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October 14, 2025 7 mins

Officials insist beloved teacher Ellen Greenberg killed herself, even after new evidence & a new documentary about the case emerges. Her furious family vows to continue to fight for justice!

A 12yo girl is found covered in scars after being tortured by a pair of twins in Texas, for months!  Plus, proof the scales of justice apply to everyone!  Jennifer Gould reports. 

 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now, I'm Jennifer Gould.
The long awaited new official review of Ellen Greenberg's mysterious
twenty eleven death has delivered a devastating final blow to
her family. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office has again classified
the case as a suicide, despite the beloved twenty seven

(00:24):
year old teacher being found with twenty stab wounds, including
to the back of her head. Chief Medical Examiner Doctor
Lindsey Simon upheld the controversial ruling in a thirty two
page report. Simon acknowledged the case's grim facts, noting that
quote the distribution of injuries is admittedly unusual end quote,

(00:48):
but concluded that Greenberg, who was being treated for anxiety, quote,
would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself end quote.
The Emmy's office stated its opinion was expressed with a
quote reasonable degree of medical certainty end quote. Ellen's father,
Josh Greenberg, spoke to Nancy Grace on a previous episode

(01:11):
of Crime Stories The.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Truth That's all Sandy and I have ever as four
for Ellen, The Truth about Her Our Dead.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Greenberg was discovered dead in her apartment on January twenty six,
twenty eleven by her fiance, Sam Goldberg during a blizzard.
The autopsy confirmed the horrific scene twenty puncture wounds to
her neck, heart, and back, with the knife still launched
in her chest. Goldberg has never been idd as a suspect.

(01:41):
The ruling ignited immediate fury from the family's attorney, Joseph Padroza,
who called the report quote unquote tribe and a quote
deeply flawed attempt to justify a predetermined conclusion end quote.
Pedraza specifically attacked Simon's attempt to dismiss a stab woon
found in the victim's spinal column, calling the official theory

(02:04):
a quote insult to Ellen and her family end quote.
The lawyer added that the review dismissed unexplained bruises, missing
surveillance footage, and a physical recreation that proved Greenberg could
not have inflicted all the wounds herself, stating quote, shame
on you, Simon, end quote, citing the report's reliance on

(02:27):
quote distorted portrayals of Ellen's mental health end quote. The
controversy is a painful rewind to twenty eleven, when then
assistant coroner Marlon Osborne initially ruled the death a homicide,
only to bizarrely reverse his decision to suicide weeks later
after meeting with Philadelphia police. Parents Sandy and Josh Greenberg

(02:51):
forced this MOO reevaluation by settling a lawsuit in February.
After an appellate court in twenty twenty three called the
original inventstigation quote deeply flawed end quote, their legal war continues.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted an appeal in July of
twenty twenty four to review the death, and a separate

(03:12):
civil suit seeks damages for the alleged quote unquote cover up.
The moo's decision now cements the suicide findings, leaving the
family with a clear message. Quote the truth will not
come from Philadelphia's law enforcement machinery. End quote. But Draza
vows to seek justice for Ellen's urder by quote any

(03:32):
means necessary. End quote. More crime and justice news after this.
Two Texas sisters are behind bars facing a barrage of
felony charges after allegedly holding a twelve year old girl
captive for six months in a herowing campaign of calculated
degradation and brutal abuse. The chilling ordeal and Conrad, Montgomery

(03:56):
County ended when the victim escaped her restraint and reached authorities.
The child was immediately hospitalized, displaying an infected gash on
her head and injuries consistent with severe malnutrition and prolonged torture.
The victim initially sought refuge in March from Brenda Garcia

(04:17):
thirty eight, after claiming she had been sexually assaulted by
an uncle she was living with in Houston. Instead of
offering safety, Brenda and her sister, Tanya Garcia thirty seven
allegedly initiated a period of sustained cruelty at Brenda's home.
Court documents detailed that the girl was choked with a
belt until she could not breathe, with Brenda allegedly commanding

(04:41):
her victim to quote just die already end quote. The
abuse escalated into monstrous rituals. Investigators alleged to the girl
was routinely bound to furniture with zip ties and forced
to strip nude, crawl on the floor, and bark like
a dog. She was subjected to in invasive visual recording

(05:01):
while naked, and degraded if she soiled herself. Food intake
was restricted to three to one famp food intake was
restricted to ramen, noodles and water twice a day, while
she was forced to ingest vile items like dirt and
hair off the floor. She endured savage beatings with cords, sticks,

(05:24):
and a belt featuring a spike, and was cut with scissors.
The girl reportedly told detectives the victim was quote unquote
psychotic and injured herself. Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, though,
didn't believe it, and arrested both women. They faced charges
including felony, injury to a child, unlawful restraint, and invasive

(05:45):
visual recording. Crucially, detective state that surveillance camera footage recovered
from inside the home and text messages between the sisters
corroborated the victim's entire horrifying account. Brenda Garcia is held
on a two hundred and eighty thousand dollars bond and
Tarnya Garcia on a two hundred thousand dollars bond. The

(06:08):
child remained safe, receiving medical care and therapy now and
investigation into her uncle's abuse also continues. And finally, a
Daytona Beach incident proves that the scales of justice apply
to everyone, even overgrown lizards. Cops had a serious case
of the cold blooded criminal when they had to apprehend

(06:30):
a massive, handsome iguana, causing quite a stir in the community.
The officer's clearly not cut out for handling the heat
chased the reptile after it whipped its tail and tried
to flee the scene, proving it was a terrible at
resisting arrest. The large lizard was ultimately wedged inside a
fence and taken into custody. Listen to the body camp You're.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Gonna drive and oh no, no, that's how I did
the last The Daytona Beach Police Department even posted a
mugshot joking.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Vi iguana faces charges for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, trespassing,
and fleeing from law enforcement. The little Lizard's crime spree
has now officially been curtailed. For the latest crime and
justice news, follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your
favorite podcast app with this crime Alert. I'm Jennifer Gould.
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Nancy Grace

Nancy Grace

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