True crime in the Delaware Valley - Ellen Greenberg: The narrative collapses?
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Summary
Ellen Greenberg was a Philadelphia teacher who died mysteriously in 2011. Her death was ruled a suicide, but that classification has been challenged. Recently disclosed evidence supports the challenge.
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Background
9 months ago, I posted the article, The Mysterious Death of Ellen Greenberg - A 12-Year-Old Homicide or Suicide?, and seven months ago, I followed that with True crime in the Delaware Valley - an update on the Ellen Greenberg case. Now, there have been some new developments in the case. Before I get into the new developments, though, let me recap what we already know.
In January, 2011, a Philadelphia teacher named Ellen Greenberg died from more than 20 stab wounds in the apartment that she shared with her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg. Goldberg claimed that he was exercising downstairs in the apartment's gym when Greenberg died, and that when he returned to the apartment the door was latched from the inside. After eventually breaking the latch, Goldberg asserted that he found Greenberg unconscious on the kitchen floor and called 911 for assistance. The 911 call can be heard, here.
Initially, the Philadelphia medical examiner stated that Greenberg's manner of death was homicide, but the investigation quickly stalled and the manner of death was changed to suicide.
Many of Greenberg's 20+ stab wounds were in the back of her head, in places that would have been difficult for her to reach, so Greenberg's parents have been challenging the suicide determination through various legal proceedings ever since then.
In addition to the circumstances of her death, this case is also unusual because it has been passed like a hot potato from the City of Philadelphia to the state attorney in Harrisburg, and from there to the county District Attorney in Chester County (my own county of residence). Apparently, these transfers of jurisdiction were necessary because Philadelphia and state attorneys had conflicts of interest. It seems that these conflicts arose because the Goldberg family had ties in Philadelphia's local government, and one or more attorneys who worked on the case changed jobs in ways that led to disqualifications.
As far as I can tell, the investigation of Greenberg's death has now collected dust in the Chester County DA's office from August, 2022.
In the last update, seven months ago, I posted about a court ruling where an appelate court ruled that Greenberg's parents had no standing to challenge the manner of death ruling, but the court also laid out a compelling case in their ruling that suicide seemed unlikely. So that brings us to today's update...
Greenberg's body was moved
According to the legal record up until this week, Greenberg's body was found in a sort-of a seated position, leaning up against the cabinets in her kitchen. If her death was a suicide, that must be the place where she died. However, in testimony for a civil case, there is new evidence that,
the state’s former assistant district attorney is set to testify that her body was likely moved after she had been fatally stabbed at least 20 times.
Clearly, if her body was moved after she died, then someone else must have moved her.
This evidence, unknown until now, emerged in a civil proceeding where Greenberg's parents' attorney, Joseph Podraza was attempting to get clearance for a sworn deposition with former Assisstant District Attorney Guy D’Andrea. According to yahoo! news.
At the hearing on Tuesday (April 16, 2024), the Greenbergs’ attorney, Joseph Podraza, in an effort to push forward with a sworn deposition of former Assisstant District Attorney Guy D’Andrea, revealed that D’Andrea had a previously unknown conversation with the city’s then-medical examiner, Dr. Samuel Gulino and Gulino then determined that Ellen’s death was a homicide.
“D’Andrea had firsthand knowledge of the file and evidence,” Mr Podraza told the judge. “Dr. Gulino told D’Andrea, ‘this is a homicide.’
Mr Gulino allegedly told Mr D’Andrea that Ellen’s body had been in a “supine position for a period of time,” he continued.
The result of Tuesday's hearings is that the Greenberg attorneys are allowed to proceed with depositions and discovery, and they are under a May 6 deadline to file their results.
This new evidence arises in the course of a civil case between Greenberg's family and the city of Philadelphia. Greenberg's mother says she hopes that the case will go to trial in the fall.
You can learn more about the case from the Justice for Ellen Facebook page, the Ellen Greenberg Archives from Gavin Fish or from this Surviving the Survivor video:
Thank you for your time and attention.
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Steve Palmer is an IT professional with three decades of professional experience in data communications and information systems. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's degree in computer science, and a master's degree in information systems and technology management. He has been awarded 3 US patents.
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