Publication Date April 22, 2025
“The best way to get away with homicide is to have it ruled a suicide”
Once again, it’s time for my CONFESSION: true crime is my biggest guilty pleasure…and this genre is definitely all over the place with some great work, and some real basura. You know, the “wow, that was a LOT! Now I need a shower” stuff. And Nancy Grace? Generally a strong no for me, but when I saw she had a new book coming out (“What Happened to Ellen?” about the death of Ellen Greenberg, a case that has long baffled and intrigued me) and thanks to Post Hill Press/Regalo Press and NetGalley I could have a copy in exchange for my honest review, I was SOLD.
Ellen Greenberg, a beautiful 27-year-old elementary school teacher in Philadelphia, was just in the midst of planning her dream wedding – she’d already mailed out those “save-the-date” cards, etc. She lived in an upscale apartment building with her fiance, and he (supposedly) went downstairs to the gym to work out, and came back to find the door locked from the inside (deadbolt-style) and he was unable to reach her by phone. Finally he broke down the door and (supposedly) found her covered in blood, sitting on the floor up against the kitchen cabinets. She had a knife stuck in her chest, and over twenty stab wounds – with more than half of them in her BACK (head, neck, etc)??? Following an autopsy, it was ruled as a homicide (duh), but then, after some meetings involving the Philadelphia PD, the DA, and possibly the AG’s office, the ruling was changed to SUICIDE. Yes, seriously. It wasn’t enough that there were so many stab wounds in her back, but at least one of them occurred POSTMORTEM. WTAF? Suicide?
The story has been the source of an incredible amount of scrutiny, including MANY podcasts, and Ellen’s family has been fighting for answers for more than fourteen years. I find Nancy Grace less than the best person to find the truth, but she definitely has an audience, and that might help Ellen’s family get a real honest investigation into this horrible story. And while this book can’t be attributed solely to Ms. Grace (Benee Knauer, a well-known editor and ghost writer, is at least partly responsible), she is the one who will get the credit as well as the blame.
To be honest, I have not completely finished the book, but am about 90% through so feel I can give my recommendation: it is worth reading if for no other reason than this is one of the most egregious examples of horrible screwups by our “justice” system EVER, and I hope the ongoing publicity helps shed more light on this. I’m still not a big fan of Nancy Grace, and the writing is what I’d call acceptable (definitely not the worst TC book I’ve ever read). The subtitle pretty much says it all: “An American Miscarriage of Justice.”
Oh, and one last thing: IT WAS NOT SUICIDE.