Kriti Mehrotra
With ABC’s/Hulu’s ‘Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?’ living up to its title, we get a haunting documentary series that explores the complexities of the legal route in an unsolved case. It actually revisits the January 26, 2011, death of Ellen Rae Greenberg in her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its complex and ongoing aftermath. We say complex because while medical examiner Marlon Osbourn initially ruled her death a homicide, he changed his verdict to suicide less than a month later, citing new information.
Marlon Osbourn is a Highly Trained Pathologist
Although not much is known about Marlon’s early years or upbringing, he reportedly developed an interest in the world of medicine at an early age. Therefore, as soon as he graduated from high school, he enrolled at The State University of New Jersey – Rutgers College for a Bachelor’s in General Biology (1996-2000). Then, he moved on to attain his Doctor of Medicine, or MD, from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, which he earned without any issues in 2004 upon picking his specialization as pathology and doing internships.
Marlon was thus able to kickstart his career in 2004, after he landed the position of Pathology Resident at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he served for over four years. The doctor subsequently spread his wings and became a Forensic Pathology Fellow at the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida, only to return to Pennsylvania upon garnering a year of experience. That’s when he became the Associate Medical Examiner at Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, a position he proudly held from September 2009 to September 2014.
Marlon Osbourn Changed His Ruling in Ellen’s Case After a Meeting
It was during this period that Marlon performed Ellen Greenberg’s autopsy, with his initial examination being less than a day after she was found unresponsive in her apartment. He noticed that she had 11 bruises on her remains that were in various stages of healing, meaning they were old, and more importantly, he realized she had 20 stab wounds across her upper half. 10 of these stab wounds were to Ellen’s back and neck, with one in particular even having injured her spinal cord. So, based on the evidence presented and the fact that the knife used was found sticking out of her chest, he ruled her death a homicide in less than two days.
However, in Februatru 2011, he changed his ruling to suicide, but it wans;t until he was deposed by the lawyer of Ellen’s estate, aka her parents, that the details finally came to light. As per Marlon’s own accounts, he was invited to a meeting with his higher-ups and the officials involved in this case, where he was told that Ellen was found unresponsive inside her locked apartment. According to his deposition, he was told that her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, had broken down the door to get inside, and there were even witnesses to the same. Therefore, he changed his ruling.
The attorneys subsequently asked him if his decision would have remained suicide if he was told there were doubts about how Ellen was found, Dr. Marlon said no. This was because the surveillance footage from the fateful day indicated that Sam was alone when he allegedly broke down his front door. The security guard who was assumed to be with him was still at his post in the lobby. As a result, when the Greenbergs decided to pursue their case to trial, Dr. Marlon settled with them in early 2025 and released a statement asserting the manner of death should not have been suicide.
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Marlon Osbourn is a Private Man Who Continues to Thrive in His Specialty
While people have found it strange that Dr. Marlon Osbourn admittedly did not make notes of the aforementioned meeting despite asserting in his deposition that it was important, he is a well-respected Pathologist. In fact, since October 2014, he has been moving further in his career in his new base of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In his 50s, he currently serves as the Associate Medical Examiner at Broward County Medical Examiner and Trauma Services and at the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office. He has held the former position for over 11 years as of writing and the latter for over 9, and he also serves as the Director of Medical Education in the area at Lauderdale Pathology. On a more personal level, it appears as if he prefers to keep his personal experiences private as of writing, so all we know is that he shares a close relationship with his mother, sister, and partner. He actually tied the knot with his wife in 2016, and they seem to share a really beautiful bond. Women are a significant part of his primary support system, and he is proud of it.
