← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Ellen Greenberg 2.0? The UNBELIEVABLE & DISTURBING Closet Death of a Young NYC Woman in Manhattan
00:24:24
Loading summary
Transcript41 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:05]
B
Hey, everyone. I'm Ashley Banfield, and this is drop dead serious. There are cases that are confounding and there are cases that just defy logic. And a case out of New York City is really getting under my skin. It has echoes of the Ellen Greenberg case in Philly, but also the Sandra Birchmore case in Massachusetts. These are cases where someone somehow decided that these young women killed themselves when the evidence really screams otherwise. And now you can add the name Sonam Kishatriya to the list. Sonam's death was ruled a suicide. But I am going to tell you right now, I do not believe for a minute that this woman killed herself. And I have my reasons, which I'm going to share with you shortly. But my reasons are nothing compared to the reasons her family discovered after the medical examiner basically gave the Heisman to them and said, nothing to see. Here, on your way. Here's why. It's giving the same vibes as Ellen Greenberg's story. And I'm assuming you're going to remember Ellen Greenberg, but if not, there is a bangin docu series that just dropped on Hulu about Ellen's story. Ellen Greenberg was stabbed 20 times, and somehow her death was ruled a suicide, even though half of those stab wounds were to the back of her head and her neck. And at least one of the stab wounds was inflicted after she was already dead. So, yeah, you tell me. Yet officials still called this a suicide. Her parents moved heaven and earth to open that case back up and at least give it the possibility that officials might consider she was murdered. Still, in the view of the Chief medical examiner of Philadelphia, Ellen somehow did this to herself. I know.
- [02:12]
C
When I look at the.
- [02:13]
B
The diagram, it's just like, who the hell are you trying to kid, right? Right. Josh and Sandy Greenberg, Ellen's parents, contested that finding, as we all would, all the way to the state's highest court. And finally, this case is being revisited. Look, it is not unheard of for a murder to initially be ruled a suicide. Which brings me to Sandra Birchmore's case. Sandra was just 23 years old and pregnant when she was found hanging from a doorknob in her Massachusetts apartment back in 2021. Nothing more to see here, the cops said. But as you know, more than likely, it was an ex cop who was Sandra's mentor and then her much older married boyfriend who ended up being charged with killing her. And by the way, stop for a hot minute.
- [03:09]
A
Why?
- [03:09]
B
Whenever someone is pregnant and dead, I mean, it at least should open up.
- [03:15]
C
A whole Other can of worms, Right?
- [03:17]
B
Where the investigators say, hold on, let's find the dad. Right? Because that could be a motive for murder.
- [03:23]
C
I don't want to be a dad.
- [03:24]
B
You never know. It's one factor. But that cop who was charged in Sandra's death hasn't been tried yet. But at least in Sandra's case, if that cop is found guilty, it would make sense if his pals on the forest would try to cover up for him. But I never thought that I would see a case quite like Ellen Greenberg's again. And I was wrong. Because I just found out about another case that is equally unbelievable. And I'm going to warn you, once you hear these details, you're going to ask yourself the same thing that I did. How have we never heard about this case before? A and B, how the F did it get there? How did they determine that Sonam's death was a suicide? Because I ain't no doctor and I ain't no me. But I will tell you, if I had seen any of these docs when they came out, as in documents, I call bullshit right away. Not a suicide. And you don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure that out. So let me take you through it. In 2019, a young New York City woman was found hanging in a walk in closet in her Manhattan apartment. And the medical examiner labeled it a suicide. Her remains were handed over to her family. But the funeral director that they enlisted sent those remains back to the coroner's office because they noticed something weird. They noticed bruises that they called, quote, significant and troubling. So the ME did an autopsy and promptly doubled down on his original conclusion. Suicide. Like Ellen Greenberg, sonam Kishatriya was 27 years old. And like Ellen, she had parents who would never believe that she'd take her own life and parents who've spent years fighting in the courts to have her death investigated by the police instead of by a medical examiner. I want to walk you through some of the red flags that the family cannot get past. And I feel like you may not be able to get past them either. So let's begin with the person who found Sonam's body. He was an ex boyfriend named Luc Karim Mathieu. I don't know if he pronounces it the French way. It's M, A, T, H, I, E, U. It's either Matthew or Mathieu or something in between. Like Mathieu, he's a competitive jiu jitsu fighter. And the family's investigation found that he has seven prior arrests he and Sonam broke up months before her death. But just two days before her alleged suicide, he texted her, suggesting that they watch a UFC fight together. That was on Saturday, September 14 in 2019. The ex boyfriend claims that he left the next morning. That would be Sunday at 7am but then he says he came back on Monday to walk the dog that the two apparently shared. And that is when he says he found Sonam's body hanging in the closet. Here's the problem, like a big problem with that whole timeline. Sonam was seen on surveillance video on Saturday wearing the very same clothes that she was found in hanging two days later on Monday. But also that ex boyfriend, Luke Karim Matthew told the police that the 911 operator he called instructed him to cut Sonam down. We've got the recording, though, and I don't know. Sure doesn't sound to me like that's what they're telling him. Listen for yourself.
