Ellen Greenberg's parents speak out amid obstacles in daughter's death investigation
Ellen Greenberg was a teacher who was found dead with 20 stab wounds in 2011. The Philadelphia medical examiner ruled it as a suicide, while her parents have insisted that their daughter couldn't have done that to herself.
Last Friday, the Chester County DA's office said that Greenberg's case was inactive because the office did not have enough evidence to bring any criminal charges.
The Greenberg family said that they are not convinced by Chester County's conclusion.
"My opinion is they didn't look very hard," Ellen Greenberg's mother, Sandee Greenberg, commented.
The DA's Office stated that the detectives on the case have conducted new interviews and spoke with an independent expert during the investigation, but the Greenbergs still have looming questions.
"The third-party person... They asked a guy who has a degree in entomology. He was not a physician. He didn't do biology like that," said Josh Greenberg, the father of Ellen Greenberg.
"They're not basing their conclusions on facts," Sandee Greenberg said. "We provided them with the photogrammetry, which is a 3D illustration of the various knife wounds in different directions with different types of knife edge incisions," Sandee said regarding the information they provided to the investigators.
When asked if they know any details about the county's investigations, Sandee said, "They [the county DA] did not share the findings. They just shared the conclusion that this expert from Florida...felt that Ellen could have inflicted 20 stab wounds and they considered it not a homicide."
The Greenbergs shared that they know many people want the truth about their daughter's death, saying "175,000 people have gone on the internet to say we should open the case again."
"The fact that some wounds have been labeled postmortem was actually done by the medical examiner's office, not by people we hired," Josh Greenberg pointed out.
Even though the case is now inactive, Ellen Greenberg's parents said they are hopeful.
"The conclusion of Chester County is in a lane all its own. Because we still believe Ellen was murdered brutally. We still have a civil action pending and we also have a date to go to the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court," Sandee Greenberg said.
Sandee Greenberg has kept a positive interpretation, believing that if anything shifts, the case can still be active again. "Chester County was kind enough toward their statement so that the door is left open."
The Greenbergs said their fight is not just for their daughter, but to call for an improvement to the justice system stating that people should be able to challenge medical examiner's ruling legally.
"The M.E. being unchallengeable, you don't want that. That's not the American way, is it?" Josh Greenberg said. "That's what we're fighting about. It's justice for Ellen, but it doesn't hurt if we get justice for all."
Being from Central PA, the Greenberg family is thankful for the support from the community.
"Well, we have a and we have a and there are a lot of wonderful people in this world, and I'd like to bring more goodness. I hope Ellen's situation brings goodness to the world."
