Ellen Greenberg’s 2011 death — she was stabbed 20 times from behind — has officially been ruled a suicide… again. https://t.co/eGiS1buTGF pic.twitter.com/iFybWnivwJ
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 13, 2025
Today, it was announced that the death of 27 year old teacher Ellen Greenberg has been once again ruled a suicide. Her death is the subject of Hulu’s new three-part docuseries “Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?”
• In January 2011, first-grade teacher Ellen Greenberg was found dead with 20 stab wounds in the kitchen of her Philadelphia apartment. She had a 10-inch-long kitchen knife sticking out of her chest and stab wounds to the back of the head and her back.
• During Greenberg’s funeral, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the case a homicide. Inexplicably, four months later, Greenberg’s cause of death was switched back to suicide and the city of Philadelphia then closed the case without further investigation.
• Ellen Greenberg’s parents have maintained her boyfriend Sam Goldberg was responsible for her death. They have accused the Goldberg’s family, the police department and Governor Josh Shapiro of an alleged cover-up. James Schwartzman, Samuel Goldberg’s uncle and the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board in Pennsylvania, entered the apartment the day after Greenberg’s death to retrieve work and personal laptops, phones, and credit cards belonging to both Goldberg and Greenberg. The apartment was also cleaned and sanitized on that day after permission was given by police.
• In 2019, a spokesperson for Shapiro stated that computer searches made on Ellen’s computer pointed toward Greenberg’s death being a suicide and that the investigation had been closed. Ellen Greenberg’s family disputed this ruling since Goldberg’s uncle had her computer in his possession before it was retrieved by investigators. In 2022, the Chester County District Attorney announced the investigation was inactive, citing an independent forensic expert with an undergraduate degree in entomology (the study of insects) and without any medical training.
• In August 2022, the Chester County District Attorney’s office announced it would reopen the investigation into Greenberg’s death, leading to today’s story. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon re-examined the case and in a 32-page report released October 10th concluded, “while the distribution of injuries is admittedly unusual, the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself.”
• The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Simon discovered 20 more bruises on Greenberg’s body that hadn’t been documented in the original autopsy and yet still ruled her death a suicide.
“Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?” is currently streaming on Hulu.
