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Teacher graduated nearly 15 years ago Alan Greenberg found stabbed on her Philadelphia According to a new report, federal prosecutors are investigating the case at the home — action her parents have been fighting for since her tragic death was ruled a suicide.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has issued subpoenas seeking documents from the Philadelphia Police Department and other agencies that have come under scrutiny Investigation into Greenberg’s 2011 deathlaw enforcement sources told Philadelphia Inquirer.
On January 26, 2011, 27-year-old Greenberg was discovered by her fiancé Sam Goldberg in their apartment. She collapsed on the kitchen cupboard floor with her legs spread out in front of her. She had been stabbed at least 20 times, including 10 times in the back of her neck. A 10-inch knife was lodged in her chest.
Her death was initially ruled a homicide but was controversially reclassified as murder. committed suicide two weeks later — a decision that shocked her family and sparked a decade-long legal battle.
The federal investigation does not appear to be focused on the manner of Greenberg’s death. Instead, federal prosecutors appear to be examining how various agencies handled the case in the coming years and whether any missteps rose to the level of criminal corruption.
Multiple city and state agencies have been involved in Greenberg’s case over the past 15 years, including the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Philadelphia Department of Law and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
The full scope of the investigation remains unclear. independent The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been asked for comment.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Philadelphia Inquirer It “neither confirms nor denies the existence of the investigation.”
Joseph Podraza Jr., an attorney for Greenberg’s parents, Josh and Sandra Greenberg, told the newspaper they were “ecstatic.”
“If this is indeed correct and accurate, then the federal government will investigate…and that’s what we’ve wanted all along,” Podraza said. “It’s unfortunate that it’s taken more than seven years to get to this point, but we’re really grateful to the U.S. attorneys and, of course, we can assist their investigation in any way we can.”
Greenberg’s parents have long argued that evidence showed their daughter was murdered and accused the city of labeling her death a suicide to cover up what they said was a botched homicide investigation.
‘Our daughter didn’t commit suicide — we know that,’ Josh Greenberg told before The Independent. “She was murdered.”
“The way her case has been handled by authorities and politicians is a disgrace,” Sandra Greenberg said. “I want her name to be cleared. What I really want people to know is that Ellen is our daughter, but she could also be your daughter. She could be your mother, your sister, your friend. Think about what you would do.”
The Philadelphia Police Department insisted there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment, and Goldberg told investigators that the rocker lock on the door was locked from the inside. He has never been accused or accused of any wrongdoing.
Goldberg tells us that in 2024 CNN: “Mental illness is very real and has many victims. I hope and pray that you will never, like me, lose someone you love to a horrific disease and then be blamed by ignorant and misguided people for her death.” This is the only time Goldberg has spoken publicly about the case.
For years, the Greenbergs fought to reclassify their daughter’s manner of death as a homicide or unexplained.
In January 2025, medical examiner Marlon Osbourne, who initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide but later ruled it a suicide, filed a sworn statement saying he now believed Greenberg’s death should be classified as a cause other than suicide.
A month later, the city reached a settlement with the Greenberg family. Under the agreement, Philadelphia paid Greenberg’s family $650,000 and agreed to an independent review of Greenberg’s autopsy. In exchange, the Greenbergs dropped their lawsuit against the city.
Greenberg’s case made headlines again in September after the release of a Hulu documentary that reexamined the circumstances of her death and raised questions about her fiancé’s actions, including his telling a dispatcher during a 911 call that she “got knifed.”
In 2024, a Pennsylvania federal court acknowledged serious flaws in the investigation but dismissed a lawsuit seeking to change Greenberg’s death certificate.
The court wrote that it was “acutely aware” of serious flaws in the investigation conducted by city police, prosecutors and the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
But in October 2025, Philadelphia’s chief medical examiner, Lindsay Simon, again ruled Greenberg’s death a suicide, despite the discovery of additional injuries that had not been previously documented.
Simon said she also found 20 bruises and three more “skin punctures,” bringing the total to 31 bruises and 23 puncture wounds.
Simon concluded that Greenberg “had the capacity to inflict these injuries on her own” and that her death “is best classified as a ‘suicide.'”
The ruling is a major blow to Allen’s family, whose lawyers previously called the decision to commit suicide “nonsense, an embarrassment to the City of New York and an insult to Allen and her family.”
If you live in the United States and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline open to everyone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you are in another country, you can visit www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
If you are in pain or struggling to cope, you can speak privately to a Samaritan on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or email jo@samaritans.orgor visit Samaritan Website to find details of your nearest branch.
