Kriti Mehrotra
When Ellen Rae Greenberg was found dead in her Venice Lofts apartment in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 2011, it shattered her family. That’s because, as explored in ABC’s and Hulu’s ‘Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?,’ her manner of demise was ruled as suicide or self-inflicted right at the scene. However, her official autopsy contradicted this within two days by asserting her manner of demise was actually homicide, only to be suddenly changed to suicide again in early February.
Ellen Greenberg Reportedly Led a Comfortable, Happy Life Until Late 2010
Since Ellen Greenberg was born on June 23, 1983, in New York to Sandee and Josh Greenberg as their only daughter, her life was full of undivided care and support. The truth is she was an only child, but she was never lonely because her tight-knit extended family always made sure to show up and be there for her at every step of the way in life. In fact, when the passionate school reporter chose to continue down this path after graduation by enrolling at Penn State University for a Bachelor’s in Communications, a local cousin promised to look after her.
Ellen reportedly graduated from university without any issues, following which she happily chose to reside in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the dream of evolving into an educator. She gradually earned her credentials for the same from Temple University and Chestnut Hill College before kickstarting her real career as a first-grade teacher at Juniata Park Academy. By this point, the young woman had even found love in Samuel “Sam” Hankin Goldberg, a features producer for NBC Sports whom she had met through mutual friends on a blind date.
Ellen and Sam had actually gotten engaged in the summer of 2010 after three incredible years together, leading to them excitedly planning their cozy, opulent wedding for August 2011. They even sent out their save-the-dates on January 22, indicating everything was okay in terms of them being in sync and over the moon about moving forward in their relationship. However, per everyone close to Ellen, including her fiancé, she had been really struggling with her mental health since late 2010, often feeling anxious and wondering if she could quit her job.
Ellen Greenberg Was Found Fatally Stabbed Inside Her Apartment
According to the series, Ellen began seeing a psychiatrist during this period, who prescribed her medication for anxiety while also noting that she was otherwise a vibrant personality. The doctor’s notes even specified how their client’s face always lit up when she was discussing her fiancé and/or upcoming nuptials, with there being no mention of any suicidal ideations. Yet, everything turned upside down on January 26, 2011, after a massive blizzard hit Philadelphia, forcing the still anxious 27-year-old to leave work early and return to her apartment.
As per records, Ellen stopped at a gas station at 1:26 pm to fill up her car before arriving home to apartment #603 in Venice Lofts in the suburban Manayunk neighborhood at around 1:40 pm. She was reportedly alive and well three hours later when her fiancé left for the gym after 4:45 pm, only to not answer the door when he returned approximately half an hour later at 5:15 pm. Sam later told local police that he believed she was either showering, blow-drying her hair, or doing something with her headphones on, which is why he began incessantly texting her to open up. The couple’s apartment was allegedly latched with a swing bar lock, so there was no way he could enter, driving him to briefly go downstairs and talk to security about calling maintenance.
However, with no changes or updates an hour later, Sam claimed he decided to break down the door, which is when he found his fiancée bloody and half-propped up against the kitchen cabinets. He immediately dialled 911, so the dispatcher began guiding him through CPR until first responders arrived, and that’s reportedly when he noticed the 10-inch knife protruding from her chest. He exclaimed the same on the phone, following which he was instructed not to move anything, only for officials to soon declare Ellen dead at the scene, noting it appeared to be a suicide. Yet, during her autopsy, the medical examiner uncovered she actually had 20 stab wounds all over her upper half, including 10 to her back and neck, as well as 11 old bruises in various stages of healing.
Ellen Greenberg’s Death Was Ruled a Suicide in 2011
When Ellen’s autopsy report came out a couple of days after the incident, her manner of death was ascertained to be homicide without any cause for doubt by medical examiner Marlon Osbourn. This pushed local police to open an investigation into the matter, but they seemingly immediately hit a wall because the scene had not been preserved owing to the initial suicide judgment. In fact, it had been cleaned up by professionals because Sam’s family was granted permission to grab some of Ellen’s personal belongings for her funeral, including her cell phone and laptop. The officials hadn’t wanted them to see any distressing details, so the property manager was asked to contact a company called Crime Scene Cleanup to get the apartment looking back to normal.
According to records, Sam had stated Ellen “stabbed herself” and “fell on a knife” during the 911 call after finding the 10-inch knife embedded in her chest, which likely affected the initial verdict. It was to such an extent that the police reportedly didn’t even know about the stab wounds on her back and neck until her autopsy report came out, so their subsequent approach was different. As per reports, they requested access to her devices, which were soon handed over, spoke with her loved ones, colleagues, and psychiatrist, and even talked to witnesses to gather more information. However, by February, her manner of death was again ruled suicide because of a lack of any defensive wounds on her remains. The 11 bruises she had were old and assumed to be from her new medication.
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The Investigation Into Ellen Greenberg’s Death Has Been Reopened and is Currently Ongoing
It’s imperative to note that Ellen’s family has always maintained they do not believe she died by suicide due to all the stab wounds on her back and the fact she was excited about her future. Therefore, even though Sam has been on the opposite end of this spectrum and was okay with the police closing the case in early 2011 itself, her family has continued to demand more answers. For this, they even hired a private investigator, approached the national media, and retained an attorney for legal purposes because of the several unclear or unsatisfactory statements given to them. Yet, it wasn’t until 2019 that their efforts really started gaining traction, thanks to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer detailing all their questions and the way Ellen’s case had been navigated from the get-go.
Since then, new evidence has come to light to indicate that Dr. Marlon Osbourn changed his ruling from homicide to suicide following a meeting where he was relayed some unverifiable details. As per his own testimony, he was informed Sam was with security when he broke down his front door, but surveillance footage given to the Greenbergs’ attorney in the early 2020s indicates he was alone when he did so. Even the concierge on duty on that fateful 2011 day has come forward to assert that he was not Sam and thus didn’t witness anything.
It has also been reported that Ellen allegedly looked up “painless suicide” and other suicide-related terms on her devices shortly before her death. Yet, the first official documents detailing it allegedly came years later, which raises speculations about their veracity. Moreover, according to a city medical examiner, it’s unclear when or how Ellen got the stab wounds to her back and neck, but one possibility is that they were incurred after she had passed away. Therefore, with all this, in early 2025, the city reached a settlement with Ellen’s parents to re-examine the existing evidence as well as reopen her case, so the process is still ongoing.
