The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office will reopen the investigation into the 2011 death of Ellen Greenberg, the teacher who was found with 20 stab wounds and whose death was controversially ruled a suicide.
The development comes after Greenberg’s parents, who have remained steadfast in their belief that their daughter was murdered, reached a settlement with the office after they filed suit against the city, according to reports from NBC 10 and CBS Philadelphia.
The settlement agreement comes as a former pathologist submitted a sworn statement in which he says he was wrong to change his ruling on Greenberg’s death from homicide to suicide, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“Based on my consideration of the new information brought to my attention after leaving my position as Medical Examiner for the City of Philadelphia, along with my original autopsy findings and information considered while I was actively involved in Ellen’s case,” Marlon Osbourne wrote in the reported statement, “it is my professional opinion Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide.”
Greenberg, 27, was found dead by her fiancé, who returned to their home in Philadelphia to find the door’s swing bar lock in use. After forcing his way in, her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, discovered Greenberg dead with a 10-inch knife in her chest.
Despite initially ruling the death a homicide, authorities changed it to suicide, saying only Greenberg’s DNA was found on the knife and her clothing.
Greenberg was found with 20 stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, head and the back of her neck.
Joseph Podraza, the attorney representing parents Joshua and Sandra Greenberg, previously told Fox News that the knife was never fingerprinted and that there were signs of a struggle in the apartment.
Following Osbourne’s sworn statement, Podraza says Greenberg’s parents never wanted monetary damages from Osbourne, but instead an acknowledgment that her death was not by suicide, according to the Inquirer.
“It’s a tremendous statement by Dr. Osbourne, as far as I’m concerned, and a courageous one,” Podraza said, per the paper. “The only thing unfortunate about it is how late in time it came. It should have come earlier, but we are grateful he has done the right thing.”