- [07:18]
A
What's Your apartment number? 30. What floor you live on? Your apartment number is 30. Listen to me. I'm not understanding anything you're saying. You have to talk clearly.
- [07:35]
B
I should note right here that Sonam's ex boyfriend is not charged in this crime. He is not suspected of any crime in connection with her death. And in fact, no one is. But shouldn't someone be? The crime scene was bloody. In fact, there was blood everywhere. And this was supposedly a hanging suicide, but with blood all over the closet. There wasn't a drop of blood on Sonam's hands. So how the fuck does that work? There's blood on the noose that she supposedly tied around her own neck, right? With a terry cloth robe belt. Blood all over it. The hands that she used to tie that noose are squeaky clean, but there's blood on the noose and there's blood everywhere. Investigators also noticed something else that just didn't make sense. They noticed that rigor mortis had set in, but they never explained why her arm and her legs were bent. Because think about it. How does rigor mortis set in bent if she hanged herself hours and hours earlier and her feet weren't touching the floor? Because, you know, you've seen it. You're hanging straight, not bent. And you certainly don't die bent with rigor mortis setting in. Still no official change in the suicide finding. I know. I don't get this either. And earlier on my news station show, I spoke with Joseph Podraza. He is the attorney for Sonam's parents. But get this. He also represents Ellen Greenberg's family. So he has been to this rodeo before. Here's our conversation.
- [09:21]
C
Where does Sonam's case stand right now as we speak?
- [09:26]
D
Well, Ashley, we are at the highest court in New York State, asking for the court to review the matter and to assist in ordering that an investigation be done and a more thorough investigation be done than what's been done in this case. And we're waiting for that court to decide whether they will take the matter up or not.
- [09:49]
C
So the blood was a total shock to me when I found out about it, because I thought, in a hanging, you don't usually have a bloody crime scene. Well, I can't even say it's a crime scene right now, but you don't usually have a bloody scene. And yet there's lots of blood in the photos and there's none of it on Sonam's hands. How did the medical examiner explain that conundrum?
- [10:09]
D
Well, they actually don't. And their only explanation that they put forth is that, well, maybe when the emergency personnel showed up on Monday after the call was made to 91 1, maybe they were so sloppy that they spread the blood around on the apparatus or the rope that was used for the hanging. The blood that is outside of the scene, that cannot be explained from the hanging, they have no explanation for. And that leaves us then in the quandary, when you have these problems, you can't call this a suicide. What you need to do is more investigation to figure out what happened here.
- [10:50]
C
Boy, I'll say. You know, it's no secret that medical examiners don't just work like Quincy in the lab. They go onto the scene and they look at the scene, they take in all of the data, they add that to whatever they find in autopsies, and they usually come up with their findings. Was the medical examiner actually ever on the scene? Do we know if he or she spent any time on the scene and actually looked at the closet? Is there a report that suggests as.
- [11:18]
D
Such there would be no indication in the records that we've been given or even in our discussions with the medical examiner's office that the actual pathologist visited the scene to satisfy himself about what transpired there? Or maybe there's other evidence that he needs to focus on that hadn't been taken into consideration. There was absolutely no desire on their part to do that.
- [11:44]
C
So what's behind the digging in? Because I always think that, you know, if there's a red flag and somebody finds information that's helpful and they return it to the ME The ME would say, you know, thank you for this. I did not see this. I'm going to revise my findings because all information, you know, is accumulated in the findings. Instead, they said, no, no, we're sticking. We're sticking by our original plan. And that was suicide. What would be behind that? Ego or something else?
