Philadelphia teacher death review upholds suicide ruling experts dispute

A long overdue review of the death Philadelphia Teacher Ellen Greenberg, who controversially ruled suicide by 23 stab wounds in 2011, has confirmed that finding — but experts still say the evidence tells a different story.

Dr. Lindsay Simon, the city’s chief medical examiner, was assigned to review the work of Dr. Marlon Osborne, who was the assistant medical examiner who performed the original autopsy.

Dr. Osborne initially determined the cause of death to be “multiple stab wounds” and the manner to be “homicide,” but later changed the manner to “suicide.” However, he changed his mind again earlier this year. Writing to the court “My professional opinion is that the manner of Ellen’s death should be classified as something other than suicide.”

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The split image shows Ellen Greenberg smiling in an undated family photo, and a computer-generated image based on an autopsy report shows knives where she was stabbed. (Greenberg family)

The review came after years of legal maneuvering by Greenberg’s parents, Dr. Josh Greenberg and Sandy Greenberg, who asked the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office to revise the official cause of death from suicide to indeterminate.

“The major stab wounds at the base of the brain and deeper in the upper spine are not consistent with being self-inflicted stab wounds because of the location and associated injuries,” said Dr. Priya Banerjee, a board-certified forensic pathologist who reviewed Dr. Simon’s report.

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Based on that hurt, she told Fox News Digital she believes it Greenberg’s death was ruled a homicide.

Read Dr. Simon’s book a report:

“Although the distribution of infections is unusual, the fact remains that Ellen would be able to cause these infections herself,” Dr. Simon wrote.

Joe Podraza, an attorney for Greenberg’s parents, said the wound occurred after Greenberg’s heart stopped beating. But Dr. Simon pointed out that the wound came during the autopsy and not in her apartment.

“It’s still undecided for me at this point,” said Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD officer. Cold case investigator and professor of criminal justice at Penn State Lehigh Valley. “[Dr. Simon] “He’s trying to piece together something that goes back 14 years using papers, slides and photographs.”

She also had to rely on the Philadelphia investigation, which was problematic from the beginning, he said. The cleanup crew destroyed the crime scene before the police showed up with a search warrant.

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Dr. Josh and Sandy Greenberg are in Philadelphia after reaching a settlement with the city in their daughter Elaine’s case. (Gavin Fish)

A fingerprint test on the knife found in her chest showed only “two unusable fingerprints,” according to Dr. Simon’s report. Three additional stab wounds were also identified 20 more bruises Which was not mentioned in Dr. Osborne’s previous findings.

Although Greenberg was found to have bruises on various parts of her body as well as stab wounds, Dr. Simon said she showed no signs of defensive injuries. She also ruled out marks on her wrists as evidence that she may have been detained or restrained while being stabbed.

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Ellen Greenberg with her parents Dr. Josh and Sandy Greenberg. (Greenberg family)

“Although the absence of ‘defensive injuries’ does not eliminate the possibility of murder, the absence of defensive injuries must be explained,” Dr. Simon wrote.

It identified and ruled out four possible explanations: the attack ended before the victim could defend herself, she was intoxicated and unable to defend herself, she was physically restrained, or she suffered a disabling injury at the beginning of the attack.

A prior review conducted by Dr. Wayne Ross on behalf of Greenberg’s parents found evidence that the victim could have been strangled and her wrists bound, leaving her defenseless, but Dr. Simon disagreed with his findings.

A judge is stunned by a mistake in the ‘suicide’ site where the teacher was found stabbed 20 times

Computer illustration showing two of Ellen Greenberg’s knife wounds to the back of her neck and skull. (Tom Brennan)

“Although the appearance of the bruises on Ellen’s forearms could have been caused by the fingers, the undersigned only identified three bruises on Ellen’s right forearm and three bruises on Ellen’s left forearm,” Dr. Simon wrote. “This would indicate an incomplete grip on the forearms if the bruises were indeed caused by the fingers. Also, the bruises on the right forearm appear to the undersigned to be of different ages.”

However, determining the age of bruises visually can be problematic and inaccurate, according to Dr. Banerjee.

Watch “The Mystery of a Teacher’s Death” on FOX NATION

“So [they] “It could be from that one incident, or from multiple or unrelated matters.”

Ellen Greenberg, left, in an undated family photo with her then-fiancé, Sam Goldberg. (Greenberg family)

One contributing factor to Dr. Simon’s findings was the multiple reports that Greenberg had been suffering Anxiety and stressThis is primarily due to her work as a school teacher. According to text messages she sent on the day of her death, she told a friend that grades were due that night and she was struggling to get them done by the deadline.

“I want to scream,” she wrote.

The labeling process appeared to be a major problem for her, according to Dr. Simon’s report, and she told friends and her therapist that she was considering quitting her job.

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“Let’s face it, millions of people suffer from anxiety or… depression “At one point or another and they never kill themselves,” said John Kelly, a New Jersey-based criminal profiler and psychotherapist who has been following the case for years.

He said major depression can be a factor in suicide cases, but not always. Greenberg had been seeking treatment for anxiety, which Dr. Simon reported, but had not been diagnosed with depression. To treat the stress, she was prescribed Zoloft and then Klonopin.

Sandy Greenberg in Philadelphia after reaching a settlement with the city in her daughter Elaine’s case (Gavin Fish)

A judge linked to Ellen Greenberg’s fiancée took items from her ‘suicide’ scene before a police search

According to a 2025 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 49% of suicide victims have a documented history. Mental health condition. Of these, 71.7% were diagnosed with depression, compared to 24% with an anxiety disorder.

The same Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis also examined unspecified deaths, finding that 75% were related to precipitating conditions, such as a mental health problem, and 27.5% included a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.

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Several outside experts, including the late, renowned forensic scientist Dr. Cyril Wecht, have reviewed Greenberg’s death over the years. While Dr. Simon included analyzes from Dr. Wecht and others in her report, she disagreed with their conclusions that suicide was unlikely or inconsistent with the evidence.

I also included the findings of Dr. Jonathan Arden, who agreed Naming suicideCiting casualty websites as well as Internet searches found on Greenberg’s laptop related to the phrase “suicide.”