Northeast
Ellen Greenberg prosecutors say they can't prove crime in 'suicide' by 20 stab wounds
A Pennsylvania district attorney made a major announcement in its outside investigation into the case of 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg, a Philadelphia teacher whose 2011 death was ruled a suicide after her fiancé found her in the kitchen during a blizzard with 20 stab wounds, half of them from behind.
Her parents, Dr. Josh and Sandee Greenberg, have been entangled in court battles with the government since their daughter’s untimely death. They have accused the medical examiner’s office of covering up their daughter’s homicide, demanded police turn over more evidence and tried suing to have the designation of “suicide” on her death certificate replaced with “homicide” or “undetermined.”
The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday morning that it has conducted its investigation, and prosecutors are “currently unable to move forward with criminal charges.” They are moving Greenberg’s case to an “inactive” status in Chester County but are leaving it open to re-examine if they get new information.
After re-interviewing key people in the original Philadelphia investigation, consulting an independent forensic expert and taking other investigatory steps, “Chester County’s investigative team determined that, based on the current state of the evidence, we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed,” the office said.
JUDGE TIED TO ELLEN GREENBERG’S FIANCÉ TOOK ITEMS FROM HER ‘SUICIDE’ SCENE BEFORE POLICE SEARCH
The knife found piercing the chest of 27-year-old Philadelphia teacher Ellen Greenberg has never been fingerprinted, according to the attorney for her parents, who are suing city officials over an alleged cover up of her death.
The DA’s office noted that there is no statute of limitations for criminal homicide, said that the case would remain open and, therefore, investigators would “not be answering any questions about this matter.”
The DA’s office met with Greenberg’s parents and their attorney on Thursday to share the news before announcing it to the public.
“They didn’t go very deeply into the case…they really didn’t come up with anything new,” Dr. Josh Greenberg told Fox News Digital.
“Our conviction about Ellen having been murdered does not change due to the announcement by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office,” Greenberg family attorney Joseph Podraza said in a press release he provided to Fox News Digital.
“Admittedly, the investigation conducted by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office was extremely limited and constrained. The Office told us that they did not investigate the core issues which we have raised which establish Ellen was murdered, and that evidence remains unchallenged,” Podraza continued.
“The independent forensic expert who they said they consulted during the course of the investigation was similarly bounded by his own limited background, an undergraduate degree in entomology (the study of insects) and a masters in criminal justice, but no medical school training, nor any training in the specialty of forensic pathology, both of which are necessary in order to competently assess the evidence uncovered in this case to date.”
The Chester County District Attorney’s Office initiated an independent investigation roughly two years ago, after both Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and former Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, now the governor, both recused themselves from the case.
Krasner had previously worked with Greenberg’s parents as part of his private practice, and Shapiro previously denied having “an actual conflict” but acknowledged the “appearance” of one.
When Shapiro was the attorney general, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that not only his office undertook “an exhaustive review and conducted new forensic analysis” – but also that new expert testimony and information had been withheld from investigators.
“These unfortunate limitations and constraints notwithstanding, we do appreciate the District Attorney’s professional courtesy of speaking with the family and candidly acknowledging all these limitations and constraints,” Podraza added. “We also point out that another highly experienced homicide prosecutor while employed at the Philadelphia DA’s Office conducted his own independent review of this case, thoroughly investigated all the issues surrounding Ellen’s death, and reached the opposite conclusion, that Ellen was murdered.
Ellen Greenberg in an undated family photo. (Greenberg family)
“We now look forward to an upcoming trial where a full and forthright examination of the core issues surrounding Ellen’s murder may be publicly conducted before an independent judge and jury of our peers.”
In September, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments from the Greenbergs and their attorney.
“The Supreme Court is going to be deciding whether or not Sandee and I have standing. And that’s a real big thing … I mean, no one has ever gotten this far. … I know it’s taken almost 14 years, but it’s still a very important case,” Dr. Greenberg previously told Fox News Digital.
