More than a decade after the mysterious death of Philadelphia schoolteacher Ellen Greenberg, the controversy surrounding her case is back in the spotlight.
Now, her ex-fiancé Sam Goldberg has spoken publicly for only the second time, sharing his frustration after the city doubled down on its ruling that Ellen’s 2011 death — from 20 stab wounds — was a suicide.
Ex-Fiancé Breaks Silence on Media Attention and Hulu Documentary
When approached by DailyMail.com outside his Manhattan apartment, Goldberg, now married with two children, admitted that life has been “awful” due to the renewed public attention.
“Yeah, I have been [screwed over]. It’s awful and it sucks,” he said bluntly, referring to a recent Hulu documentary revisiting the shocking case. “But I have nothing else to say.”
His comments mark one of the few times he has publicly addressed Ellen’s death.
The last time was in 2024, when he issued a written statement to CNN insisting Ellen died by suicide and criticizing the “lies and falsehoods” that, in his words, had “desecrated [her] privacy and my reputation.”
Goldberg Reflects on Loss and Defends Himself
In his 2024 statement, Goldberg described Ellen as “a wonderful and kind person who had everything to live for,” adding that her death left him “bewildered.”
“When she died, a part of me died with her,” he wrote.
“Then came the despicable attempts to accuse me of causing her death. Mental illness is very real, and I pray no one ever has to go through what I did.”
Despite years of public suspicion, Goldberg has never been accused of a crime or named as a suspect in Ellen’s death.
Revisiting the Tragic 2011 Discovery
Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old teacher, was found dead in January 2011 inside the Philadelphia apartment she shared with Goldberg.
He told police he had gone to the gym around 4:45 p.m. and returned 30 minutes later to find the door locked from the inside.
After sending a string of frustrated text messages — including “open the door,” “what r u doin,” and “you better have an excuse” — Goldberg said he eventually broke the door down.
Inside, he discovered Ellen lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
When he called 911, he initially told dispatchers, “She stabbed herself,” later adding, “She fell on a knife.”
But investigators would later find she had been stabbed 20 times, including 10 wounds to the back of her neck and head, and that her body was covered in bruises. Despite this, her death was ruled a suicide.
Parents Refuse to Accept the Suicide Ruling
For 14 years, Ellen’s parents, Josh and Sandee Greenberg, have fought to overturn that ruling.
Multiple independent experts and investigators have since come forward with findings that cast serious doubt on the original conclusion.
Still, Goldberg has remained silent and distant from their pursuit of justice.
Sandee Greenberg told DailyMail.com that she and her husband hadn’t heard from Goldberg since 2013, when he emailed them to announce his engagement to his now-wife, Caroline Shnay, daughter of a New York real estate magnate.
The couple married in a lavish Plaza Hotel ceremony in 2014 and now live in a $1.88 million Gramercy Park apartment in Manhattan with their two children.
City’s Medical Examiner Stands by Suicide Finding
The renewed controversy comes after Philadelphia’s Chief Medical Examiner, Lindsay Simon, released a reinvestigation report reaffirming the city’s stance that Ellen’s death was self-inflicted.
Simon concluded that there was no evidence of abuse between Greenberg and Goldberg and that his DNA was not found on the knife.
The report also emphasized Ellen’s history of anxiety and recent medication changes, which may have increased her energy and impulsivity.
While acknowledging the number and placement of the stab wounds were “unusual,” Simon maintained that “Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself,” adding that many could be hesitation wounds.
Attorney for Greenberg’s Family Calls Findings “An Embarrassment”
Ellen’s family attorney, Joe Podraza, fiercely rejected Simon’s report, calling it “tripe, an embarrassment to the city, and an insult to Ellen and her family.”
He accused officials of ignoring key evidence — including 3D photogrammetry recreations, unexplained bruises, missing security footage, and signs of a toxic relationship — all of which he said contradict a suicide.
“Ellen’s family just wanted the truth,” Podraza said. “It’s clear that truth won’t come from Philadelphia’s law enforcement machinery.
We’ll continue fighting to get justice for her murder, by any means necessary.”
Conflicting Expert Opinions and Alarming Evidence
Podraza’s frustration is backed by several medical experts who have challenged the city’s findings.
Dr. Marlon Osbourne, who performed the original autopsy, has since stated under oath that he now believes Ellen’s death should be classified as something “other than suicide.”
Another expert, pathologist Wayne Ross, found bruises and marks on Ellen’s neck suggesting she could have been strangled.
He also discovered that several stab wounds — including one that severed her spinal membrane and another that sliced her aorta — would have caused her to lose consciousness, making it impossible for her to inflict the final wound herself.
Additionally, the scene appeared staged, with dried blood patterns indicating Ellen’s body had been moved.
Questions also remain about whether the apartment door was truly locked from the inside, as Goldberg originally claimed.
Legal Battles and Unanswered Questions
The reinvestigation was part of a settlement agreement reached in February between the Greenberg family and the city after years of litigation.
A brief court hearing on Tuesday officially closed the case, though the family vows their fight isn’t over.
“What the future holds, we will see,” Podraza told the judge.
With Philadelphia’s medical examiner reaffirming suicide, and Ellen’s family convinced it was murder, the case remains deeply divided — and one of the most puzzling and heartbreaking mysteries in modern American crime.