Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? - Why was Ellen Greenberg’s death ruled a suicide?

Hulu's docuseries Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? asks why a young teacher’s death with 20 stab wounds was classified as suicide. Officials cited factors that reportedly suggested self-inflicted injuries, including the apartment’s swing latch, an absence of classic defensive wounds, and references to recent anxiety treatment. The family and multiple outside experts dispute that conclusion.

The manner-of-death ruling changed once. The medical examiner first marked homicide after the autopsy, then reclassified the case as suicide weeks later, after police disagreement and additional information, a shift that remains central to the debate. The series traces those moves and the fallout that followed.

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Timeline of the Ellen Greenberg case

Ellen Greenberg, 27, was found in her Manayunk kitchen on January 26, 2011, with a knife in her chest and 20 stab wounds documented at autopsy. Police initially treated the scene as a suicide based on early observations and the locked-door report.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the medical examiner then ruled homicide after autopsy results, and the office later changed the manner of death to suicide.

Police initially treated the scene as a suicide based on early observations and a locked-door report (Image via Pexels)

Cleaning of the apartment occurred soon after the body was removed, which limited later evidence collection. The sequence of a quick clean and a later homicide call left investigators working with fewer physical leads.

Key injuries are not in dispute: 20 stab wounds, including wounds to the back and neck, and bruises documented in various stages of healing. CBS News summarized those findings while outlining the chronology of rulings.

A locked swing latch on the front door reportedly shaped early police thinking. Later reviews have questioned how much weight that should carry, given conflicting accounts about who was present when the door was forced and whether the latch fully proved the door was secured from inside, per CNN.

Phone and laptop handling also drew scrutiny: her fiancé’s uncle retrieved devices before investigators returned with a search warrant, and the items were later turned over to police. The chain-of-custody concern appears in multiple summaries of the case record, including CNN.

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Forensic questions in Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?

The docuseries highlights disputed interpretations, such as whether all wounds could be self-inflicted and how bruising fits the timeline. Independent pathologists cited in coverage point to wound locations and counts that, in their view, raise homicide concerns. Variety recapped those expert critiques while noting police and city offices declined on-camera interviews.

Hulu’s docuseries Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? (Image via IMDB)

Another development arrived years later. In a sworn statement filed in February 2025, the original autopsy pathologist said the manner should be ‘something other than suicide,’ citing additional information reviewed long after 2011. CNN covered that filing and its context in the civil litigation.

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Legal efforts and review

Greenberg’s parents pursued a civil case seeking a change of manner to homicide or undetermined, which could prompt a renewed criminal investigation. A judge allowed the suit to proceed, and state-level reviews shifted between agencies over time. CBS News outlined those steps and the court’s early rulings.

The Attorney General’s review concluded there was insufficient basis to change the suicide ruling at that time, and the case was later transferred to another prosecutor’s office to avoid an appearance of conflict.

A subsequent county review stated that it could not prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt and listed the probe as inactive, while litigation over the manner continued, according to NBC Philadelphia and local court reporting.

Most recently, a settlement required a fresh evaluation of the autopsy work and related records on a set timetable. People summarized that agreement and the order to complete the reevaluation by mid-October while noting the pathologist’s updated statement.

Through these moves, the official death certificate has not been amended. The series documents how those decisions, plus early cleanup and disputed door mechanics, shaped the outcome, according to Decider’s review recapping the timeline.

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The three-episode docuseries Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? is now streaming on Hulu.

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