After conducting teacher Ellen Greenberg’s autopsy, the pathologist originally declared her death a homicide but later changed it to suicide reportedly under police pressure. Subsequently, Greenberg’s parents sued three city officials, including pathologist Dr. Marlon Osbourne, former Philadelphia chief medical examiner Dr. Sam Gulino, and a former detective, accusing them of mishandling the case and attempting to cover up facts.
The Greenbergs say there is overwhelming evidence that their daughter was murdered and claimed emotional distress in the lawsuit.
While the lawsuit was set to proceed to trial, Dr. Osbourne settled his part of the case over the weekend, acknowledging in a sworn statement that, in his expert judgment, Greenberg’s death should not have been classified as suicide.
On the night of January 26, 2011, Greenberg’s fiance, Sam Goldberg, claimed to have been at the gym while she was at home preparing dinner. Upon returning, he discovered the apartment’s door locked from the inside. After failing to reach her by phone, Goldberg forced his way in only to find Greenberg deceased with several stab wounds on her head, neck, and chest. The case has since been surrounded by controversy and conflicting opinions regarding the cause of death.
Police treated her death initially as a suicide, but Osbourne ruled it a homicide, citing the number of stab wounds, half of them to the back of the neck. Police publicly challenged the findings, however, and he changed his ruling to suicide.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office upheld the suicide ruling, despite some indication that at least one wound did not bleed — meaning it would have been inflicted after death. Prosecutors said in November they would not be reopening the case, but noted that there is no statute of limitations for murder so it could be reopened in the future.
Jury selection is expected to begin on Monday in the trial, which now includes only Gulino and the former detective as defendants. The judge on Friday dismissed the suit against a second former police officer.
A lawyer for the Greenbergs said Osbourne’s move was a major step forward.
“To us, it means that we’ve accomplished our role that Ellen did not commit a suicide. Here you have the original pathologist, finally, after 14 years after Ellen’s death and five years of litigation acknowledging that her manner of death should not be suicide but should be deemed something else,” said Joe Podraza.
