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After a Jewish funeral,
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the custom is to have Shiva.
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For seven days,
people sit Shiva,
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00:00:26,109 --> 00:00:28,654
which is going to the
family of the deceased
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00:00:28,737 --> 00:00:30,239
and sitting with them,
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00:00:30,322 --> 00:00:33,659
taking their mind off
of what is going on.
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So, right after the service,
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everybody went back to
Ellen's grandmother's house.
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00:00:40,958 --> 00:00:45,045
Sam's family eventually
made it about an hour late.
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Harrisburg is a
pretty small place.
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So it shouldn't take
an hour to get there.
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00:00:51,051 --> 00:00:53,262
But they did arrive.
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At Shiva, we didn't
know what to believe.
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We had just heard
she killed herself,
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00:01:00,310 --> 00:01:02,563
and now we're hearing that
she didn't kill herself.
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00:01:02,646 --> 00:01:06,817
But, again, no
one said anything.
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00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:10,779
Sandee and Josh and
Sam's parents and Sam...
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00:01:10,862 --> 00:01:13,491
they went into a bedroom.
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Sam was here. His
mother was here.
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00:01:15,576 --> 00:01:17,495
His father was here.
Sandee was here.
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00:01:17,578 --> 00:01:19,622
And I was here.
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00:01:19,705 --> 00:01:22,917
And I said to Sam that what
the police are going to do
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00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,377
is they're going to
start their investigation
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00:01:25,460 --> 00:01:28,214
from closest to Ellen
to farthest from Ellen.
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00:01:28,297 --> 00:01:31,133
They are going to question
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00:01:31,216 --> 00:01:33,677
somebody who knows Ellen
or lived with Ellen.
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00:01:35,387 --> 00:01:36,805
And that's you.
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00:01:55,657 --> 00:01:57,743
Once it was announced
that it was a homicide,
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00:01:57,826 --> 00:01:59,328
I did speak with a detective,
30
00:01:59,411 --> 00:02:00,871
and they needed
to come back out.
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00:02:00,954 --> 00:02:02,665
And he said, I'll be right over.
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00:02:02,748 --> 00:02:04,458
I got scared. I got scared.
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00:02:04,541 --> 00:02:06,502
I'd just let people into the
apartment to clean it up.
34
00:02:06,585 --> 00:02:08,045
Now all of a sudden,
it's a homicide.
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00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:10,714
I've got reporters.
I've got family members.
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00:02:10,797 --> 00:02:13,050
I've got residents
knocking on the door.
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00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:15,970
It was... it was a crazy
scene, and it was very chaotic.
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00:02:16,053 --> 00:02:18,514
Police are back
out at the Venice Lofts
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00:02:18,597 --> 00:02:20,349
of Flat Rock Road in Manayunk,
40
00:02:20,432 --> 00:02:22,726
searching for information
on the suspicious death
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00:02:22,809 --> 00:02:24,520
of 26-year-old Ellen Greenberg.
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00:02:24,603 --> 00:02:25,729
She died Wednesday night
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00:02:25,812 --> 00:02:27,565
during the height
of the snowstorm.
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00:02:27,648 --> 00:02:29,149
Police say the medical examiner
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00:02:29,232 --> 00:02:30,818
found that she had
died of stab wounds
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00:02:30,901 --> 00:02:32,152
to her chest and torso.
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00:02:32,235 --> 00:02:33,571
Because of those findings,
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00:02:33,654 --> 00:02:35,364
investigators with
the homicide unit
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00:02:35,447 --> 00:02:36,991
returned to the apartment today
50
00:02:37,074 --> 00:02:38,993
to search for any
additional evidence
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00:02:39,076 --> 00:02:41,829
that could result in this
becoming a case of murder.
52
00:02:46,666 --> 00:02:48,127
Once the medical examiners
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00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:49,878
ruled this a
homicide, it's like,
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00:02:49,961 --> 00:02:51,463
whoa, go back and investigate.
55
00:02:51,546 --> 00:02:54,049
Too late. We allowed the
crime scene to be cleared,
56
00:02:54,132 --> 00:02:57,303
which allowed cleaners,
professional cleaners...
57
00:02:57,386 --> 00:02:59,305
and I'm not talking
residential cleaners,
58
00:02:59,388 --> 00:03:01,348
I'm talking
crime-scene cleaners...
59
00:03:01,431 --> 00:03:05,269
to come in and clean
the crime scene.
60
00:03:05,352 --> 00:03:07,313
We're saying
it's a suicide.
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00:03:07,396 --> 00:03:09,607
And then two days later,
we're saying it's a homicide.
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00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:14,361
So they gave the window to be
able to clean the scene up.
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00:03:14,444 --> 00:03:17,072
The scene is tainted.
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00:03:17,155 --> 00:03:19,992
As far as my personal
investigation,
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00:03:20,075 --> 00:03:23,454
I've never been out after
a professional company
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00:03:23,537 --> 00:03:26,749
cleaned the crime scene up.
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00:03:26,832 --> 00:03:29,209
When a scene has a
computer or a cell phone
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00:03:29,292 --> 00:03:30,753
or a laptop,
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00:03:30,836 --> 00:03:33,005
you tend to want to seize those
70
00:03:33,088 --> 00:03:35,049
and to keep those
in a safe place.
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00:03:35,132 --> 00:03:37,509
There's this whole concept
in law enforcement,
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00:03:37,592 --> 00:03:39,928
and investigation and
in... in court cases
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00:03:40,011 --> 00:03:41,638
known as chain of custody.
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00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:45,184
Where was this evidence?
Who took control of it?
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00:03:45,267 --> 00:03:47,019
While retrieving
items for the funeral,
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00:03:47,102 --> 00:03:50,439
Ellen's devices were
taken out of her apartment
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00:03:50,522 --> 00:03:53,817
by two members of Sam
Goldberg's family,
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00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:56,862
specifically his uncle
Jamie Schwartzman,
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00:03:56,945 --> 00:03:59,698
a prominent
Philadelphia attorney.
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00:03:59,781 --> 00:04:02,618
After her death was
ruled a homicide,
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00:04:02,701 --> 00:04:07,456
he turned the devices
over to the police.
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00:04:07,539 --> 00:04:11,710
So what should be
done wasn't done.
83
00:04:11,793 --> 00:04:14,046
So many errors
84
00:04:14,129 --> 00:04:17,424
happened in this case
that all snowballed.
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00:04:17,507 --> 00:04:19,468
You don't have crime
scene unit coming.
86
00:04:19,551 --> 00:04:21,053
You don't have investigation.
87
00:04:21,136 --> 00:04:23,347
You don't have a
held crime scene.
88
00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:25,432
This snowball is getting
bigger and bigger,
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00:04:25,515 --> 00:04:27,434
because now what are you
going to investigate?
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00:04:27,517 --> 00:04:28,852
This scene is clean.
91
00:04:36,818 --> 00:04:39,613
A week to ten days
after Ellen's passing,
92
00:04:39,696 --> 00:04:41,699
I got a phone call
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00:04:41,782 --> 00:04:44,660
from a homicide
detective in Philly.
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00:04:44,743 --> 00:04:46,036
And he wanted to know
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00:04:46,119 --> 00:04:47,913
if he could come
over and interview me
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00:04:47,996 --> 00:04:51,166
because I'd been all over
Ellen's text messages.
97
00:04:54,586 --> 00:04:56,880
And I was like, sure. Oh,
my God, this is great.
98
00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:58,966
He's going to, like,
find the killer.
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00:04:59,049 --> 00:05:02,052
I was so happy to help them.
100
00:05:02,135 --> 00:05:05,472
And I had all these questions
I wanted to ask him.
101
00:05:05,555 --> 00:05:08,892
But they only asked
me six questions.
102
00:05:08,975 --> 00:05:11,395
And I...
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00:05:11,478 --> 00:05:13,105
That was that.
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00:05:20,237 --> 00:05:23,115
On January 31, 2011,
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00:05:23,198 --> 00:05:26,952
I was working a shift at
the Philadelphia Daily News.
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00:05:27,035 --> 00:05:28,745
I was probably the only reporter
107
00:05:28,828 --> 00:05:30,247
in the newsroom that day.
108
00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:31,749
We were a small operation.
109
00:05:31,832 --> 00:05:35,127
And I reached out to
the police department
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00:05:35,210 --> 00:05:37,129
and asked for an
update in Ellen's case.
111
00:05:37,212 --> 00:05:39,006
Her case had been
covered by my colleagues
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00:05:39,089 --> 00:05:40,299
earlier in the week.
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00:05:40,382 --> 00:05:44,011
And we wanted to see where
the investigation stood.
