The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old Philadelphia woman whose 2011 death by 20 stab wounds was ruled a suicide by a pathologist. Her parents have been fighting to have the medical examiner's findings overturned, arguing that the investigation was flawed and that their daughter was murdered.
On Tuesday, Sandee Greenberg, Ellen's mother, told Fox News Digital that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had agreed to hear her family's case. The court will consider whether the parents, as executors of Ellen's estate, have legal standing to challenge the medical examiner's findings.
Last year, an appellate court panel ruled against the parents' request to force the Philadelphia medical examiner to reclassify Greenberg's death from suicide to homicide or undetermined. However, the judges slammed the city, police, and medical examiner's office for their handling of the investigation.
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
"We always wondered why we didn't have standing," Ellen's father, Dr. Joshua Greenberg, told Fox News Digital. "We started this as a fight for Ellen, but we are fighting on standing and on the ability to challenge the medical examiner. Right now, the medical examiner's conclusion cannot be challenged."
"This is a big win for us," he added.
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
After Greenberg's death, a forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner's office initially ruled her death a homicide. However, he later reversed course and declared it a suicide after meeting with police behind closed doors.
Greenberg was found dead in her kitchen with 20 stab wounds, including 10 from behind. Her body also had numerous bruises in various stages of healing.
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Investigators found a half-made fruit salad on the countertop and signs of a struggle, including a knocked-over knife block. There was evidence that the door lock had been tampered with and that her body had been moved, according to her parents' attorney, Joe Podraza.
Evidence in the case includes the knife found at the scene, which has never been fingerprinted, and missing video footage.
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Experts have raised concerns about the case, including Dr. Cyril Wecht, a renowned forensic pathologist who conducted an independent review of the autopsy. Wecht found the evidence "strongly suspicious of homicide" and said that the idea that Greenberg could have committed suicide was "highly, highly unlikely."
Another forensic pathologist, Dr. Henry Lee, also reviewed the case and found that the angle of the wounds on the back of Greenberg's head "would have been difficult to inflict herself" and that her injuries were "consistent with a homicide scene."
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Chester County District Attorney's Office is conducting an outside investigation into the case. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner stepped away due to a conflict of interest, and former Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, now the governor, faced accusations of another conflict of interest.
Dr. Marlon Osbourne, the pathologist who ruled Greenberg's death a suicide, has since moved to Florida and has not responded to requests for comment.
Ellen Greenberg's Suicide Case to Be Reviewed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision to review the Greenberg case is a significant development for the family, who have long maintained that their daughter was murdered. The court's ruling could have implications for future cases involving challenges to medical examiner's findings.
