The Ellen Greenberg Case : Pathology with Dr. Priya | A Zone 7 Series , Part 1

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime

4.4 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on Pathology with Dr. Priya, a Zone 7 series, Sheryl McCollum and Dr. Priya Banerjee begin a two-part forensic review of the 2011 death of Ellen Greenberg, a young woman found with more than twenty stab wounds in her Philadelphia apartment. Despite the severity and location of her injuries, Ellen’s death was ruled a suicide not once but twice. In part one, Dr. Priya walks listeners through the science of sharp-force injuries, defines key forensic terminology, and explains why certain wound patterns, especially those to the back of the head and neck, raise significant questions about how this case was ever closed.

Highlights

(0:00) Welcome to Pathology with Dr. Priya: A Zone 7 series—Sheryl McCollum and Dr. Priya introduce the Ellen Greenberg case and outline the official findings
(2:00) Dr. Priya defines sharp-force injuries and explains the difference between stab and cutting wounds
(6:45) Identifying single-edged versus double-edged blades and how wound shape reveals the type of weapon
(8:00) Understanding defensive wounds and what their presence means
(10:30) The classification of cause and manner of death and why Ellen Greenberg’s case remains controversial
(13:45) How and why medical examiners revisit cases when new information or legal action arises
(16:30) Reviewing Ellen’s autopsy and toxicology results
(18:45) Why stab wounds to the back of the head and neck are nearly impossible to self-inflict and what that reveals about this case

About the Hosts

Dr. Priya Banerjee is a board-certified forensic pathologist with extensive experience in death investigation, clinical forensics, and courtroom testimony. A graduate of Johns Hopkins, she served for over a decade as Rhode Island’s state medical examiner and now runs a private forensic pathology practice. Her work includes military deaths, NSA cases, and high-profile investigations. Dr. Priya has also been featured as a forensic expert on platforms such as CrimeOnline and Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She is a dedicated educator, animal lover, and proud mom.

Website: anchorforensicpathology.com
Twitter/X: @Autopsy_MD

Sheryl McCollum is an Emmy Award–winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, and the Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She works as a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department and is the co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI), a nationally recognized nonprofit that brings together universities, law enforcement, and experts to help solve unsolved homicides, missing persons cases, and kidnappings.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:11.7	Y'all welcome to Pathology with Dr. Priya.
0:16.3	Today is going to be, I think, probably one of the most in-depth sessions we've had.
0:23.6	I am literally going to just turn this over to Dr. Priya.
0:27.6	Today we're going to be talking about Ellen Greenberg.
0:32.6	Ellen was found dead in her apartment.
0:36.6	She had 20 stab wounds to her head, neck, and torso, and
0:42.2	20 bruises. It was ruled a suicide. There has now been a second autopsy where they notated
0:51.5	23 stab wounds and 31 bruises, but again ruled it a suicide.
1:00.6	There were no signs of struggle, but y'all, here's the deal.
1:05.3	Nicole Brown was murdered. There was no signs of struggle there either. Not having signs of struggle to me with
1:12.6	a straight-edge weapon does not necessarily dictate suicide. If you are stabbed almost gravely one time,
1:23.6	you typically go to the ground and you're not moving.
1:28.9	So Dr. Priya, I know you have looked at this case.
1:32.5	I know you've talked to Joe Jackalone about it, Sergeant with NYPD.
1:37.6	You've talked, I think, on other shows about it.
1:40.6	But if you would just go injury by injury, stab wound by stab wound, bruise by bruise,
1:48.2	and let us hear your thoughts.
1:51.1	Okay.
1:51.9	Let me sort of approach it, how I approach any case, and then we will maybe get into specifics
2:00.0	about this case.
2:02.0	Okay, I think there's some important background that we need to lay foundational knowledge.
	...

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