- [12:09]
D
You know, Ashley, at this point, all I can say is it appears that it would be ego and just simply the office made a decision and they're going to stand by it and see it to the end. We've seen this in Philadelphia in the Greenberg case, where we've had to fight to the nth degree and we don't quite understand why. And several judges have said the same thing. We don't understand why the city is fighting it so hard. We are seeing the same thing in New York City.
- [12:38]
C
What do you and the family believe happened in that closet?
- [12:43]
D
There is no doubt in my mind that so Nam was murdered. No question in my mind. And there was a physical altercation. She has several bruises on her body. She has four unexplained hemorrhages on their scalp, sufficient enough to render her unconscious the way the scene is. There is no question in our mind that it was staged. And there was certainly a third party there because there was blood that was transferred from her nose where she was bleeding to this terry robe belt that was used. And since Sonam doesn't have any blood on her hands, which is not in dispute, and therefore can't be responsible for that transfer, that somebody did it. And it wasn't done when she was found because she was no longer bleeding and the blood was dry. And herein lies the problem. You can't explain that away without saying a third party was there, which then means the probability of a homicide exists. And when that exists, you can't call it a suicide. Simple as that.
- [13:52]
C
So, Mr. Pedraza, I'm not a doctor and I have never even wanted to be a coroner, but I know a few things, and that is that if you are hanging and you're not touching the ground, there is no way that your arms or legs can bend and rigor mortis can set in that way. What is the me's explanation for the rigor mortis of a bent arm, I believe, and bent legs?
- [14:16]
D
There has been no explanation provided to us. We really thoroughly looked at this matter before we approached the Medical Examiner's office, bringing in a nationally, if not internationally renowned neuropathologists who also assisted us. These questions were posed to the Medical Examiner's office and we were simply then provided with responses. Well, it could be this, it could be that. Conjecture, speculation. And we explained to the medical examiner's office, you know, there's a family in pain here. Their daughter has passed. There's nothing worse for a parent than to have a child pre deceased them. And they're in pain and all they want to do is know the answers and they want sufficient answers. And we just have never gotten that from the medical examiner's office. And we are going to get it one way or another, whether it's through the legal process or going back to the police department and, you know, banging on the doors and asking them to do an investigation. Nevertheless.
- [15:22]
C
Well, I can't figure out why an ME would bring this heat upon the office, given that families are not going to let go that easily when their children are. Are found in this manner. There is one thing that's on their side of the ledger, maybe, and I want to get your thoughts on it. Her personal journal was inexplicably left in the front entrance table. Maybe that's where she leaves it. Most people have it somewhere where they write, maybe at bedside or at the desk, but it's right there at the front entrance as if to say, hey, find me. I'm here. But this is what's inside it. And I think it's in her handwriting, but you can disabuse me of that if I'm wrong. It says, when I imagine my life, I see you. I cannot see the future if you're not in it. I love you and I want us to be happy. I want you to be happy with the love of your life. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm sorry I hurt you. And I lied to you and made you not trust me and believe I don't love you. I'm sorry for everything, but most for causing you grief, sadness, stress and pain. I love you and I always will. I hope we meet again. Love, Sonam. What is the explanation for that journal entry? If you believe that Sonam was murdered, it's really twofold.
- [16:36]
D
And we broached this topic with the family. Sonam had been to a retreat where she was a prolific writer. You know, graduate of Columbia University, very intelligent young lady, and she liked to express herself through writing. And we believe that this is one of the passages that she had completed. But this is what's important. At the time of her death, the journal from which that passage was written was not on the premises. So what was done is it was torn out of some book and it was then placed in the premises in a different book. How it got there is to me very suspicious. And there is plenty of opportunity for somebody to have put it there, you know, after the fact upon arrival to the premises. So what the authorities like to call a suicide note is, but not by. It's not as certain as they like to relay it to be and is an explainable event. This is a young lady who did not have any deep psychosis, was not involved with heavy drugs or any type of extreme lifestyle. She was a professional doing extremely well in the city and was just a lovely person that everybody acknowledges. And suicide is something that no one, no one would have attributed to her. Although I know that the ex boy's friend was saying that to the authorities. And to a certain extent I think that that did lead to the authorities maybe going off trail and not paying enough attention to the actual physical evidence.
- [18:23]
B
Mark my word, this story is long from being over, mostly because of the forensics.
- [18:30]
C
And let me tell you, the woman.
- [18:32]
B
You'Re about to hear from forensics are her bread and butter because Dr. Priya Banerjee is a forensic pathologist who's done almost 3,000 autopsies and worked on almost 200.
