Ellen Greenberg Was Stabbed 20 Times but Her Death Was Ruled a Suicide
Goldberg said he resents the "pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate [his] reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions, and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth."
Published Feb. 4 2025, 2:28 p.m. ET
On the evening of Jan. 11, 2011, Sam Goldberg made a frantic call to police about his fiancée. He had returned home to the apartment they shared in Philadelphia, only to find Ellen Greenberg covered in blood. For two full minutes, Goldberg described the scene to the 911 operator before he finally revealed there was a knife protruding from Greenberg's chest, per CNN.
The following day, Dr. Marlon Osbourne performed an autopsy on Greenberg's body. He discovered there were multiple stab wounds as well as several bruises, some of which had already begun to heal. He concluded that the young woman had been stabbed by another person, and ruled her death a homicide. The medical examiner's office then decided it was a suicide, but that could change. Where is Sam Goldberg now? Here's what we know.
Where is Sam Goldberg now?
During his call to 911, Goldberg told the operator that Greenberg had stabbed herself. It was later revealed that she had 20 wounds on her body. Still, Goldberg insisted his fiancée did that to herself, and he continues to believe that. In December 2024, Goldberg responded to CNN after he had been silent about Greenberg's death for nearly 15 years.
He began by stating that when Greenberg took her own life, he was confused by her decision to do so. "She was a wonderful and a kind person who had everything to live for," he wrote. "When she died a part of me died with her." The pleasantries ended there as Goldberg detailed how rumors about his involvement in Greenberg's death have plagued him for years.
Goldberg said he resents the "pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate [his] reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions, and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth." Although Goldberg said he was surprised by the manner of her death, he insists that Greenberg was mentally unwell. "I hope and pray that you never lose someone you love like I did to a terrible disease and then be accused by ignorant and misinformed people of causing her death," he said.
In January 2014, Goldberg married Caroline Fay Shnay at the Plaza in New York, per an announcement in The New York Times. At the time, Goldberg was working as a features producer for NBC Sports. According to his LinkedIn, Goldberg is a producer at LIV Golf.
What happened to Ellen Greenberg?
On the day Greenberg died, Goldberg had texted her multiple times because he was locked out of their apartment. He began by writing "hello," then asked what she was doing before demanding Greenberg open the door. "I'm getting pissed," he wrote, then said, "You better have an excuse." The last text Goldberg sent before he was haunting. "You have no idea," he said.
According to Penn Live, at the time of her death, Greenberg was being treated for anxiety by a psychiatrist. This, coupled with the fact that Goldberg insisted Greenberg had stabbed herself, led police to treat the crime scene as if it were a suicide. The apartment was cleaned and sanitized the next day. When detectives returned with a search warrant and a crime scene unit, there was no evidence left.
Though her death was initially ruled a homicide, it was changed to suicide three months later after Osbourne met with detectives on the case as well as Medical Examiner Sam Gulino. Greenberg's parents have spent more than $700,000 of their own money in order to investigate their daughter's death. They have also filed two civil lawsuits to "overturn the suicide ruling in her death and hold accountable four Philadelphia officials who they say conspired to cover up evidence of homicide in the case."