Pa. Supreme Court to hear wrongful death case of Philadelphia teacher Ellen Greenberg

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to hear the case of Ellen Greenberg whose death was ruled a suicide in 2011, but her parents have fought for over a decade to get the manner of death changed to a homicide or undecided.

Greenberg’s family has been in a years-long fight with the City of Philadelphia over Ellen’s manner of death since it was ruled a suicide in 2011.

Ellen’s parents believe she was murdered.

Here’s what we know about Ellen Greenberg's death

On January 26, 2011, Greenberg, who was a teacher at Juniata Park Academy for four years, was found dead by her fiancé inside a unit at the Venice Loft Condominiums along the 4600 block of Flat Rock Road in the city’s Manayunk neighborhood.

Her fiancé told police when he returned from the gym he found the apartment door locked and had to break in to get back inside where he found Greenberg seated on the kitchen floor, according to court documents.

An autopsy the next day revealed Greenberg had suffered 20 stab wounds to her chest, abdomen, head and neck.

A knife was also found embedded 10 centimeters into her chest.

Philadelphia’s then medical examiner, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide.

However, on February 28, 2011, the Philadelphia Police Department declared that her death had been ruled a suicide.

Then, on April 4, 2011, Osbourne formally amended the manner of death on Greenberg’s death certificate from homicide to suicide.

Greenberg’s parents maintained their belief that their daughter was murdered however and pushed for the city to change the manner of death so that the case could be reopened.

“According to the trial court, a trial is needed because there are factual disputes which the court believes if are resolved in the Greenberg’s favor, has to require the death certificate to be changed from suicide to something else,” Joe Podraza, the family’s attorney, said in 2022 when the family was pushing for the case to be reopened.

In late 2021, Podraza submitted new evidence to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office that the family believed proved Greenberg was murdered.

“The Greenbergs have presented evidence that according to the court, a jury or the court itself, could determine is sufficient to question the information that Dr. Osborne was given when Dr. Osbourne changed the death certificate from homicide to suicide,” Podraza said.

On June 8, a Philadelphia trial court wrote an opinion stating they believed Greenberg’s death case should head to trial. 

“Since the current death certificate reflecting that Greenberg committed suicide would present a nearly insurmountable hurdle for the Plaintiffs in bringing a wrongful death action, it is not unreasonable, unjust or an abuse of discretion for the Court to make a declaratory finding that Dr. Osbourne may have erroneously determined Greenberg’s manner of death or abused his discretion by not even considering whether it was appropriate to amend her death certificate under the unique circumstances of this case,” the Court wrote.

In a statement to NBC10, a city spokesperson said the judge’s decision, “merely solidifies the City's position that Ms. Greenberg's parents have no basis for their lawsuit to force the City Medical Examiner to change his professional opinion as to how Ms. Greenberg died."

In April of 2024, a court ruled that Greenberg’s family could depose former Philadelphia prosecutor, Guy D'Andrea, who said he has doubts that her death was a suicide.

The court ruled that D'Andrea could be deposed on or before May 6. 2024.

“We are pleased and so should every parent in America. Ellen’s death is so obviously a murder. This case is riddled with delay tactics!" Greenberg's parents, Josh and Sandee, said.

At this time is unknown whether D'Andrea was deposed in this case.

A former prosecutor's concerns with the case

In an interview with NBC10, D'Andrea said that there were a few elements of the case that made him believe Greenberg's death should not have been categorized as a suicide.

"At a minimum, from an everyday standpoint, this is an undetermined manner of death," D'Andrea told NBC10.

First, from his review of the case file, D'Andrea argued that forensic investigation of the crime showed that Greenberg's spine was pierced during the incident, which he said would have "immediately incapacitated" her.

And, he continued, if she was incapacitated, she could have never been able to stab herself nearly two dozen times.

"She wouldn't have been able to continue to stab herself," he argued. "She would not have been able to stab herself in the chest."

Also, D'Andrea said, Greenberg's body may have been moved after her death.

According to D'Andrea, when Greenberg's body was found—in a seated position on the floor—there were traces of blood on her face that seemed to flow from her nostril to her ear, hinting that she may have been laying in a horizontal position for some time.

"She must have been laying long enough on her side for the blood to run in that direction as well as long enough that it wouldn't drag or drip when she was in a seated position," D'Andrea argued.

Yet, D'Andrea noted that both the police investigating the scene and Greenberg's fiancé, who found her after the incident, said Greenberg's body was not moved until after crime scene investigators had reviewed the scene.

Asked why this blood pattern wasn't an issue to investigators previously, D'Andrea said it should have been and argued that he had brought it up with others in the past.

"It came up as 'We've seen stranger things,'" recalled D'Andrea. "Yes, I have too, but never stranger things that have defied physics."

D'Andrea expects to discuss those issues—as well as pointing out a lack of blood found in the apartment despite Greenberg's injuries—if he is brought into court.

According to attorneys for the Greenberg family, the city could still raise issues, including seeking immunity as the defendants are government officials.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.