GIST: "Outside prosecutors say they cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed in the case of Ellen Greenberg, a Philadelphia educator who died in 2011.
It was a case her parents have long fought to be called a homicide but was instead ruled as a suicide.
In a news release, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said the case was being placed into an inactive status. The agency has been handling the case due to conflicts within Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania AG's office.
Chester County detectives reviewed prior investigations by the Philadelphia Police Department and the AG's office, conducted new interviews and consulted with an independent forensic expert, among other investigative steps.
"There is no statute of limitations for criminal homicide in Pennsylvania, and because investigations can take new directions, we are not closing the case," the office said in a news release.
Greenberg, 27, taught at Juniata Park Academy and lived in Manayunk with her fiancé. According to court records, Greenberg's fiancé was at the gym and returned to find the apartment door deadbolted.
After trying to reach Greenberg for over an hour, he broke down the door and saw her dead in the apartment with more than 20 stab wounds. Medical examiner's records show she had been stabbed in the head, neck and chest.
A neuropathologist hired by the city of Philadelphia once testified Greenberg was likely not alive when at least one of the stab wounds was inflicted. Joe Podraza, an attorney working with Greenberg's parents, has said that likely means the wound was inflicted after Ellen was dead.
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments from Greenberg's family on whether the administrators of a deceased person's estate have standing to challenge the finding on a death certificate.
Podraza has said what's on the death certificate matters, as it can impact whether someone can collect victim's compensation, receive restitution from a wrongful death lawsuit or file a criminal complaint.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office reviewed the case in 2019 and ruled the death a suicide, and in 2022, the office under then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro reaffirmed that ruling after again reviewing the case between December 2021 and January 2022.
More than 160,000 people signed a petition on Change.org asking for Greenberg's death certificate to be changed."
The entire story can be read at:https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ellen-greenberg-case-update-november-2024/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————-
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