114
00:05:44,094 --> 00:05:45,721
The Medical Examiner's Office
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00:05:45,804 --> 00:05:47,931
had already ruled
her death a homicide,
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00:05:48,014 --> 00:05:50,517
but when I talked to
the police spokesperson,
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00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:52,728
he said that while
they were carrying it
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00:05:52,811 --> 00:05:54,146
as a suspicious death
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00:05:54,229 --> 00:05:57,357
that they may be
leaning towards suicide.
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00:06:00,235 --> 00:06:02,029
As I noted in my reporting,
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00:06:02,112 --> 00:06:03,363
police told me
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00:06:03,446 --> 00:06:05,866
the scene was carried
as a suicide that night
123
00:06:05,949 --> 00:06:09,328
because Sam had stayed on the
scene and was cooperative.
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00:06:09,411 --> 00:06:11,580
The door had been
broken from the outside
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00:06:11,663 --> 00:06:14,041
and locked from the
inside, apparently.
126
00:06:14,124 --> 00:06:16,793
There were no signs of an
intruder in the apartment,
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00:06:16,876 --> 00:06:20,255
and Ellen didn't have any
defensive wounds on her body.
128
00:06:20,338 --> 00:06:21,757
In my initial reporting,
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00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:24,801
I noted that this
was highly unusual.
130
00:06:24,884 --> 00:06:28,430
I can't recall another
instance in my career
131
00:06:28,513 --> 00:06:31,558
where the police department
publicly contradicted
132
00:06:31,641 --> 00:06:35,145
the medical examiner's
findings to the press.
133
00:06:35,228 --> 00:06:37,731
Think about this...
you're not looking at a woman
134
00:06:37,814 --> 00:06:39,900
who has two slit wrists
and a suicide note.
135
00:06:39,983 --> 00:06:41,235
You're looking at a woman
136
00:06:41,318 --> 00:06:43,028
who's been stabbed
20 times, right?
137
00:06:43,111 --> 00:06:45,280
Multiple stab wounds to
the back of the neck,
138
00:06:45,363 --> 00:06:48,408
a huge blunt force trauma
from a knife to the head,
139
00:06:48,491 --> 00:06:50,619
stab wounds on the torso, right?
140
00:06:50,702 --> 00:06:53,038
And then, ultimately,
a stab to the heart.
141
00:06:53,121 --> 00:06:54,248
So what does that mean?
142
00:06:54,331 --> 00:06:56,250
Do you say, automatically,
this is a homicide?
143
00:06:56,333 --> 00:06:57,417
Maybe.
144
00:06:57,500 --> 00:07:00,087
But we have to do our
investigative work,
145
00:07:00,170 --> 00:07:02,714
because if you don't know
one way or the other,
146
00:07:02,797 --> 00:07:05,676
treat it as a homicide
until proven otherwise.
147
00:07:05,759 --> 00:07:08,595
And they didn't do that.
148
00:07:08,678 --> 00:07:11,223
It's detrimental
to a homicide scene
149
00:07:11,306 --> 00:07:13,600
if it was cleaned up before
we were able to collect
150
00:07:13,683 --> 00:07:15,185
any type of evidence.
151
00:07:15,268 --> 00:07:18,689
As a police officer,
I'm suspicious.
152
00:07:18,772 --> 00:07:21,191
Why is this cleaned up so fast?
153
00:07:21,274 --> 00:07:23,068
I had no
experience in this.
154
00:07:23,151 --> 00:07:25,153
I just didn't know what
was going to happen
155
00:07:25,236 --> 00:07:27,030
or what was not going to happen.
156
00:07:27,113 --> 00:07:29,783
I grew up trusting the
police, believing the police.
157
00:07:29,866 --> 00:07:32,160
That's why they're
the police, right?
158
00:07:32,243 --> 00:07:33,870
So what are we supposed to do?
159
00:07:33,953 --> 00:07:35,747
We're supposed to... it's
a murder investigation.
160
00:07:35,830 --> 00:07:36,999
We believe it was murder.
161
00:07:37,082 --> 00:07:38,458
It's in the hands of the police,
162
00:07:38,541 --> 00:07:40,043
and you figure
they're going to...
163
00:07:40,126 --> 00:07:41,628
they're going to
be professionals,
164
00:07:41,711 --> 00:07:43,130
and they're going
to do their job.
165
00:07:43,213 --> 00:07:46,300
We had no reason
to suspect anything
166
00:07:46,383 --> 00:07:49,136
was out of the ordinary.
167
00:07:49,219 --> 00:07:51,263
At that point,
the police department
168
00:07:51,346 --> 00:07:53,265
was giving us
little information.
169
00:07:53,348 --> 00:07:54,766
The Medical Examiner's Office
170
00:07:54,849 --> 00:07:56,768
wasn't going to give
us an interview either.
171
00:07:56,851 --> 00:07:59,479
So, at this point, really,
reporters are stymied
172
00:07:59,562 --> 00:08:02,024
in their quest for answers.
173
00:08:02,107 --> 00:08:05,110
And then on March 10, 2011,
174
00:08:05,193 --> 00:08:07,738
the Medical Examiner's Office
175
00:08:07,821 --> 00:08:10,532
publicly declares
Ellen's death a suicide.
176
00:08:14,953 --> 00:08:17,831
After suicide,
we heard nothing.
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00:08:17,914 --> 00:08:19,374
It was done.
178
00:08:19,457 --> 00:08:21,877
They were like, we're
done. Case closed.
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00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:26,089
I was so devastated and so...
180
00:08:26,172 --> 00:08:28,550
distraught.
181
00:08:28,633 --> 00:08:30,927
It was like the
night of her murder.
182
00:08:31,010 --> 00:08:32,596
We blacked out.
183
00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,807
I can't recall
anything about it.
184
00:08:35,890 --> 00:08:37,100
Fortunately or unfortunately,
185
00:08:37,183 --> 00:08:39,102
we don't have any
experience in this,
186
00:08:39,185 --> 00:08:41,104
so I didn't know what to do.
187
00:08:41,187 --> 00:08:42,731
We were in the dark.
188
00:08:45,024 --> 00:08:47,945
Suicide is not a crime
189
00:08:48,028 --> 00:08:50,572
in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
190
00:08:50,655 --> 00:08:54,159
In other words, there
is no investigation.
191
00:08:54,242 --> 00:08:55,660
They're done.
192
00:09:03,418 --> 00:09:06,380
I remember
getting in the car,
193
00:09:06,463 --> 00:09:08,423
it still being very cold,
194
00:09:08,506 --> 00:09:11,760
and I kind of just
remembered my mom telling me,
195
00:09:11,843 --> 00:09:14,721
like, oh, well, Miss Ellen's
196
00:09:14,804 --> 00:09:16,598
not going to be in school today.
197
00:09:18,183 --> 00:09:21,520
After that, I just
remember going into class
198
00:09:21,603 --> 00:09:23,230
and not seeing her.
199
00:09:23,313 --> 00:09:25,190
And I'm like, okay,
well, maybe she's late,
200
00:09:25,273 --> 00:09:27,776
which is very rare because
she was never late.
201
00:09:29,569 --> 00:09:31,405
I remember that day,
202
00:09:31,488 --> 00:09:35,200
the day we came back, we
all waited for each other.
203
00:09:37,702 --> 00:09:41,123
And we walked up the
hallway together...
204
00:09:41,206 --> 00:09:42,791
To her room...
205
00:09:44,959 --> 00:09:49,089
Because that was just, like,
such a solidified thing...
206
00:09:49,172 --> 00:09:51,382
'cause she wasn't
going to be there.
207
00:09:53,259 --> 00:09:56,179
I think that was maybe
one of my hardest days,
208
00:09:56,262 --> 00:09:58,348
just walking up that hallway.
209
00:09:58,431 --> 00:10:00,976
And we all did it together.
210
00:10:01,059 --> 00:10:03,395
You don't know
how to tell a five-year-old
211
00:10:03,478 --> 00:10:06,440
or a six-year-old
that type of news.
212
00:10:06,523 --> 00:10:08,025
I was very confused.
213
00:10:08,108 --> 00:10:10,235
I was... just I wasn't
getting the concept
214
00:10:10,318 --> 00:10:13,029
until one of the students
kind of just whispered to me,
215
00:10:13,112 --> 00:10:14,614
like, she's dead.
216
00:10:14,697 --> 00:10:16,658
Like, she's not coming back.
217
00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:23,665
I couldn't believe it.
218
00:10:23,748 --> 00:10:27,210
I've never dealt with
death before that.
219
00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:29,212
I can
remember talking about it
220
00:10:29,295 --> 00:10:30,797
with my students,
221
00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,508
you know, probably after they
had spoken with the therapist.
222
00:10:33,591 --> 00:10:35,427
And I remember, I just...
