According to multiple reports, the parents of a woman found dead with more than 20 stab wounds are suing the medical examiner’s office over its declaration that she died by suicide.
More than 10 years since Ellen Greenberg’s boyfriend found her dead in her Philadelphia apartment.
Greenberg, a 27-year-old elementary school teacher, came home early from work due to a snowstorm on January 26, 2011.
The police report noted, at around 5.30 p.m., her boyfriend Sam Goldberg came home to find himself locked out. Eventually, he broke down the door to find Greenberg’s body with a knife still in her chest.
The only access points were the front door and a balcony, police said. Officers say the snow outside was undisturbed.
The only access points were the front door and a balcony, police said. Officers say the snow outside was undisturbed. The report goes on to say she was alone in the sixth-floor apartment, and that the door had been blocked by a swing bar from the inside. The knife matched the set in her knife block, which was tipped over, a lack of defensive wounds, and no signs of a robbery, all led police to suspect a suicide, the report said.
According to KYW-TV, Her parents have refused to accept that as the truth and now have been allowed a non-jury trial after they sued the coroner’s office.
Sandra Greenberg, Ellen’s mother said, “We look forward to the trial in hopes of obtaining justice for Ellen.”
Her parents said she had never mentioned suicidal thoughts and no problems with Goldberg.
The police report, that Greenbergs left no note.
The family never believed the March 2011 ruling that their daughter killed herself because she was happy in her life.
“It makes no sense,” Joseph Podraza said the Greenbergs’ attorney, who added the 10-year battle has been motivated by the parent’s love for their daughter.
He said, “They want to know what happened to their daughter.”
However, Ellen Berkowitz, the city’s lawyer, said there is no legal way to do what the parents want.
“They essentially ask this Court to sit as a sur-medical examiner, to overrule the determination of the medical professional vested by state law and the Philadelphia Code with the sole responsibility and discretion to determine the cause and manner of death,” Berkowitz wrote in a court filing.
But the family has raised questions. On the day she died, Ellen Greenberg filled up her gas tank on her way home from work. There was no note.
On the day she died, a partially eaten fruit salad was found in the kitchen near her body.
Podraza has argued in court that the knife block in the kitchen was on its side, claiming it could be a sign of a struggle. There was a large gash on the back of her head, which he has argued could be a sign she was hit from behind, and could explain why she did not try to defend herself.
He told the Post, “We now know, as far as I’m concerned, that this was not a suicide.”
The city has argued that the ruling is not a bar to an investigation if there is anything to investigate.
The city said,“The medical examiner’s determination is binding on no one … If a prosecuting authority were convinced that Ellen Greenberg was murdered, there is no statute of limitations on homicide and they could pursue it,”
Podraza said Greenberg’s parents want a “forthright, complete investigation.”
Their purpose, now, though, is to answer the question Podraza posed: “Is this a suicide, or is this something else?”
Sources: Westernjournal, Philadelphia, Washingtonpost