PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The family of a woman found dead in her Manayunk apartment more than a decade ago will take the City of Philadelphia to trial after a judge ruled in their favor Friday.
Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old first grade teacher, was found by her fiancé in the kitchen of her Manayunk apartment on Jan. 26, 2011, with 20 stab wounds.
Philadelphia police considered her death a suicide because her apartment door was locked from the inside and her fiancé had no defensive wounds. He had broken the door down to find her.
The Medical Examiner's Office initially ruled Greenberg's death a homicide because of the number of stab wounds, including 10 to the back of her neck, but later ruled it a suicide without explanation. In November, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said they could not "prove beyond a reasonable doubt a crime was committed," and investigators said they were “unable to move forward” with the case.
Greenberg's parents have fought for years to have their daughter's death reclassified as a homicide and filed a civil lawsuit against the city.
Jury selection for the trial is set to begin Monday, Feb. 3, with opening statements happening the same day or Tuesday.
The judge also ruled that the former medical examiners must testify along with the homicide detective involved in investigating Greenberg's death.