Greenberg was found on Jan. 6, 2011 with 20 stab wounds, including 10 from behind, at least one of which could have been inflicted after she was already dead, according to court documents. Her body was also covered in bruises in different stages of healing, which her parents say are consistent with abuse.
WATCH ‘TEACHER DEATH MYSTERY’ ON FOX NATION
At the time of her death, Greenberg and her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, had recently sent out “save-the-dates” for their upcoming wedding. Her body was found in the kitchen near a half-made fruit salad on the countertop.
After her death, a forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner’s office, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, ruled it a homicide, according to court documents. Then he reversed course after meeting with police behind closed doors and deemed it officially a suicide.
Greenberg’s parents and experienced outside investigators have raised concerns that police botched their response to her death and released the scene too early. They have also questioned why Goldberg’s uncle, James Schwartzman, was allowed to remove a number of items from the scene.
TEACHER’S UNLIKELY ‘SUICIDE’ RULING CALLED OUT AS WEB SLEUTHS DIG INTO SURVEILLANCE VIDEO
This crime scene photo shows damage to Ellen Greenberg’s apartment door after her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, told police he kicked it in from the outside. (Tom Brennan)
“Things were removed from the crime scene without our permission. The chain of custody was broken from the very beginning when Jim Schwartzman removed computers, electronics, my daughter’s handbag,” Dr. Josh Greenberg previously told Fox News Digital.
A representative for Schwartzman, a distinguished judge in Pennsylvania, responded to these claims on his behalf, saying police gave him permission to go in and take Greenberg’s belongings. He denied removing her handbag, but he admitted to removing her computers and cellphones.
“The door was damaged and unsecure, and he took out items that he thought might be stolen,” the representative for Schwartzman previously explained to Fox News Digital on his behalf. He added that Schwartzman did not need the permission of Greenberg’s parents to take anything from the apartment once police released the scene.
‘SUICIDE’ RULING FOR TEACHER’S 20 STAB WOUNDS MAY BE REEXAMINED AS FAMILY SECURES POTENTIAL MAJOR WIN
WATCH: Melissa Ware discusses cleanup at Ellen Greenberg’s apartment
Neither Goldberg nor Schwartzman have been charged with any wrongdoing in relation to Greenberg’s death.
Philadelphia police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. They have previously declined to discuss the case, citing the open investigation in Chester County and the ongoing civil litigation.
Goldberg and the Chester County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond for comment.
“I very much look forward to being able to have our voices heard,” Sandee Greenberg said. “Not only are we fighting now for justice for Ellen, but because there’s so much attention on these different lawsuits, it will set some precedent, hopefully, for other victims of heinous crimes.”
Read the full article from Here
Boston, MA
Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe
That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.
High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.
In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.
Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.
In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.
“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.
When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.
But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.
“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.
The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.
Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.
Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.
Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.
The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.
With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.
“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.
The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.
Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.
The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.
“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.
Pittsburg, PA
Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick
Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.
Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”
Connecticut
The Great Westport Sandwich Contest kicks off with event at Old Mill Grocery
The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce held a kick-off event at Old Mill Grocery on Monday for The Great Westport Sandwich Contest.
The contest runs throughout March with 21 restaurants, delis and markets competing in 10 categories to be crowned the best sandwich maker.
Residents can vote in the following categories: Best chicken, best steak, best vegetarian, best combo, best club, best NY deli, best pressed sandwich, best breakfast sandwich, best wrap, and best fish/seafood sandwich.
After people sample sandwiches, they can vote for their favorites in each category on the chamber’s website. They will also be placed into a drawing to win a free sandwich from one of the 10 winners.
“Of course, the goal is to have people come to Westport and check out restaurants, our markets and our delis. This is a great promotion. I mean it is a competition, but mostly it’s to bring people to the restaurants. It also gives a great community activity because they are the ones who get to vote who makes the best one,” says Matthew Mandell, the chamber’s executive director.
Winners will be announced in April and receive a plaque.
The chamber has held similar contests to determine what establishment has the best pizza, burger, soup and salad.
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