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The knife discovered piercing the chest of 27-year-old Philadelphia trainer Ellen Greenberg has by no means been fingerprinted, in keeping with the legal professional for her dad and mom, who’re suing metropolis officers over an alleged coverup of her homicide.
Greenberg was found useless in her kitchen in January 2011 with 20 stab wounds, together with 10 from behind.
However metropolis authorities have stated for years that her loss of life was a suicide and are nonetheless embroiled in a court docket battle over proof within the case, which her dad and mom need entry to. One piece of that proof is the knife itself.
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A youthful Ellen Greenberg smiles in an undated picture supplied by her childhood buddy and Penn State classmate. (Erica Hamilton)
“We want to have it examined, minimally, simply to see if there are fingerprints on it, as a result of if there are no fingerprints, that claims rather a lot,” stated Joseph Podraza, the legal professional for Joshua and Sandee Greenberg and their daughter’s property.
It will imply somebody — a possible killer — wiped them off after she was useless, he advised Fox Information Digital.
“And if there are fingerprints aside from Ellen’s on that knife, properly, that claims rather a lot too: Anyone clearly did stab her,” he stated. “And it is by no means been fingerprinted.”
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A pc illustration exhibiting 4 of Ellen Greenberg’s knife wounds to her head and torso. (Tom Brennan)
Dr. Michael Baden, a famend forensic pathologist who shouldn’t be related to the case, stated if the knife has been saved correctly all this time fingerprints may be analyzed.
“Fingerprints often do not go away except they’re wiped away,” he advised Fox Information Digital. “If the knife has been correctly preserved, a overseas fingerprint would possibly nonetheless be findable.”
A variety of proof within the case deserves scrutiny, in keeping with Podraza and the household’s personal investigator, Tom Brennan.
Regardless of collapsing with almost two dozen stab wounds in a bloodstained kitchen, Greenberg was discovered clutching a “pristine” white towel in her left hand, the lawyer stated.
A rendering exhibiting greater than a dozen of Ellen Greenberg’s stab wounds. (Tom Brennan)
“I believe that that towel that is in her left hand was used to wipe it (the knife deal with),” Podraza advised Fox Information Digital. “And I believe that anyone might have stumble upon the scene faster than they thought, and that is how that towel ended up in her left hand.”
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“How many individuals are chopping up fruit for a fruit salad to eat for lunch, then determine, ‘Oh, one thing, I would reasonably kill myself now?'” Podraza stated. “‘So let me go get a white towel, maintain it in my left hand whereas stabbing myself 20 instances to loss of life.'”
Final month, a panel of appellate judges dominated in opposition to the dad and mom’ request to power the Philadelphia health worker to reclassify Greenberg’s loss of life from suicide to murder or undetermined.
However the panel additionally slammed town, police and the health worker’s workplace for the investigation.
Ellen Greenberg smiling in an undated household picture supplied by her mom, Sandee Greenberg. Ellen was discovered useless on the age of 27 with 20 stab wounds, half of them to the again of her head and neck, in a ugly loss of life that Philadelphia authorities dominated a suicide. (Sandee Greenberg)
“The information surrounding this matter are extraordinarily disturbing and the Dad and mom’ tireless efforts over the previous 12 years to be taught precisely what occurred to their daughter on the night of January 26, 2011, warrant our honest sympathy,” Commonwealth Decide Ellen Ceisler wrote within the majority opinion.
“The specialists they enlisted have all raised critical factual questions on Dr. [Marlon] Osbourne’s and Dr. [Sam] Gulino’s conclusions, and even the [medical examiner’s office] now concedes that there ‘isn’t any dispute that proof within the report may help different conclusions in regards to the method of loss of life.'”
Dad and mom of Ellen Greenberg discuss to “Crime Tales” host Nancy Grace for brand new Fox Nation present. (Fox Information)
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Ceisler outlined obvious flaws within the investigation. Osbourne’s preliminary discovering was that the loss of life was a murder, however his dedication got here after the crime scene had been cleaned up and earlier than police arrived with a search warrant.
And Dr. Cyril Wecht, a famed forensic pathologist who performed an impartial evaluation of the post-mortem, discovered the proof “strongly suspicious of murder” and “famous that the investigators made no effort to look at the knife discovered within the Sufferer’s chest for fingerprints,” she wrote.
A separate choose is predicted to listen to oral arguments on the household’s request for proof within the case as a part of a separate lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to cowl up a homicide. The town is actively preventing in opposition to the disclosures.
In response to authorities, the door to Greenberg’s house had been kicked in from the surface whereas bolted shut. A photograph taken on the crime scene exhibits the latch hooked up on either side, which Greenberg’s household says makes that model of occasions unattainable, arguing it ought to have damaged off from both the door or the body. (Tom Brennan)
Officers have stated they can’t reply questions instantly associated to the case, citing the pending litigation and an ongoing outdoors investigation within the palms of the neighboring Chester County District Lawyer’s Workplace.
A Philadelphia spokeswoman advised Fox Information Digital final month town was “happy” with the appellate ruling in its favor.
“The town is now, and has all the time been, deeply sympathetic to Joshua and Sandra Greenberg’s ache and deep grief over the lack of their daughter,” she stated in an announcement. “If Mr. and Mrs. Greenberg have new proof about their daughter’s loss of life, we urge them to current it to the investigators in Chester County, as they’ve the authority to reopen the investigation.”
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Dr. Marlon Osbourne, the previous assistant Philadelphia health worker, has not responded to emails or telephone messages. He continues to work as a forensic pathologist and is an affiliate health worker in Palm Seashore, Florida.
The dad and mom plan to attraction final month’s appellate resolution to the state’s Supreme Courtroom, Podraza stated, which he known as “a street map” on the right way to get away with homicide.
“That is probably the most astounding side of the opinion. You have got, as I learn it, three judges saying this younger lady was murdered. The investigation is grossly flawed and embarrassing. There’s a assassin or murderers on the market. However our palms are tied, and no one can do something besides the federal government officers, and also you’re subsequently topic to their whims,” he advised Fox Information Digital.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox Information Digital. Story ideas may be despatched to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports
