wound was inflicted postmortem, after Ellen was already dead.

April 20, 2021

• Gulino testified that he “did not find reason to overturn Dr. Osbourne’s opinion” that Ellen’s death was a suicide (see July 2022).

July 2, 2021

• July 2, 2021, through public filings, served on the City in the earlier related case, they were made aware of the video footage and the significant information it conveys about the whereabouts and interactions of Ellen’s fiancé prior to the 9-1-1 call, as well as Hanton’s denial of having accompanied Ellen’s fiancé to the apartment before and during the fiancé’s alleged forced entry into the apartment.

August 2021

• Pennsylvania State Police officers interviewed Gulino about Ellen’s case, focusing on whether it was a suicide or homicide. 235. Gulino told the officers that he did not specifically recall Emery telling him the wound he asked her to examine in Ellen’s case was inflicted postmortem. But he told the same officers that Emery’s conclusion that one of Ellen’s wounds was administered postmortem compelled that Ellen’s manner of death must be amended from suicide.

September 2021: The lawsuit continues despite opposition from Philadelphia city officials, who defend the original suicide ruling.

October, 2021 Judge Glynnis D. Hill ruled in October 2021 that the civil suit filed by Ellen’s parents, Joshua and Sandra Greenberg of Harrisburg, against the Medical Examiner’s Office and Dr. Marlon Osbourne could proceed to trial.

The Greenberg’s are seeking to have the manner of their daughter’s death officially changed back to homicide or undetermined. This change would potentially allow for the reopening of the investigation and the filing of a wrongful death or misconduct lawsuit against the city.

Following Judge Hill’s decision, the city filed an appeal, arguing that Hill’s ruling was “an egregious abuse of discretion that ignored binding precedent.” The city contended that even if the medical examiner’s findings were flawed, the law does not compel a change in the manner of death.

December 10, 2021, Greenberg’s attorney provided “numerous additional materials to the AG’s Office in response to the AG’s statement to the press that the AG would review new material if the material was supplied.”

• 2022

In February 2022 The court heard arguments from Joseph Podraza, the Greenberg’s attorney, and Kelly Diffily, a senior attorney with the city’s Law Department, at the Widener Building in Center City.

February 4, 2022 the Commonwealth Court granted the city’s petition and ordered the civil trial be placed on hold, pending a decision in the appeal case.

August 2022 The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office recuses itself from handling the case to avoid conflicts of interest.

• The case is transferred to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office for independent review.
• 2023

March 2023 Dr. Lindsay Emery, a forensic neuropathologist, conducts an independent analysis and finds that:

• Ellen’s spinal dura was punctured, meaning she should have been incapacitated before she could have inflicted additional stab wounds.
• This directly contradicts the suicide ruling.

May 2023 The Greenberg family’s attorneys submit Dr. Emery’s findings to court as new forensic evidence supporting a homicide ruling.

July 2023 A Philadelphia judge rejects an appeal from the city to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed.

October 24, 2023

• Greenberg argued that in 2011, the PPD had seized from the apartment complex the very videotape footage which conclusively refutes that Hanton escorted Ellen’s fiancé as was misrepresented to Osbourne at that meeting.
• 2024

July, 2024, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is Granted

August 2024 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments challenging the suicide ruling.

• This is a major legal victory for the Greenberg family, as the court’s decision could pave the way for a full criminal investigation.

November 8, 2024 The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced an update in the investigation related to the death of Ellen Greenberg. The DA office is currently unable to move forward with criminal charges and is placing the investigation into an inactive status.

December 11, 2024, oral argument held 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.

Assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide, but changed it to suicide after a meeting with police and prosecutors. A judge told her parents Josh and Sandee Greenberg that the decision to switch the ruling baffled him as well. Judge Michael Erdos made the comments during a hearing as part of the parents ongoing lawsuit they filed that accused officials of covering up their daughters death.

• 2025

January 31, 2025, The judge ruled that medical examiners Marlon Osbourne and Sam Gulino must testify at trial along with homicide detective John McNamee.

February 2, 2025, The Greenberg’s reached a settlement with the city, which has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount. Additionally, the Medical Examiner’s Office will re-evaluate Ellen’s manner of death. Josh and Sandee consider Osbourne’s verification sufficient.

“To us, it means that we’ve accomplished our role that Ellen did not commit a suicide. Here you have the original pathologist, finally, after 14 years after Ellen’s death and five years of litigation acknowledging that her manner of death should not be suicide but should be deemed something else,” said Joe Podraza, the Greenberg family’s attorney.

The Greenberg’s have argued since 2021 that a reexamination of forensic evidence shows Ellen could not have caused some of the wounds — at least one was caused after she had died, according to medical tests contained in court filings.