I could not hold back.
223
00:10:35,510 --> 00:10:38,430
I was just crying all the time.
-Me too.
224
00:10:38,513 --> 00:10:41,808
And it was so difficult.
225
00:10:41,891 --> 00:10:44,811
There's a huge ripple effect.
226
00:10:44,894 --> 00:10:47,272
It was a massive
loss for the school.
227
00:10:54,571 --> 00:10:56,948
- That's a cute
one. - Mm-hmm.
228
00:10:57,031 --> 00:10:59,201
Oh, at school.
229
00:10:59,284 --> 00:11:02,162
I know. This is one
of the best pictures ever.
230
00:11:04,205 --> 00:11:06,374
Did you
go to her school?
231
00:11:06,457 --> 00:11:09,628
Yeah. We... I helped her,
um, set the room up...
232
00:11:09,711 --> 00:11:11,838
-Mm-hmm.
-And put all the different...
233
00:11:11,921 --> 00:11:14,257
You know, it was very colorful.
234
00:11:17,218 --> 00:11:18,762
My mother loves pictures.
235
00:11:18,845 --> 00:11:21,264
And she made this
for Ellen and Sam.
236
00:11:24,309 --> 00:11:27,062
That's San Francisco.
-Where...
237
00:11:27,145 --> 00:11:30,899
He had just finished a
Pebble Beach golf tournament,
238
00:11:30,982 --> 00:11:33,693
and then they went
to San Francisco
239
00:11:33,776 --> 00:11:36,696
and then to Napa...
240
00:11:36,779 --> 00:11:38,949
so...
241
00:11:39,032 --> 00:11:42,536
After Ellen's passing
was a very dark,
242
00:11:42,619 --> 00:11:44,121
dark, dark time.
243
00:11:44,204 --> 00:11:47,999
And I wasn't in a
very good place.
244
00:11:48,082 --> 00:11:50,669
Remember, I used to
come to your house
245
00:11:50,752 --> 00:11:53,630
and lay on the floor next
to the dog in the sun?
246
00:11:53,713 --> 00:11:56,925
-I don't remember.
-I did.
247
00:11:57,008 --> 00:12:00,095
But, um, it took me a while
248
00:12:00,178 --> 00:12:03,431
to fight through it,
power through it.
249
00:12:03,514 --> 00:12:07,727
But, eventually,
I built myself up.
250
00:12:07,810 --> 00:12:09,938
And, uh...
251
00:12:10,021 --> 00:12:14,359
I don't really remember
a whole lot of stuff...
252
00:12:14,442 --> 00:12:16,361
but it was...
253
00:12:16,444 --> 00:12:18,822
it was pretty awful.
254
00:12:23,451 --> 00:12:27,163
It took me a long
time to regroup,
255
00:12:27,246 --> 00:12:29,332
get myself strong,
256
00:12:29,415 --> 00:12:33,128
and put Humpty Dumpty
back together again
257
00:12:33,211 --> 00:12:37,173
so that I could, you
know, figure this out.
258
00:12:39,050 --> 00:12:42,679
Let's go over
the autopsy report.
259
00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:46,892
I have a lot of problems
with a lot of it, okay?
260
00:12:46,975 --> 00:12:48,852
I don't think it's
done properly.
261
00:12:48,935 --> 00:12:51,771
My name is Thomas
Patrick Brennan, Jr.
262
00:12:51,854 --> 00:12:53,773
I was with the
Pennsylvania State Police
263
00:12:53,856 --> 00:12:55,400
for 25 years.
264
00:12:55,483 --> 00:12:59,613
And in February of 2013,
265
00:12:59,696 --> 00:13:01,781
I met with two
friends of mine...
266
00:13:01,864 --> 00:13:05,493
one a retired dentist,
the other who is a judge.
267
00:13:05,576 --> 00:13:08,830
They were both friends
of the Greenbergs.
268
00:13:08,913 --> 00:13:11,416
The first meeting we had,
269
00:13:11,499 --> 00:13:14,544
I asked them... I said, well,
what documentation do you have?
270
00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:18,340
And they said, well, we
have the autopsy report,
271
00:13:18,423 --> 00:13:21,301
and we have some
autopsy photographs
272
00:13:21,384 --> 00:13:23,678
and some crime-scene
photographs,
273
00:13:23,761 --> 00:13:26,139
but we've never looked
at the photographs.
274
00:13:28,975 --> 00:13:31,853
I said, well, I'd like to
have that documentation
275
00:13:31,936 --> 00:13:33,980
so I can study it, look it over.
276
00:13:36,149 --> 00:13:37,359
He came to us.
277
00:13:37,442 --> 00:13:40,612
He reviewed various
things that we had.
278
00:13:40,695 --> 00:13:43,031
And he said, this is a
murder. This is a homicide.
279
00:13:46,492 --> 00:13:49,245
They said,
well, will you continue
280
00:13:49,328 --> 00:13:50,622
to look at it for us?
281
00:13:50,705 --> 00:13:53,291
And I said, well, you're
going to have to be
282
00:13:53,374 --> 00:13:55,251
extremely, extremely patient.
283
00:13:55,334 --> 00:13:57,879
I said, this is not
going to be a year
284
00:13:57,962 --> 00:13:59,923
or two years, three years.
285
00:14:00,006 --> 00:14:01,967
I said, that's not
going to happen.
286
00:14:02,050 --> 00:14:05,011
Josh, being Josh, said to me...
287
00:14:05,094 --> 00:14:07,806
well, what's this
going to cost me?
288
00:14:07,889 --> 00:14:10,266
And I looked at him,
and I said, well...
289
00:14:10,349 --> 00:14:12,769
I don't make money on
somebody else's grief.
290
00:14:12,852 --> 00:14:16,022
So my time is not going
to cost you anything.
291
00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:19,776
I worked in Philadelphia.
292
00:14:19,859 --> 00:14:22,654
I worked in Philadelphia
for a long time.
293
00:14:22,737 --> 00:14:26,408
You don't know the
politics of Philadelphia.
294
00:14:26,491 --> 00:14:29,869
I said, you are going to
have to fight, fight, fight.
295
00:14:29,952 --> 00:14:33,498
And if you're not willing
to do that, don't start,
296
00:14:33,581 --> 00:14:36,543
because you are going
to have to fight this
297
00:14:36,626 --> 00:14:38,878
for everything that's in you.
298
00:14:40,546 --> 00:14:42,257
That's the
right thing to do.
299
00:14:42,340 --> 00:14:44,426
That's what I'm about.
I was Ellen's father.
300
00:14:44,509 --> 00:14:47,095
I still am Ellen's father.
301
00:14:47,178 --> 00:14:50,140
And I'm not going to leave
Ellen out there alone.
302
00:14:50,223 --> 00:14:52,392
I'm going to find
out what happened.
303
00:14:52,475 --> 00:14:54,519
She deserves her justice.
304
00:14:54,602 --> 00:14:58,732
She deserves to
maintain her dignity.
305
00:14:58,815 --> 00:15:01,818
And Philadelphia
owes that to her.
306
00:15:09,617 --> 00:15:11,536
We arranged
another breakfast meeting,
307
00:15:11,619 --> 00:15:13,913
and I pointed different
things out to them
308
00:15:13,996 --> 00:15:17,751
in the crime-scene photographs
and in the autopsy photos.
309
00:15:17,834 --> 00:15:21,629
And a lot of discrepancies
in the autopsy report.
310
00:15:21,712 --> 00:15:24,340
The first thing
that stood out to me
311
00:15:24,423 --> 00:15:27,302
was the dried and
coagulated blood
312
00:15:27,385 --> 00:15:29,262
on the victim's face.
313
00:15:29,345 --> 00:15:31,514
And that's the dried
and coagulated blood
314
00:15:31,597 --> 00:15:33,975
that runs across
the face to the ear.
315
00:15:34,058 --> 00:15:37,520
But she's found
sitting up and leaning
316
00:15:37,603 --> 00:15:40,356
against the corner
of the cabinets.
317
00:15:40,439 --> 00:15:42,358
I looked at it, and I
said, wait a minute.
318
00:15:42,441 --> 00:15:45,361
If she's sitting up, it should
be running down her face.
319
00:15:45,444 --> 00:15:47,363
That indicated to me right away
320
00:15:47,446 --> 00:15:50,700
that, hey, the
body's been moved.
321
00:15:50,783 --> 00:15:52,744
According to the
medical examiner's report,
322
00:15:52,827 --> 00:15:55,580
Ellen's body was found
in a supine position.
323
00:15:55,663 --> 00:15:59,000
She had no defensive wounds
on her hands or her arms.
324
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:01,544
She did have blood
covering her face.
