Sandee and Joshua Greenberg have spoken to the Daily Mail’s Trial USA podcast about their 15-year search for answers over the disputed death of their daughter, Ellen.
Ellen Rae Greenberg, 27, a Philadelphia elementary school teacher, was found dead in her locked apartment in 2011 with over 10 stab wounds to her head and neck.
Despite an autopsy initially ruling the death a homicide, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office surprisingly changed the ruling to suicide weeks later in February 2011 after police challenged the findings.
Since then, Ellen’s parents have fought with the city to have the ruling overturned and the case reopened.
In 2024, Sandee and Joshua had a breakthrough when Dr. Marlon Osbourne, the medical examiner who performed Ellen’s autopsy, signed a sworn statement saying he no longer believed her death was suicide.
Ellen Rae Greenberg, 27, a Philadelphia elementary school teacher, was found dead in her locked apartment in 2011 with over 20 stab wounds to her head, neck and torso
Multiple forensic experts concluded that the wounds to the back of Ellen’s head and neck were physically impossible to self-inflict
In January 2026, it emerged that the US Attorney’s Office was investigating possible corruption in how multiple agencies handled Ellen’s case, with subpoenas reportedly issued to Philadelphia police, prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office.
‘Ellen’s psychiatrist had written in her notes, which we obtained later on, that our daughter was not suicidal’, Joshua told Daily Mail Features Editor, Laura Collins, in an exclusive interview.
‘She was suffering from anxiety. If you have anxiety, you don’t commit suicide.
‘We knew something was wrong… we contacted Dr. Cyril Wecht, a specialist in reviewing homicides who worked on the JFK assassination.
‘He came back to us with suspicions of homicide. He also told us that women do not usually use methods that are painful to kill themselves. If you research women who have committed suicide, you will not find anyone who has stabbed themselves.’
Beyond the method, there were a number of strange details about Ellen’s death that led people to challenge the suicide ruling.
Multiple forensic experts concluded that the wounds to the back of Ellen’s head and neck were physically impossible to self-inflict.
One wound had severed Ellen’s spinal cord, which would have caused immediate paralysis, making it impossible for her to continue harming herself.
At least one of her injuries was shown to have occurred post-mortem, an impossibility for a suicide.
At the time of her death, Ellen was living with her lawyer fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, 43, who said he was at the gym when she died.
Upon returning home, he found the apartment door locked from the inside with a swing latch. After waiting outside for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, he said he broke down the door to gain entry.
Sandee and Joshua question Goldberg’s account and believe police accepted his version of events without conducting a full investigation.
Goldberg has never been named a suspect and has not been charged with any crime in connection with Ellen’s death.
At the time of her death, Ellen was living with her lawyer fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, 43, who said he was at the gym when she died
Sandee and Joshua question Goldberg’s account and believe police accepted his version of events without conducting a full investigation
‘Police never did a thorough examination of that apartment’, Joshua claimed.
‘They came back with a search warrant three days after. Crime scene cleaners had already scrubbed the scene.
‘There were no yellow retainer strips – saying don’t go here, don’t go there. The crime scene was open.
‘I hate to use a specific name, but Sam sent his uncle to the apartment to get him clothes for the funeral.
‘The uncle also took Ellen’s computers, handbags, car keys and other personal items. He did not have permission from us to touch or take that.
‘We always felt that was weird because as a lawyer, you would know not to remove things from a crime scene.
Sandee added: ‘We would like to know exactly what happened that day. Why was Ellen not wearing her engagement ring? Was she planning on leaving?
‘After Ellen passed, Sam would check in with me and we would have conversations. I would say to him: ‘Sam, we know this isn’t a suicide.’ There would then be an awkward silence.’
Both Sandee and Josh admitted the search for answers had taken an enormous toll on them. However, Sandee revealed she felt ‘more optimistic than ever before’ since news of a federal investigation.
She said: ‘That fact that the case is out of corrupt Pennsylvania is very encouraging. It may lead to something, but I can’t predict the future.’
Listen to a full breakdown of Ellen’s case by searching for the Trial USA now, wherever you get your podcasts.
