For years, Ellen Greenberg’s family have sought to have the ruling changed back to homicide. The settlement was reached in court on Monday morning between the Greenberg family and the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office before their civil case against the city officials could even begin. It’s a big win for Dr. Joshua Greenberg and his wife, Sandra “Sandee” Greenberg, who have been fighting a legal battle for the past 14 years, convinced that the investigation into their daughter’s brutal death was botched.

On January 26, 2011, the 27-year-old teacher was found dead by her fiancé in the kitchen of their apartment in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. She was slumped against the cabinets, her legs splayed out in front of her and had been stabbed at least 20 times, with stab wounds to her back, neck and the back of her head. A 10-inch knife was lodged in her chest. Philadelphia pathologist Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide. But police considered her death a suicide and publicly challenged the findings. Her death was reclassified as suicide.

For years, the Greenbergs have sought to have the ruling changed back to homicide. But the city has objected, arguing that state law "makes clear that a medical examiner can be wrong as to the manner of death yet cannot be compelled to change it.”. Then in December 2024, the Greenbergs appeared before a judge after filing a lawsuit that accused the city of Philadelphia of falsely labeling Ellen’s death a suicide in order to cover up a botched homicide investigation.

“I’m hoping we’re going to prove that Ellen did not commit suicide,” Ellen’s father, Josh Greenberg, told The Independent at the time. “That’s what this is all about. Justice for Ellen.”. On Friday, a judge ruled that the Greenbergs could take Philadelphia city officials to trial for emotional distress. The judge also ruled that Dr. Osbourne must testify at the civil trial along with another medical examiner Sam Gulino and homicide detective John McNamee.

But just two days before the trial could get started, Dr. Osbourne released a new legal verification stating that he now believes the case should be ruled as “something other than suicide.”. Dr. Osbourne stated that he decided to make the change after reviewing additional information in the case, including information from Philadelphia Police Department and Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams. He wrote he didn't know "whether the door was forced open as reported; whether Ellen's body was moved by someone else inside the apartment with her at or near the time of her death; and the findings of Lindsey Emery, M.D., from her neuropathological evaluation of Ellen's cervical segment sample.".

It’s a step forward for the Greenbergs, who recently moved to Florida, after they hit a roadblock last year when the Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced that it would not move forward with any criminal charges in the case. The DA’s office – which has been looking into the case since 2022 – said that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed, and so the investigation has been put into inactive status.