325
00:16:01,627 --> 00:16:03,296
Her hands were
cold to the touch.
326
00:16:03,379 --> 00:16:05,131
Her torso was warm.
327
00:16:05,214 --> 00:16:07,717
Investigators felt that
this was consistent
328
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,471
with the position that
her body was found in.
329
00:16:11,554 --> 00:16:14,140
If you take a look
at the autopsy report,
330
00:16:14,223 --> 00:16:16,559
there was a lot of
bruising on the body,
331
00:16:16,642 --> 00:16:19,354
and it was in different
stages of healing.
332
00:16:21,647 --> 00:16:23,608
According to
the autopsy report,
333
00:16:23,691 --> 00:16:25,610
there were bruises
on Ellen's body
334
00:16:25,693 --> 00:16:28,238
that were in various
stages of healing,
335
00:16:28,321 --> 00:16:31,616
but this did not factor
in to the manner of death.
336
00:16:31,699 --> 00:16:34,410
Now, we know in January of 2011
337
00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:37,413
that Ellen started to
see a psychiatrist,
338
00:16:37,496 --> 00:16:39,833
and she was prescribed
two medications...
339
00:16:39,916 --> 00:16:42,377
Klonopin, which is
an anti anxiety drug,
340
00:16:42,460 --> 00:16:45,171
and also Ambien,
which is a sleep aid.
341
00:16:45,254 --> 00:16:46,589
When Stephanie Farr
342
00:16:46,672 --> 00:16:48,383
interviewed the
original investigators,
343
00:16:48,466 --> 00:16:50,969
they did question whether
or not those medications
344
00:16:51,052 --> 00:16:54,430
could have contributed to
the bruising on Ellen's body.
345
00:16:54,513 --> 00:16:56,391
There's also the possibility
346
00:16:56,474 --> 00:16:59,769
that Ellen was involved in some
strenuous physical activity,
347
00:16:59,852 --> 00:17:01,688
like intense workouts.
348
00:17:01,771 --> 00:17:03,231
According to the case file,
349
00:17:03,314 --> 00:17:05,441
we know that Ellen
had three appointments
350
00:17:05,524 --> 00:17:08,069
with a psychiatrist to
talk about her anxiety,
351
00:17:08,152 --> 00:17:10,655
but she never said
anything bad about Sam.
352
00:17:10,738 --> 00:17:12,240
In fact, the psychiatrist said
353
00:17:12,323 --> 00:17:16,286
that she smiled
whenever mentioning him.
354
00:17:16,369 --> 00:17:18,705
When the psychiatrist
directly asked Ellen
355
00:17:18,788 --> 00:17:22,041
if there had been any abuse,
she denied that there were
356
00:17:22,124 --> 00:17:25,420
any verbal or physical
confrontations with Sam.
357
00:17:28,506 --> 00:17:32,719
Ellen had
significant bruising.
358
00:17:32,802 --> 00:17:35,096
Now, though I wasn't
involved in the investigation
359
00:17:35,179 --> 00:17:38,433
at the time, I noticed
the bruising...
360
00:17:38,516 --> 00:17:40,852
it's in various
stages of healing.
361
00:17:40,935 --> 00:17:44,481
So it's not indicative
of an attack.
362
00:17:44,564 --> 00:17:49,277
This was something that
happened over time.
363
00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:52,906
To find out
in the autopsy report
364
00:17:52,989 --> 00:17:55,116
of all the bruising...
365
00:17:55,199 --> 00:17:58,286
I knew nothing. I
didn't know anything.
366
00:18:00,496 --> 00:18:04,042
It just... I-I feel...
367
00:18:04,125 --> 00:18:07,420
I feel very, very sad.
368
00:18:21,142 --> 00:18:23,311
As time went on,
369
00:18:23,394 --> 00:18:25,521
I developed some other sources.
370
00:18:25,604 --> 00:18:27,732
And Debbie Schwab called me,
371
00:18:27,815 --> 00:18:29,943
and she said, Tom,
372
00:18:30,026 --> 00:18:32,403
I was talking to
this individual,
373
00:18:32,486 --> 00:18:34,948
and this individual said
374
00:18:35,031 --> 00:18:38,576
that she knows an individual
375
00:18:38,659 --> 00:18:40,995
who works in DA's office.
376
00:18:44,165 --> 00:18:46,125
I remember so clearly
377
00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:48,711
getting involved in the
Ellen Greenberg case.
378
00:18:48,794 --> 00:18:50,338
It was 2015.
379
00:18:50,421 --> 00:18:53,007
Guy was working
in the DA's office,
380
00:18:53,090 --> 00:18:55,134
and someone had
asked him to look
381
00:18:55,217 --> 00:18:57,095
on behalf of us
382
00:18:57,178 --> 00:19:00,223
at Ellen's records.
383
00:19:00,306 --> 00:19:02,141
I had to do some digging.
384
00:19:02,224 --> 00:19:04,143
I didn't know anything about it.
385
00:19:04,226 --> 00:19:05,812
All I knew was this...
386
00:19:05,895 --> 00:19:09,357
20 stab wounds, suicide.
387
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,360
That's... that's a bizarre,
bizarre set of facts,
388
00:19:12,443 --> 00:19:13,987
without knowing anything else.
389
00:19:14,070 --> 00:19:16,364
But we've all seen
stranger things.
390
00:19:16,447 --> 00:19:19,492
I start looking
for the case file.
391
00:19:19,575 --> 00:19:21,369
Couldn't find it anywhere.
392
00:19:21,452 --> 00:19:25,581
And part of that is because
it wasn't a homicide, right?
393
00:19:25,664 --> 00:19:27,959
So it's not in the
homicide file room.
394
00:19:28,042 --> 00:19:29,752
It wasn't in the
regular file room,
395
00:19:29,835 --> 00:19:31,379
because at least at that point,
396
00:19:31,462 --> 00:19:33,339
it's not technically
a crime, right?
397
00:19:33,422 --> 00:19:35,550
So where is this file?
Ultimately, I do find it.
398
00:19:35,633 --> 00:19:38,011
A little odd, but
it was in a closet
399
00:19:38,094 --> 00:19:41,347
where we kept sort of our
various holiday decorations
400
00:19:41,430 --> 00:19:43,057
in the office.
401
00:19:43,140 --> 00:19:46,603
I pull this Ellen Greenberg
file out of the closet,
402
00:19:46,686 --> 00:19:49,272
and I do like I did
in any other case.
403
00:19:49,355 --> 00:19:51,816
Every single piece of
evidence is pulled out.
404
00:19:51,899 --> 00:19:54,652
It's organized.
It's categorized.
405
00:19:54,735 --> 00:19:57,613
So, essentially, there's
three files that exist, right?
406
00:19:57,696 --> 00:20:00,617
The medical examiner's, the
district attorney's file,
407
00:20:00,700 --> 00:20:02,076
and the homicide file.
408
00:20:02,159 --> 00:20:05,455
I gathered all three of
those, and I built my file.
409
00:20:08,666 --> 00:20:12,337
From the beginning,
it just felt wrong.
410
00:20:12,420 --> 00:20:15,506
And I really, really wanted
to do the right thing,
411
00:20:15,589 --> 00:20:17,759
and so I wanted to make sure
412
00:20:17,842 --> 00:20:19,594
that if this was
going to be set...
413
00:20:19,677 --> 00:20:22,555
or looked at with a
fresh set of eyes,
414
00:20:22,638 --> 00:20:25,516
it got at least the
justice that it deserved.
415
00:20:26,892 --> 00:20:28,603
And at some point,
I was communicating
416
00:20:28,686 --> 00:20:31,189
directly with a man by
the name of Tom Brennan.
417
00:20:31,272 --> 00:20:33,066
And so I asked around.
People knew him.
418
00:20:33,149 --> 00:20:35,276
He was a very respected
law-enforcement officer,
419
00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,696
retired, now working as
a private investigator
420
00:20:38,779 --> 00:20:40,073
for the Greenbergs.
421
00:20:40,156 --> 00:20:42,158
And would I be willing
to speak with him?
422
00:20:44,368 --> 00:20:47,955
So Guy and I met, and, you
know, we became friends.
423
00:20:48,038 --> 00:20:52,752
And then I asked if he could
get access to the 911 call.
424
00:20:52,835 --> 00:20:55,588
And Guy said, I still
have some contacts.
425
00:20:55,671 --> 00:20:58,091
He said, I'll see
if I can get it.
426
00:20:58,174 --> 00:21:01,302
A couple weeks later,
he got the 911 call.
427
00:21:01,385 --> 00:21:03,429
I-I listened to it,
428
00:21:03,512 --> 00:21:07,642
and I could not believe
what I was hearing.
