Naman Shrestha
Hulu’s ‘Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?’ is a three-part documentary series that delves deep into the mysterious death of 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg in late January 2011. When the news of the tragedy broke out, it shocked the entire community and deeply devastated her family and friends. As the authorities concluded that she had taken her own life, her family members, especially her parents, were confident that that wasn’t the case. The docuseries chronicles Ellen’s parents’ years-long quest to get to the bottom of her death.
Ellen Greenberg’s Manner of Death Was Challenged by the Police
On June 23, 1983, in New York City, New York, Ellen Rae Greenberg entered the world of Joshua and Sandra “Sandee” Greenberg in the form of a little bundle of joy. Raised by parents working in the dental field, she grew up to be a kind and compassionate individual who developed a knack for teaching. After graduating with a degree in communications from Penn State University, she attended Temple University and Chestnut Hill in order to earn her teaching credentials and begin her teaching career. Eventually, Ellen landed a job at Juniata Park Academy in Philadelphia’s Juniata neighborhood, where she served as a first-grade teacher.
Given her nurturing nature, she was a favorite of many of her students. On the personal front, she was engaged to her long-time partner, Samuel Goldberg, with whom she lived in an apartment in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood. With a lot to look forward to, including her wedding, Ellen’s dreams were shattered on the fateful day of January 26, 2011. After a blizzard led to the early dismissal of classes that day, she returned home after ensuring that her students got a ride back home. That evening, when her fiancé, Samuel, returned home from the gym, he claimed that he had to knock the apartment door down after failing to reach Ellen, who was found on the kitchen floor with multiple stab wounds.
Samuel reportedly called 911 and informed the authorities of the situation, stating that she “stabbed herself” and “fell on a knife.” When the police arrived at the scene, around 6:40 pm, they pronounced the 27-year-old woman, who also had a knife lodged in her chest, dead due to 20 stab wounds, including 10 on her neck and back. She also had 11 bruises on her right leg, right arm, and abdomen. The detectives found no signs of a break-in and no defensive wounds on her remains. Initially, her death was ruled a suicide, but the medical examiner then declared that the manner of death was homicide. However, several days later, after the police contradicted that conclusion, her manner of death was once again reversed to suicide.
Ellen’s Parents Fought For Over a Decade to Get Her Manner of Death Changed
Although Ellen Greenberg’s death was ruled a suicide, her family believed that she was murdered. They hired a legal team in order to provide the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office with new pieces of evidence that could change the manner of her death and launch a more thorough investigation. One of the three Philadelphia medical examiner officials who reexamined the case concluded that Ellen was likely dead before one of the stab wounds occurred. After gathering enough evidence, in October 2019, her parents filed a civil lawsuit against the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office and Marlon Osbourne, who conducted the original autopsy, demanding that the court change the manner of death to homicide or undetermined.
A couple of years later, in February 2022, it was officially reaffirmed that Ellen’s death was a suicide, a decision which was heavily criticized by her parents. They also filed another lawsuit, alleging that the local officials conspired to cover up the murder of their daughter by ruling her death a suicide. In December 2024, the Greenbergs’ attorney stated in court that the police returned to the crime scene after keeping it unattended for a significant period of time. Alleging that the police covered up the murder due to a lack of progress, he added, “These premises have been compromised. The evidence has been tampered with. We can’t rule out the presence of a third party when Ellen was killed, when she died.”
After the judge announced that the decision would be announced by late January 2025, Ellen’s mother, Sandee, said, “I’m glad the public is getting an opportunity to observe the way things work in this city … the things that have gone down, the mistakes that were made, the lies that have been told.” In February 2025, the parents were delighted when a settlement was finally reached that stated that Ellen’s death would be re-investigated. During the trial, Marlon Osbourne also gave a sworn statement claiming that he didn’t agree with suicide being the manner of her death. He also signed a document that stated, “it is my professional opinion Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide.” Thus, her death is no longer considered a suicide and is being reinvestigated by the authorities.
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