Ellen Greenberg Died From ‘Something Other Than Suicide’: Pathologist Who Conducted Autopsy Settles With Parents

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on teacher Ellen Greenberg — and who changed his ruling on the manner of death from homicide to suicide at the insistence of police — has settled a lawsuit filed by Greenberg’s parents against three city officials claiming that they botched the investigation and covered it up.

The Greenbergs say there is overwhelming evidence that their daughter was murdered and claimed emotional distress in the lawsuit.

A judge on Friday cleared the way for the lawsuit against pathologist Dr. Marlon Osbourne, former Philadelphia chief medical examiner Dr. Sam Gulino, and a former detective to go to trial. But on Saturday, Osbourne settled his part of the suit, releasing a sworn statement that in his “professional opinion, Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide.”

Greenberg’s fiance, Sam Goldberg, claimed he went to the gym while Greenberg was preparing dinner on January 26, 2011, and came back to find the door to their apartment deadbolted from the inside, as CrimeOnline reported. When he couldn’t reach her by phone, he told investigators, he forced his way into the apartment and found Greenberg dead with stab wounds in the head, neck, and chest.

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.

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