429
00:21:13,856 --> 00:21:16,275
Philadelphia
Fire Department, 842.
430
00:21:16,358 --> 00:21:18,027
-Please hurry.
-What's wrong?
431
00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:19,904
My... my... I just... my...
432
00:21:19,987 --> 00:21:21,906
I went downstairs
to go work out.
433
00:21:21,989 --> 00:21:24,242
I came back up. The
door was latched.
434
00:21:24,325 --> 00:21:25,493
My fiancée is inside.
435
00:21:25,576 --> 00:21:27,578
She wasn't... she
wasn't answering.
436
00:21:27,661 --> 00:21:30,248
So, after about a half hour,
I decided to break it down.
437
00:21:30,331 --> 00:21:32,291
I see her now, just on
the floor with blood.
438
00:21:32,374 --> 00:21:34,252
Like, she's not...
she's not responding.
439
00:21:34,335 --> 00:21:35,837
Okay,
is she breathing?
440
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,256
She... I...
Look at her chest.
441
00:21:38,339 --> 00:21:39,465
I need you to calm down,
442
00:21:39,548 --> 00:21:41,092
and I need you to
look at her chest.
443
00:21:41,175 --> 00:21:42,552
It's really...
I don't think she...
444
00:21:42,635 --> 00:21:44,262
- I really don't think she
is. - Listen to me.
445
00:21:44,345 --> 00:21:45,847
Someone's on the way.
Look at her chest.
446
00:21:45,930 --> 00:21:47,056
Is she flat on her back?
447
00:21:47,139 --> 00:21:48,850
She's on her
back. Do I bring her...
448
00:21:48,933 --> 00:21:50,309
Okay,
look at her chest
449
00:21:50,392 --> 00:21:52,311
and tell me if it's going
up and down, up and down.
450
00:21:52,394 --> 00:21:53,771
I don't see her moving.
451
00:21:53,854 --> 00:21:55,523
Okay, do you
know how to do CPR?
452
00:21:55,606 --> 00:21:56,941
I don't.
453
00:21:57,024 --> 00:21:58,735
Okay, I can
tell you what to do, okay,
454
00:21:58,818 --> 00:22:00,069
until they get there.
455
00:22:00,152 --> 00:22:01,946
- I want you to keep her
flat... - Oh, God.
456
00:22:02,029 --> 00:22:03,531
-Hello?
-Yeah. Hi. Okay.
457
00:22:03,614 --> 00:22:05,533
Are you willing to
do CPR with me over the phone
458
00:22:05,616 --> 00:22:07,410
-till they get there?
-I-I have to, right?
459
00:22:07,493 --> 00:22:09,328
Okay, so get
her flat on her back.
460
00:22:09,411 --> 00:22:11,747
Bare her chest, okay? You
want to rip her shirt off.
461
00:22:11,830 --> 00:22:13,332
Oh, shit. Okay?
462
00:22:13,415 --> 00:22:15,501
You need to kneel
down by her side.
463
00:22:15,584 --> 00:22:17,670
Oh, my God. Ellie, please.
464
00:22:17,753 --> 00:22:20,131
Listen, listen,
you can't freak out, sir...
465
00:22:20,214 --> 00:22:22,550
Okay, I'm trying not
to. I'm trying not to.
466
00:22:22,633 --> 00:22:24,510
Her shirt won't come
off. It's a zipper.
467
00:22:24,593 --> 00:22:26,721
Oh, my God, she stabbed herself!
468
00:22:26,804 --> 00:22:28,806
Where?
She fell on a knife.
469
00:22:28,889 --> 00:22:31,016
Oh, no. Her knife
is sticking out.
470
00:22:32,601 --> 00:22:36,105
I have listened to
thousands of 911 phone calls
471
00:22:36,188 --> 00:22:39,275
prior to listening
to this 911 call.
472
00:22:39,358 --> 00:22:41,194
And I don't know at that time
473
00:22:41,277 --> 00:22:45,364
that I had ever heard
anything like it.
474
00:22:45,447 --> 00:22:48,367
The crushing
part of that
475
00:22:48,450 --> 00:22:51,787
was when he was asked to do CPR.
476
00:22:51,870 --> 00:22:53,080
I was alarmed.
477
00:22:53,163 --> 00:22:57,043
I-I could not believe my ears.
478
00:22:57,126 --> 00:23:01,547
In that 911 call,
you hear him discover
479
00:23:01,630 --> 00:23:04,300
that the knife is
still in her chest.
480
00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:06,761
He asked the
operator what to do,
481
00:23:06,844 --> 00:23:09,889
and he sounds
completely overwhelmed.
482
00:23:09,972 --> 00:23:12,975
There's a lot of ways that you
could pick apart that 911 call.
483
00:23:13,058 --> 00:23:16,562
However, witnesses say that
they saw Sam visibly upset,
484
00:23:16,645 --> 00:23:18,105
crying in the hallway,
485
00:23:18,188 --> 00:23:20,233
and that he was more than eager
486
00:23:20,316 --> 00:23:22,902
to talk to homicide detectives.
487
00:23:22,985 --> 00:23:26,030
That call, it was not
what I would expect
488
00:23:26,113 --> 00:23:28,324
from somebody who
loved my daughter.
489
00:23:37,916 --> 00:23:40,795
When Ellen
started dating Sam,
490
00:23:40,878 --> 00:23:44,131
there were definitely some
changes that we noticed in her.
491
00:23:44,214 --> 00:23:47,635
And, you know, were we jealous
of some of the changes?
492
00:23:47,718 --> 00:23:49,470
Maybe.
493
00:23:49,553 --> 00:23:52,265
I joke around... I say, she
went kind of from shopping
494
00:23:52,348 --> 00:23:55,059
at Nordstrom's to
shopping at Neiman's.
495
00:23:59,980 --> 00:24:02,233
She was spending
more and more time
496
00:24:02,316 --> 00:24:04,068
with him wherever he was,
497
00:24:04,151 --> 00:24:06,737
more time at his family's house.
498
00:24:06,820 --> 00:24:09,574
So we were seeing
less and less of her.
499
00:24:09,657 --> 00:24:12,869
Ellen got engaged in June...
500
00:24:12,952 --> 00:24:16,706
and then I got
engaged in October.
501
00:24:16,789 --> 00:24:19,208
She wanted to be there
to celebrate for me
502
00:24:19,291 --> 00:24:22,295
but wasn't open
about her planning.
503
00:24:22,378 --> 00:24:25,130
She was very closed
off about it.
504
00:24:26,966 --> 00:24:29,260
You know, at times, it was
a little frustrating for me.
505
00:24:29,343 --> 00:24:31,053
Like, I'm sharing
all these details,
506
00:24:31,136 --> 00:24:33,180
and I just want to
share the joy with you.
507
00:24:33,263 --> 00:24:34,724
But then, you know,
as time went on,
508
00:24:34,807 --> 00:24:35,933
I was starting to feel like,
509
00:24:36,016 --> 00:24:38,269
okay, there's something
going on with this.
510
00:24:40,729 --> 00:24:42,690
One thing that
always stood out to me
511
00:24:42,773 --> 00:24:44,692
towards the end is she never
wore her engagement ring.
512
00:24:44,775 --> 00:24:46,319
That was something
that I always noticed.
513
00:24:46,402 --> 00:24:48,112
And I would ask her,
and she was like, oh...
514
00:24:48,195 --> 00:24:49,697
she's like, oh, I
just didn't put it on,
515
00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:51,782
or, oh, it rolls around.
I didn't want to wear it.
516
00:24:51,865 --> 00:24:54,452
And that was something
that struck me.
517
00:24:54,535 --> 00:24:55,703
I don't know the reason
518
00:24:55,786 --> 00:24:57,496
why she wasn't
wearing it at the end,
519
00:24:57,579 --> 00:24:59,915
but that was probably the
first time I was, like...
520
00:24:59,998 --> 00:25:02,460
sort of curious about
what was going on.
521
00:25:02,543 --> 00:25:04,462
But like I said, whenever
I said something about it,
522
00:25:04,545 --> 00:25:06,672
it was just sort of,
like, a, oh, it's just...
523
00:25:06,755 --> 00:25:08,299
it was bothering me.
524
00:25:13,971 --> 00:25:15,681
When Ellen's
body was found,
525
00:25:15,764 --> 00:25:18,059
she was not wearing
her engagement ring.
526
00:25:18,142 --> 00:25:19,310
And at the time,
527
00:25:19,393 --> 00:25:22,688
investigators conducted
two interviews with Sam,
528
00:25:22,771 --> 00:25:25,941
and they asked him, why
wouldn't she be wearing
529
00:25:26,024 --> 00:25:27,360
her engagement ring?