- [18:45]
C
Oh, Dr. Banerjee, you are such a perfect guest for this. Just overall, just the stuff I said just now, it's not even all of it, but what's your take given just those facts?
- [18:57]
E
So to put the caveat out there, I've only seen bits and pieces of the file, so, you know, I have some limited information. But what gave me the most pause when reviewing this case was were the bruises, or impact sites, as I call them, underneath her scalp. You can see she has a beautiful head of long, thick hair. She's of Indian descent, like me. So long hair is not uncommon. And so that can protect the scalp in some ways from seeing injuries on the outside. But once you flip the scalp over at autopsy, that's really telling. And that's the important step where if you don't see anything on the outside, you still look on the inside to correct correlated. Now, some of the findings are still good with suicide in terms of the way the ligature was described and the marks on her neck. There was nothing internal that would be consistent with strangulation. But I really don't understand, given the history that I got and the autopsy report, how she would have ended up with those impact sites on her head. The legs are sort of a different issue. You know, we're taking a snapshot of someone in time. So bruising on the legs. I mean, I wake up with bruises sometimes. I don't know how I got them or when I got them. Remember, we're looking at everything at once. It doesn't mean all of it happened at once. I'm sort of playing devil's advocate as well. But the leg injuries, even if they're scattered bruises, aren't lethal in and of themselves. The head injuries concern me that. Could she have lost consciousness from one or more impacts? That's really what I'm getting at.
- [20:40]
C
There's two things that don't make sense to me, and I'm nowhere near, you know, matching you in degrees, that's for sure. One is that rigor mortis apparently was broken. I don't know what that means other than I don't understand how her legs could have been bent or her arm could have been bent if she were hanging straight up and down. Sure.
- [21:00]
E
I'm curious about that as well. I haven't seen the exact positioning of her body in a scene photo. The issue does become that the autopsy was days later. And that's just important to remember that rigor mortis forms and then passes. I don't know exactly if it was in the ascending or descending phase, so building or breaking, but once it's gone, it's gone. And so once they saw her at autopsy, the rigor like that's used to, that's one of the factors used in estimating time of death. I mean, she's quite petite, quite thin, so her body will cool off relatively fast. But it's not an exact science. And once we have, I think it was two to four days out after she had last been known alive and then found, respectively, then we're getting so far out that rigor is not helpful anymore.
- [21:54]
C
Last question. I only have 10 seconds, so I have to make it quick.
- [21:57]
E
No, got it.
- [21:58]
C
Hanging. No, no. I love what you're so fascinating. How is it in the hanging? There's blood everywhere.
- [22:05]
E
Sure. So some of it is curious when you die, there's something that when someone dies, there's purge fluid that can be blood stained. I'm not sure if during. Some of it's dripping from her nose and mouth. Looks like those are drip patterns. I don't know if moving the body, some of it got smeared. That looks a little bit different, like spatter. So that looks like splatter.
- [22:28]
A
Yeah.
- [22:28]
E
You have to take it sort of in totality. And that's where I think you need to revisit the case as a whole, because there are curiosities to me that don't add up in this case.
- [22:37]
C
Oh yeah, curiosities. To me that suggest detectives should have been on it, not just the medical examiner and the funeral director. Oh, Dr. Banerjee, you gotta come back again. You're the kind of person I could talk to for hours. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. And you will be back.
- [22:54]
B
I'll be honest, I still cannot believe that I had not heard of Sanem's case until recently. And I'm betting that a lot of you hadn't either. And that is exactly the problem. This story hasn't gotten nearly the attention that it deserves. Because you know what happens, right? The public starts to find out, they put pressure on officials and the officials suddenly have to do their jobs, right? They can't just sweep this stuff under the carpet. Hopefully it goes away. Don't get to double down because of ego if that's what happened here. A 27 year old woman found hanging in her closet by an ex boyfriend who she'd broken up with months before. Blood at the scene that does not match the official story. Parents begging for answers for years and still this death is labeled a suicide. For now, this case needs a spotlight. So please share this story with a friend. Maybe a bunch of friends. Send out the episode link post about this story. The more people who hear about Sonam, the harder it becomes for the authorities to ignore this case as her parents continue to fight for her. And I'm going to do that too. I'm going to stay on this story. Every new filing, every new development, you can bet we will be right here doing it. I'm Ashley Banfield and remember, especially with this kind of a story, the truth isn't just serious, it is dropped. Dead serious.