Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? - Where is Sam Goldberg now? Details explored

Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg is one of those cases that makes you stop and think. This is not only because of the appalling way Ellen Greenberg died but also because of the flood of questions that followed her death.

In January 2011, tragedy struck when a 27-year-old teacher was found dead in her Philadelphia apartment, her body bearing 20 stab wounds and a knife embedded in her chest. Was it suicide, or was it murder? More than 10 years later, her family is still looking for definitive answers.

Meanwhile, her fiancé Sam Goldberg, the man who found her, has built a new life. Let's break down what really happened and where things stand now.

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Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg: The night of Ellen’s death and the first wave of confusion

Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg starts off in 2011. On January 26, 2011, Philadelphia was covered in snow. Ellen Greenberg left work early because the schools had closed down, and later that evening, her fiancé Sam Goldberg went down to visit the gym in their apartment.

When he came back up, he couldn't get into the apartment. The latch was locked from the inside. Over the next few hours, he messaged Ellen constantly, even asking the building staff for help. Finally, he broke down the door, and this is when he made a hopeless 911 call.

His voice on that call has been played as an actual recording in Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg.

"Help! I need an ambulance immediately," he said on the phone call, explaining to the 911 operator that his fiancée was lying dead on the floor and covered in blood. Then, almost in disbelief, he added:

"Oh my God, she stabbed herself!"

When asked what he saw, he answered:

"There's a knife sticking out of her heart."

Ellen had 20 stab wounds on her chest, neck, and head. There were also bruises, all in different stages of healing. Regardless of the injuries, the first police report termed her death a suicide.

Within days, the medical examiner changed the ruling to homicide, only to switch it up again a few months later. This is exactly the kind of back-and-forth where the confusion and doubt around the case began to take off.

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Ellen Greenberg’s changing manner of death and the long legal battle

For Ellen's parents, Joshua and Sandee Greenberg, the fluctuations in the case of their daughter's death were unacceptable. One day their daughter's death was treated as a murder, the next day as a suicide. In their eyes, neither the police nor the medical examiner's office had handled the case with the proper amount of care.

The apartment had also been cleaned up before evidence was fully collected. Family members of Goldberg were allowed to collect her personal items. Even official reports had mistakes, like suggesting a superintendent was with Goldberg when he broke down the door, but footage later showed he was alone.

Over the years, the Greenbergs filed multiple lawsuits against the City of Philadelphia and the medical examiner's office. Their push to revisit the case wasn't just about justice but also about getting the official records corrected.

In February 2025, the city finally agreed to settle. The terms included a monetary payment and, more importantly, a promise to re-examine Ellen's actual cause of death. The original pathologist, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, even signed a sworn affidavit stating he no longer believed she had died by suicide.

In June 2025, former prosecutor Guy D'Andrea told PEOPLE magazine:

"No one can say this is conclusively a suicide. At this point, at a minimum, because of how botched this was, this should be undetermined."

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Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg and the way it reframed public memory

The Hulu series Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg does more than revisit the old facts about the messy case. It also sheds light on the missteps taken during this clouded investigation.

Directed by Nancy Schwartzman, the three-part docuseries highlights the legal battle while humanizing Ellen and treating the case with care and respect.

In the Hulu documentary, friends of Ellen have described her as a "joyful" and "fun-loving" person, while her parents have talked about how special and loved she was as an only child.

Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg avoids spending time on conspiracy theories surrounding this bizarre case. Instead, it sticks to evidence and legal records that have been officially documented.

The three-part documentary underlines how important details were missed. For example, the pathologists interviewed in the show questioned how someone could inflict so many stab wounds on themselves. They noted that some of the wounds even pierced through the spinal column, making the act highly improbable. Others also pointed to signs that could resemble strangulation, which would go against the suicide theory.

Schwartzman told reporters she wanted the documentary to show how one mistake played a solid hand in boosting so many others that came after. Schwartzman says:

"You have all of these grave errors, whether they are nefarious or not, that would be considered mistakes in any investigation, and then a lack of willingness to just come correct."

By framing the story this way, Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg gave Ellen's case renewed visibility. It reminded people that the search for answers isn't just about the one night in 2011, but also about how a flawed investigation can rob a family of closure for years.

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Sam Goldberg’s response and the weight of public suspicion

Sam Goldberg has mostly stayed silent about the case and the death of his fiancé. He has never been a suspect and has never faced charges, yet his name remains linked to the case. In 2024, he broke his silence with a statement to CNN.

While speaking to CNN he said:

"When Ellen took her own life it left me bewildered. She was a wonderful and a kind person who had everything to live for. When she died a part of me died with her..."

He also pushed back hard against people who questioned him about his fiancé's death:

"I have had to endure the unimaginable passing of my future wife and the pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions and falsehoods."

He ended his statements by reminding people that "mental illness is very real and has many victims."

Even so, colleagues at the time recalled the awkwardness they faced working around him. Joel Hahn, a producer who had worked with Sam Goldberg, said in the Hulu series:

"He's not been charged with anything, but there are people who were scared to work around him. They're very nervous."

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Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg and where Sam Goldberg is today

So, where is Sam Goldberg now and what is he doing? According to his LinkedIn profile, he now works as a freelance senior producer. He has remarried, has children, and by all accounts has moved on from the tragic death of his fiancé in 2011. His ex-mother-in-law, Sandee, told Death in Apartment 603:

"There is absolutely no contact or connection with him."

For Ellen's family, Sam Goldberg's absence is not a loss they want to focus on. They remain determined to push for the truth about their daughter. Goldberg did not participate in Death in Apartment 603, though his voice is heard on the 911 recording. That call still sparks debate today: when the dispatcher asked him to perform CPR, he hesitated and asked, "I have to, right?" To Ellen's mother, this summed up her unease. "I couldn't believe my ears," she said.

While Goldberg continues to live his new life outside the case, Ellen's parents remain in the public eye, determined to challenge the official suicide ruling. For them, the story is not about Goldberg's future but about getting justice for their daughter Ellen Greenberg.

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The case at the center of Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg is heartbreaking, unsettling, and confusing. Ellen Greenberg's bizarre death, followed by years of changing rulings, several missed opportunities, and mistakes, left a trail of unanswered questions.

Her parents refuse to let those questions fade, and their fight brought new hope with a re-examination of the case. Sam Goldberg, meanwhile, has built a new life away from the spotlight.

The mystery, however, continues, reminding us how one night can leave a wound that refuses to heal.

Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg is now available to stream on Hulu.

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