530
00:25:27,443 --> 00:25:28,945
And he said that he assumed
531
00:25:29,028 --> 00:25:31,739
it was because she
didn't wear it to school.
532
00:25:31,822 --> 00:25:34,867
They also asked Sam about
his relationship with Ellen.
533
00:25:34,950 --> 00:25:36,160
He told investigators
534
00:25:36,243 --> 00:25:38,746
that they never had
any domestic issues,
535
00:25:38,829 --> 00:25:41,248
that they never had to get
their parents involved.
536
00:25:41,331 --> 00:25:45,628
He said that day that she
came home at 1:30 from school,
537
00:25:45,711 --> 00:25:47,922
and she was really unhappy,
538
00:25:48,005 --> 00:25:50,925
and she said that she
wanted to quit her job.
539
00:25:51,008 --> 00:25:52,969
When it came to
her mental health,
540
00:25:53,052 --> 00:25:56,555
Sam said that she never talked
about wanting to hurt herself,
541
00:25:56,638 --> 00:25:59,600
and she also never
made any past attempts.
542
00:25:59,683 --> 00:26:03,771
He also said that that
January she was more depressed
543
00:26:03,854 --> 00:26:06,524
than he had seen her before.
544
00:26:06,607 --> 00:26:08,985
And she also asked
him the question,
545
00:26:09,068 --> 00:26:12,279
would you still love
me if I was crazy?
546
00:26:14,156 --> 00:26:17,201
If that was
what was such a big deal
547
00:26:17,284 --> 00:26:19,954
and that's what he
saw going on with her,
548
00:26:20,037 --> 00:26:23,124
then why didn't he reach out to
any of us as her best friends?
549
00:26:23,207 --> 00:26:26,127
Why didn't he call us
and say, hey, help me?
550
00:26:26,210 --> 00:26:27,753
Help me help her.
551
00:26:40,891 --> 00:26:43,185
Ellen's
death wasn't a story
552
00:26:43,268 --> 00:26:45,563
that dominated the news
553
00:26:45,646 --> 00:26:47,440
when it first happened.
554
00:26:49,566 --> 00:26:53,237
At the time, in 2011, we
had over 300 homicides
555
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:54,947
in the city of Philadelphia.
556
00:26:55,030 --> 00:26:57,616
So, with that many homicides
557
00:26:57,699 --> 00:27:02,496
and the messaging from police
that this was a suicide,
558
00:27:02,579 --> 00:27:04,915
it seemed that there really
wasn't any question to it.
559
00:27:04,998 --> 00:27:06,250
And at the time,
560
00:27:06,333 --> 00:27:08,419
there really wasn't
anybody coming out to say,
561
00:27:08,502 --> 00:27:10,796
hey, somebody needs to
take a look at this.
562
00:27:10,879 --> 00:27:12,798
This is strange.
This isn't adding up.
563
00:27:12,881 --> 00:27:14,800
At the time, the
Greenbergs, I think,
564
00:27:14,883 --> 00:27:17,219
were still wrapping their
head around everything.
565
00:27:17,302 --> 00:27:20,389
And so it didn't
stay in the news.
566
00:27:22,015 --> 00:27:23,476
After four years,
567
00:27:23,559 --> 00:27:25,478
I sat down with the
parents and said,
568
00:27:25,561 --> 00:27:28,189
listen, we have to get
the media involved.
569
00:27:28,272 --> 00:27:31,650
They can get other
people excited
570
00:27:31,733 --> 00:27:33,235
and involved in this case.
571
00:27:33,318 --> 00:27:37,490
So I called ten
individuals, journalists,
572
00:27:37,573 --> 00:27:40,159
who had done stories initially.
573
00:27:40,242 --> 00:27:42,744
The only one that called
me back was Stephanie Farr.
574
00:27:44,371 --> 00:27:47,333
In late fall of 2017,
575
00:27:47,416 --> 00:27:51,045
I received a voicemail message
from a man named Tom Brennan,
576
00:27:51,128 --> 00:27:55,299
asking if I remembered the
case of Ellen Greenberg.
577
00:27:55,382 --> 00:27:58,385
I've covered thousands
of cases in my career,
578
00:27:58,468 --> 00:28:01,096
and I don't remember
all of them,
579
00:28:01,179 --> 00:28:04,725
but I never forgot hers,
because it was so unusual.
580
00:28:06,351 --> 00:28:08,896
She said,
Tom, I'm interested,
581
00:28:08,979 --> 00:28:10,397
but what can you give me?
582
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:12,107
I said, well, I
talked to the parents.
583
00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:14,235
I said, I can give you
everything that I have.
584
00:28:18,405 --> 00:28:20,115
In April 2018,
585
00:28:20,198 --> 00:28:24,161
I went to interview
the Greenbergs.
586
00:28:24,244 --> 00:28:26,413
I remember being nervous.
587
00:28:26,496 --> 00:28:28,666
I remember Sandee
being more nervous.
588
00:28:28,749 --> 00:28:31,544
And I remember her saying to me,
589
00:28:31,627 --> 00:28:34,338
we've never done anything
like this before.
590
00:28:34,421 --> 00:28:37,591
And I said, very
few people have.
591
00:28:37,674 --> 00:28:40,761
People don't come to
us as a first resort.
592
00:28:40,844 --> 00:28:42,304
We're often a last resort
593
00:28:42,387 --> 00:28:44,890
for people who have had every
door shut in their face,
594
00:28:44,973 --> 00:28:47,518
and I think that's what
happened to the Greenbergs.
595
00:28:47,601 --> 00:28:49,895
And Tom recognized
that the only way
596
00:28:49,978 --> 00:28:51,939
there was going to get
some movement on this case
597
00:28:52,022 --> 00:28:53,858
was to bring it to the media.
598
00:29:07,746 --> 00:29:11,000
Sam would check
in with me periodically.
599
00:29:11,083 --> 00:29:14,211
And I don't know
what possessed me,
600
00:29:14,294 --> 00:29:16,922
but we would have a...
601
00:29:17,005 --> 00:29:20,301
you know, a very
cordial conversation.
602
00:29:20,384 --> 00:29:22,344
And I would always say,
603
00:29:22,427 --> 00:29:26,056
you know, Sam, we know
this was not a suicide.
604
00:29:26,139 --> 00:29:30,144
And then there was
an awkward silence.
605
00:29:32,437 --> 00:29:33,939
After Ellen passed away,
606
00:29:34,022 --> 00:29:36,984
Sam and I met for
coffee a couple times
607
00:29:37,067 --> 00:29:40,154
just to get together and,
like, talk about things.
608
00:29:40,237 --> 00:29:42,197
And I wanted to see where he was
609
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:43,574
and how things were going.
610
00:29:44,950 --> 00:29:47,119
And we always text each
other on her birthday
611
00:29:47,202 --> 00:29:48,996
and the anniversary
of her death,
612
00:29:49,079 --> 00:29:50,664
like those type of things.
613
00:29:57,045 --> 00:30:01,425
He didn't seem so concerned
with how Ellen died.
614
00:30:01,508 --> 00:30:04,678
He never questioned anything,
if it was a homicide.
615
00:30:04,761 --> 00:30:06,972
He was pretty
confident, that's all.
616
00:30:07,055 --> 00:30:08,265
It was a suicide.
617
00:30:12,853 --> 00:30:15,439
He always kept it that
Ellen killed herself,
618
00:30:15,522 --> 00:30:17,107
and it was mental health.
619
00:30:17,190 --> 00:30:19,151
And that's how he
portrayed it all the time.
620
00:30:26,742 --> 00:30:31,246
He did ask me at one point,
do you think I killed Ellen?
621
00:30:31,329 --> 00:30:33,040
And I was like...
622
00:30:33,123 --> 00:30:35,960
Well, I don't think
she killed herself.
623
00:30:36,043 --> 00:30:37,419
That's all I'll say.
624
00:30:40,714 --> 00:30:43,342
I have to clear this up.
625
00:30:43,425 --> 00:30:45,803
Ellen did not commit suicide.
626
00:30:45,886 --> 00:30:48,806
And it's not up to anyone else
627
00:30:48,889 --> 00:30:52,476
to tell me how to
spend my time...
628
00:30:52,559 --> 00:30:56,397
and investigate what
I want to investigate.
629
00:30:58,774 --> 00:31:00,859
Because the Greenbergs
were adamant
630
00:31:00,942 --> 00:31:03,070
that their daughter
did not commit suicide,
631
00:31:03,153 --> 00:31:07,157
they wanted to find the truth.
632
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,704
They believed that the
final ruling was wrong.
633
00:31:11,787 --> 00:31:13,580
While I was working
on this story,
634
00:31:13,663 --> 00:31:17,376
I reached out to the
District Attorney's Office.
