Judge tied to Ellen Greenberg's fiancé took items from her 'suicide' scene before police search

The parents of Philadelphia teacher Ellen Greenberg are blasting what they call an "unjust" investigation into her 2011 death that was ruled a suicide after her fiancé found her in the kitchen during a blizzard with 20 stab wounds and covered in bruises with a half-made fruit salad on the countertop.

Her parents want to know why her fiancé's prominent judge uncle was allowed to remove a number of items from the scene. 

"Things were removed from the crime scene without our permission. The chain of custody was broken from the very beginning when Jim Schwartzman removed computers, electronics, my daughter's handbag," Dr. Josh Greenberg told Fox News Digital in a joint-interview with his wife, Sandee Greenberg. 

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Ellen Greenberg, left, in an undated family photo (Greenberg family)

A representative for James Schwartzman, Ellen's fiancé Sam Goldberg's uncle and a distinguished judge in Pennsylvania, responded to these claims on his behalf, saying police gave him permission to go in and take Ellen's belongings. He denied removing Ellen's handbag, but he admitted to removing her computers and cellphones. 

"The door was damaged and unsecure, and he took out items that he thought might be stolen," the representative for Schwartzman explained on his behalf. 

This crime scene photo shows damage to Ellen Greenberg's apartment door after her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, told police he kicked it in from the outside. (Tom Brennan)

Responding to Dr. Greenberg's concern about the "chain of custody" of his daughter's devices, Schwartzman's representative said, "My understanding from 42 years of practice is chain of custody pertains to items that have been seized by the police, not items just taken from a location. I just don't understand how that's applicable to this particular situation, especially when the police have released the scene and given permission for Mr. Schwartzman to go and get items."

He added that Schwartzman didn't need the permission of Greenberg's parents to take anything from the apartment once police released the scene.

"Frankly, that's kind of a red herring," he said. "When the police telephoned Mr. Schwartzman and requested that he bring the computers and cellphones to the police station, he immediately did so."

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This image shows Ellen Greenberg in an undated family photo and a computer-generated photo based on an autopsy report showing knives to indicate where she had been stabbed 20 times. (Greenberg family)

Still, Greenberg's parents and experienced outside investigators have raised concerns that police botched their response and released the scene too early. An appellate court panel last year excoriated the police, prosecutors and forensic pathologists who worked the case even as it ruled against the parents.

Schwartzman, a prominent attorney, was elected president judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Court of Judicial Discipline in 2021, the court responsible for hearing judicial misconduct cases from across the state. He had been a judge on the court in the two years prior to his election. He is also a partner and chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Group with the Stevens & Lee law firm, according to a professional profile.  

Neither Goldberg nor Schwartzman have been accused of any wrongdoing.

Melissa Ware, the former property manager of Ellen's apartment building, previously spoke to Fox Nation about receiving a call from someone who she believed was Schwartzman at the time. 

"I received a call from someone in Sam's family. I think it might have been the uncle. They wanted to come to the apartment to get a few personal effects for the funeral. I immediately called the police to see what I could or couldn't do, and they told me that there was no problem letting them in; it was no longer a crime scene," Ware said. 

WATCH: Melissa Ware discusses cleanup at Ellen Greenberg's apartment

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"And then I asked, ‘Well, what is the condition of the apartment look like?’ because I hadn't been inside, 'and is there someone that could clean it up? And they said that it's something they didn't do," Ware continued. "I asked for a recommendation. They gave me a crime scene cleanup." 

She called the company, which arrived to wipe out the scene the day before police came back with a search warrant, according to the Greenberg family's lawyer, Joe Podraza, and appellate court documents. The knife found in Greenberg's chest was never fingerprinted, and a second possible weapon was never recovered. Investigators didn't use the blood-detecting chemical luminol to examine the scene.

Greenberg, 27, was found on Jan. 6, 2011, with 20 stab wounds, including 10 from behind, at least one of which could have been inflicted after she was already dead, according to court documents. Her body was also covered in bruises in different stages of healing, which her parents say are consistent with abuse.

After her death, a forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner's office named Dr. Marlon Osbourne ruled it a homicide, according to court documents. Then he reversed course after meeting with police behind closed doors and deemed it officially a suicide.

PHILADELPHIA TEACHER'S SUSPICIOUS SUICIDE CRIME SCENE WAS CLEANED UP BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED WITH SEARCH WARRANT

Ellen Greenberg as a teacher (Ellen Greenberg's family)

"There's no reason for the police to withhold anything. In the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, suicide is not a crime," Dr. Greenberg told Fox News Digital. "So why are they holding on to my daughter's personal effects?"

"I'd like to see my daughter's journal," Sandee Greenberg added. "I would like her Ugg boots. I'd like her glasses. I don't see any reason to withhold these things from us when they insist this is a suicide."

The Greenbergs claim that in addition to Ellen's belongings, Philadelphia officials are withholding further surveillance footage from the day of their daughter's death and a videotape that Ware recorded of the scene taken before it was cleaned up.

A younger Ellen Greenberg smiles in an undated photo provided by her childhood friend and Penn State classmate. (Friends of Ellen Greenberg)

Police released several hours of surveillance footage from Greenberg's apartment building on the night of her death to Podraza, who first shared it with Gavin Fish, an independent investigative reporter who has a website dedicated to solving the case.

Web sleuths and supporters of the family from around the country have spent hours watching clips of surveillance video from the apartment building's lobby and hallways for clues.

A librarian told PennLive that a man was seen on camera "nervously bouncing around" the lobby near the elevator before using "a Kleenex to dab the blood" from an unspecified injury. She reportedly sent that information to investigators.

WATCH: Sam Goldberg, fiancé of Ellen Greenberg at the time, seen in 2011 surveillance footage

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"The video makes me very curious because I don't know who a number of people that appear in the video are, whether they were residents or visitors," Sandee Greenberg said. "I wanted like a 48-hour window of people coming and going in the building. I asked for a guest list. I didn't get that. They shouldn't be withholding this information from us."

"We're talking about a chunk of surveillance footage, which is really a couple of hours. Sandee and I have never seen more than a chunk of surveillance," Dr. Josh Greenberg said.

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Since their daughter's death, the Greenbergs have been entangled in court battles with the government. They've accused the medical examiner's office of covering up their daughter's homicide, demanded police turn over more evidence and tried suing to have the designation of "suicide" on her death certificate replaced with "homicide" or "undetermined."

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In September, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments from the Greenbergs and their attorney.

"The Supreme Court is going to be deciding whether or not Sandee and I have standing. And that's a real big thing … I mean, no one has ever gotten this far. … I know it's taken almost 14 years, but it's still a very important case," Dr. Greenberg said.

"I very much look forward to being able to have our voices heard," Sandee said. "Not only are we fighting now for justice for Ellen, but because there's so much attention on these different lawsuits, it will set some precedent, hopefully, for other victims of heinous crimes."

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Ellen Greenberg with her parents, Josh and Sandee Greenberg. (Ellen Greenberg's family)

The Chester County District Attorney's Office initiated an independent investigation roughly two years ago that is ongoing after both Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and former Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, now the governor, both recused themselves from the case.

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Philadelphia police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. They have previously declined to discuss the case, citing the open investigation in Chester County and the ongoing civil litigation.

Goldberg and the Chester County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond for comment. 

"Sometimes I feel people, when I'm talking about Ellen … they want me to probably just give up and forget it ever happened, but I don't want anyone to walk in my shoes and experience the amount of loss," Sandee Greenberg said. "For Josh and I, this is a mission that we have because it's just, it's so wrong and so unjust."