635
00:31:17,459 --> 00:31:18,961
Their office referred it
636
00:31:19,044 --> 00:31:21,630
to the Pennsylvania
Attorney General's Office
637
00:31:21,713 --> 00:31:25,676
which at that time was headed
by now-Governor Josh Shapiro.
638
00:31:25,759 --> 00:31:27,678
I called up that
office and said,
639
00:31:27,761 --> 00:31:29,972
I'm working on this
investigative piece.
640
00:31:30,055 --> 00:31:32,141
The spokesperson
confirmed that the office
641
00:31:32,224 --> 00:31:34,935
did indeed have the case and
that they were reviewing it.
642
00:31:35,018 --> 00:31:37,438
I asked him to let me know
643
00:31:37,521 --> 00:31:39,898
when they had
reached a conclusion.
644
00:31:42,901 --> 00:31:46,947
What journalists are
really good at...
645
00:31:47,030 --> 00:31:48,741
is a little bit of everything,
646
00:31:48,824 --> 00:31:51,285
but our main quality is, we
know how to ask questions,
647
00:31:51,368 --> 00:31:54,121
and we're not afraid to do it.
648
00:31:54,204 --> 00:31:55,748
And I did reach out
649
00:31:55,831 --> 00:31:58,125
to the Philadelphia
Police Department
650
00:31:58,208 --> 00:32:00,878
to see if any of the
investigators on the case
651
00:32:00,961 --> 00:32:02,296
would give me an interview.
652
00:32:02,379 --> 00:32:04,298
And much to my surprise,
653
00:32:04,381 --> 00:32:06,884
I was granted an interview
654
00:32:06,967 --> 00:32:11,513
with two of the investigators
who had worked Ellen's case.
655
00:32:13,723 --> 00:32:15,726
The police told
me in my interview
656
00:32:15,809 --> 00:32:19,313
that they believed that
Ellen's death was a suicide,
657
00:32:19,396 --> 00:32:20,814
because the door had been locked
658
00:32:20,897 --> 00:32:22,775
and broken from the outside,
659
00:32:22,858 --> 00:32:24,568
the apartment being undisturbed.
660
00:32:24,651 --> 00:32:27,780
And they really focused heavily
661
00:32:27,863 --> 00:32:31,200
on the lack of defensive
wounds on Ellen.
662
00:32:31,283 --> 00:32:33,285
I remember the
detective saying to me
663
00:32:33,368 --> 00:32:35,370
that he had never
seen a stabbing case
664
00:32:35,453 --> 00:32:36,789
without defensive wounds.
665
00:32:36,872 --> 00:32:39,583
And so that was a
big point for them.
666
00:32:39,666 --> 00:32:41,335
They did tell me that the scene
667
00:32:41,418 --> 00:32:43,879
was not treated as a homicide
the night it happened
668
00:32:43,962 --> 00:32:46,548
and that they had to go
back and reinvestigate
669
00:32:46,631 --> 00:32:48,926
once the case was
ruled a homicide
670
00:32:49,009 --> 00:32:51,220
by the Medical
Examiner's Office.
671
00:32:51,303 --> 00:32:53,847
Police told me they did
test the knife for DNA
672
00:32:53,930 --> 00:32:57,643
and that Ellen's was the
only DNA found on the knife.
673
00:32:57,726 --> 00:33:00,896
They did not seem to have any
pause that it was a suicide,
674
00:33:00,979 --> 00:33:02,815
despite my questions.
675
00:33:06,693 --> 00:33:10,531
Looking at the case file
given to me by Tom Brennan,
676
00:33:10,614 --> 00:33:13,951
we know that Ellen made three
visits to a psychiatrist
677
00:33:14,034 --> 00:33:18,831
and that she talked
about her anxiety.
678
00:33:18,914 --> 00:33:22,626
But in the psychiatrist notes,
there were no indications
679
00:33:22,709 --> 00:33:25,170
of any suicidal ideation,
680
00:33:25,253 --> 00:33:29,508
and none of her friends or
her family that I spoke to
681
00:33:29,591 --> 00:33:33,387
noted anything of
that nature either.
682
00:33:33,470 --> 00:33:35,597
Then in 2019,
683
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,184
as I'm ending more than a year
of reporting on this case,
684
00:33:39,267 --> 00:33:42,104
I reach back out to
Josh Shapiro's office,
685
00:33:42,187 --> 00:33:45,107
which at this point has also
had Ellen's case on a review
686
00:33:45,190 --> 00:33:46,900
for more than a year.
687
00:33:46,983 --> 00:33:51,071
The interaction was
contentious, I would say.
688
00:33:51,154 --> 00:33:53,448
They said they had done
a thorough investigation
689
00:33:53,531 --> 00:33:56,034
and had found searches
on Ellen's computer
690
00:33:56,117 --> 00:33:58,453
between December and January
691
00:33:58,536 --> 00:34:02,416
for "quick suicide"
and "painless suicide."
692
00:34:04,501 --> 00:34:07,254
My first question was...
693
00:34:07,337 --> 00:34:10,007
why does the medical
examiner's report
694
00:34:10,090 --> 00:34:11,633
from 2011
695
00:34:11,716 --> 00:34:15,137
not seem to say anything
indicative of suicide
696
00:34:15,220 --> 00:34:18,557
was found on her computer?
697
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:23,020
Why did Guy D'Andrea
not see these searches
698
00:34:23,103 --> 00:34:25,898
in the case file that
he had looked through?
699
00:34:25,981 --> 00:34:27,482
There weren't
suicide searches
700
00:34:27,565 --> 00:34:29,359
in the police file
that was given to me.
701
00:34:29,442 --> 00:34:30,694
There wasn't suicide searches
702
00:34:30,777 --> 00:34:32,404
from the Medical
Examiner's Office.
703
00:34:32,487 --> 00:34:34,198
And there weren't
suicide searches
704
00:34:34,281 --> 00:34:36,200
in terms of a report from the
District Attorney's Office.
705
00:34:36,283 --> 00:34:38,744
And you're telling me that
the file you got was mine.
706
00:34:38,827 --> 00:34:42,080
So it's a simple question...
where did they come from?
707
00:34:42,163 --> 00:34:43,957
Now, maybe there's
a good answer,
708
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,251
but I still don't actually
know an answer to that.
709
00:34:46,334 --> 00:34:48,837
At that time,
I was told they believed
710
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:53,467
that these searches confirmed
the suicide findings
711
00:34:53,550 --> 00:34:56,970
and that they considered the
case closed at this point.
712
00:34:58,847 --> 00:35:02,267
One of the surprises of the
Attorney General's Office
713
00:35:02,350 --> 00:35:05,270
leaning heavily on the searches
714
00:35:05,353 --> 00:35:07,314
on Ellen's computer and phone
715
00:35:07,397 --> 00:35:10,734
is that we know
that these devices
716
00:35:10,817 --> 00:35:13,111
were at some point
taken from the apartment
717
00:35:13,194 --> 00:35:17,741
before the actual homicide
investigation starts...
718
00:35:17,824 --> 00:35:20,327
which means that
the chain of custody
719
00:35:20,410 --> 00:35:23,747
of these devices is tainted...
720
00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:27,084
and they wouldn't
hold up in court.
721
00:35:27,167 --> 00:35:29,753
Search histories can
be deleted, of course.
722
00:35:29,836 --> 00:35:31,296
Documents can be deleted.
723
00:35:31,379 --> 00:35:33,298
You can add additional
search histories.
724
00:35:33,381 --> 00:35:34,925
You can add search histories,
725
00:35:35,008 --> 00:35:37,135
and if you know
what you're doing,
726
00:35:37,218 --> 00:35:40,514
they can be time/date-stamped
back in time.
727
00:35:40,597 --> 00:35:44,101
Was it done here?
We don't know yet.
728
00:35:44,184 --> 00:35:48,897
And so for the highest
law-enforcement office
729
00:35:48,980 --> 00:35:50,983
in Pennsylvania
730
00:35:51,066 --> 00:35:54,361
to rely on these searches
on Ellen's computer
731
00:35:54,444 --> 00:35:57,656
in their response to
me was surprising.
732
00:36:11,836 --> 00:36:14,965
Since police
were so determined
733
00:36:15,048 --> 00:36:17,801
and dead set on the fact
that this was a suicide,
734
00:36:17,884 --> 00:36:19,761
I don't think people realized
735
00:36:19,844 --> 00:36:22,556
you know, how many times
she was stabbed at first.
736
00:36:22,639 --> 00:36:24,558
I think there was, you
know, eyebrows raised,
737
00:36:24,641 --> 00:36:26,351
thinking, how could this happen?
738
00:36:26,434 --> 00:36:28,770
But I think the first time
that everyone realized
739
00:36:28,853 --> 00:36:32,274
how strange and twisted
Ellen's case was,
740
00:36:32,357 --> 00:36:34,818
was really not until
Stephanie Farr's article
741
00:36:34,901 --> 00:36:38,071
came out in 2019.
742
00:36:38,154 --> 00:36:40,782
In the days leading
up to publishing this story,
743
00:36:40,865 --> 00:36:43,952
to say I was anxious, I think,
would be an understatement.
744
00:36:44,035 --> 00:36:45,621
I don't get nervous a lot.
745
00:36:45,704 --> 00:36:47,456
I don't get butterflies a lot,
746
00:36:47,539 --> 00:36:49,583
but I had put a
lot into this case,
747
00:36:49,666 --> 00:36:52,169
and I believed that,
above all else,
748
00:36:52,252 --> 00:36:54,588
the Greenbergs had
valid questions
749
00:36:54,671 --> 00:36:58,008
that deserved answers from
the city of Philadelphia,
750
00:36:58,091 --> 00:36:59,593
and they weren't getting them.
751
00:36:59,676 --> 00:37:03,805
And this could be the chance
752
00:37:03,888 --> 00:37:05,807
to hopefully force
the city's hand
753
00:37:05,890 --> 00:37:07,809
to at least tell them something,
754
00:37:07,892 --> 00:37:09,853
to turn over the case file,
755
00:37:09,936 --> 00:37:12,647
anything to give these
folks some insight
756
00:37:12,730 --> 00:37:15,233
into how their daughter's
death was changed
757
00:37:15,316 --> 00:37:17,277
from a homicide to a suicide.
758
00:37:18,862 --> 00:37:20,655
Her article
759
00:37:20,738 --> 00:37:25,327
took a very complex
story, investigation
760
00:37:25,410 --> 00:37:27,913
and created a road map...
761
00:37:27,996 --> 00:37:31,291
Oh, my God,
she stabbed herself!
762
00:37:31,374 --> 00:37:33,752
For everybody
to understand
763
00:37:33,835 --> 00:37:35,295
all the nuances in the case.
764
00:37:35,378 --> 00:37:37,214
For the first time,
you're getting an idea
765
00:37:37,297 --> 00:37:40,050
of what exactly police
are saying in detail.
766
00:37:40,133 --> 00:37:43,637
Then you're hearing some
of the strange explanations
767
00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:47,099
that are coming from the
Medical Examiner's Office.
768
00:37:47,182 --> 00:37:48,767
It was
extremely well read.
769
00:37:48,850 --> 00:37:52,396
It generated a ton of
interest on social media,
770
00:37:52,479 --> 00:37:54,231
from reader emails,
771
00:37:54,314 --> 00:37:56,191
and also in the
true-crime community.
772
00:37:56,274 --> 00:37:59,361
What gets me is the
physical evidence.
773
00:37:59,444 --> 00:38:01,071
She has stab wounds...
774
00:38:01,154 --> 00:38:04,032
Her case has been plagued
with investigative failures.
775
00:38:04,115 --> 00:38:05,867
If you're just beginning
to play along...
776
00:38:05,950 --> 00:38:09,246
The case took a very
strange and unexpected turn.
777
00:38:09,329 --> 00:38:12,624
That just do not
seem to align with suicide.
778
00:38:14,292 --> 00:38:16,211
Stephanie
Farr broke the story,
779
00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:18,255
and it came out on the
front cover of The Inquirer,
780
00:38:18,338 --> 00:38:19,881
and that was huge for us.
781
00:38:19,964 --> 00:38:21,675
We were like, oh, my God, wow.
782
00:38:21,758 --> 00:38:25,679
Like, so much is out there now.
783
00:38:25,762 --> 00:38:27,889
It was just a whirlwind
of, oh, my God.
784
00:38:27,972 --> 00:38:30,350
Everybody was, like,
hounding the Greenbergs.
785
00:38:30,433 --> 00:38:35,188
And after that, Ellen was on
every show and news station.
786
00:38:35,271 --> 00:38:37,107
It's a story making
national headlines.
787
00:38:37,190 --> 00:38:38,525
A Pennsylvania family's fight
788
00:38:38,608 --> 00:38:39,526
for answers.
789
00:38:39,609 --> 00:38:41,319
Was Ellen Greenberg's death
790
00:38:41,402 --> 00:38:42,779
a suicide or homicide?
791
00:38:42,862 --> 00:38:44,531
That's the question
a grieving family
792
00:38:44,614 --> 00:38:47,784
is still trying to get answered.
793
00:38:47,867 --> 00:38:51,413
I think what made covering
Ellen's story really difficult
794
00:38:51,496 --> 00:38:54,833
was, when Stephanie's
article came out,
795
00:38:54,916 --> 00:38:56,710
it answered a lot of questions,
796
00:38:56,793 --> 00:38:59,463
but then it created
even more questions.
797
00:38:59,546 --> 00:39:02,132
-You guys all set?
-All set.
798
00:39:02,215 --> 00:39:04,176
From this point out
of this building,
799
00:39:04,259 --> 00:39:05,927
eyes are everywhere, okay?
800
00:39:06,010 --> 00:39:07,721
-Got it.
-All right? Let's go.
801
00:39:07,804 --> 00:39:09,723
And then it was
only a few months later
802
00:39:09,806 --> 00:39:14,060
that Joe Podraza took the
case and filed the lawsuit,
803
00:39:14,143 --> 00:39:16,104
asking the court
to compel the city
804
00:39:16,187 --> 00:39:18,648
to change the manner of death
805
00:39:18,731 --> 00:39:23,361
from suicide back to
homicide, or undetermined.
806
00:39:23,444 --> 00:39:25,363
I first became familiar
807
00:39:25,446 --> 00:39:27,115
with the Ellen Greenberg matter
808
00:39:27,198 --> 00:39:29,409
by reading Stephanie
Farr's article
809
00:39:29,492 --> 00:39:31,745
that was published
in The Inquirer.
810
00:39:31,828 --> 00:39:33,038
I was struck with...
811
00:39:33,121 --> 00:39:35,999
there is something seriously
wrong with this case.
812
00:39:36,082 --> 00:39:39,294
It just does not add up.
813
00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:41,755
Four months later, I received
a call out of the blue
814
00:39:41,838 --> 00:39:43,089
from a gentleman,
815
00:39:43,172 --> 00:39:45,634
and he identified himself
as Josh Greenberg.
816
00:39:45,717 --> 00:39:47,719
He started generally talking
817
00:39:47,802 --> 00:39:51,223
about, my daughter died in 2011.
818
00:39:51,306 --> 00:39:52,474
She was stabbed.
819
00:39:52,557 --> 00:39:54,226
And at that point,
I stopped him.
820
00:39:54,309 --> 00:39:57,354
I said, is this the matter
where the young lady
821
00:39:57,437 --> 00:40:00,440
was stabbed 20 times and
our esteemed authority
822
00:40:00,523 --> 00:40:03,109
in Philadelphia is
calling this a suicide?
823
00:40:03,192 --> 00:40:05,695
He said, yes, the very matter.
824
00:40:05,778 --> 00:40:08,156
And I said, you got me at go.
825
00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:09,407
Let's do it.
826
00:40:09,490 --> 00:40:11,493
It was time to take
the gloves off.
827
00:40:11,576 --> 00:40:13,036
Something happened here,
828
00:40:13,119 --> 00:40:16,623
and the family has not
gotten a fair shake.
829
00:40:22,503 --> 00:40:26,383
She's singing
her song to Daddy.
830
00:40:26,466 --> 00:40:27,425
Hello.
831
00:40:27,508 --> 00:40:29,553
See, Mommy
gets to go, too.
832
00:40:29,636 --> 00:40:32,305
You want to try it,
Josh? JOSH: No. Can I...
833
00:40:33,890 --> 00:40:36,226
It's all about justice
with me, really...
834
00:40:36,309 --> 00:40:37,602
that she's being mistreated,
835
00:40:37,685 --> 00:40:40,146
and I'm not going
to let that happen.
836
00:40:40,229 --> 00:40:43,275
I've tried to stop,
837
00:40:43,358 --> 00:40:45,360
but I can't stop.
838
00:40:47,111 --> 00:40:49,155
Just part of my makeup, I guess.
839
00:40:50,782 --> 00:40:53,660
If Ellen was to ask
me, I would tell her,
840
00:40:53,743 --> 00:40:56,079
Daddy and Mommy are
not going to give up...
841
00:40:56,162 --> 00:40:57,873
Ooh.
842
00:40:57,956 --> 00:40:59,291
Ever.
843
00:41:01,501 --> 00:41:03,044
She knows that.
64537
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