Young Northeast Philadelphia woman's death ruled homicide

When Elaine Goldberg went off to live at Gwynedd-Mercy College in Montgomery County for her freshman year, her sister, Careen, stood in front of her car trying to stop her from driving away.

"I didn't want her to go," Careen said.

Now, Careen is preparing herself for an even more painful goodbye: She will have to bury her older sister next week.

Police said that Elaine Goldberg, 21, of Welsh Road near Colfax Street in Northeast Philadelphia, was found dead in a vacant lot on Ruth Street near Hart Lane in Kensington shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The medical examiner yesterday ruled it a homicide, investigators said, but they couldn't comment on a cause of death. Homicide investigators said they didn't have any suspects or know the motive.

Careen said her sister, who was in school for nursing, had struggled with addiction and was trying to get her life back on track. But she said she didn't want her sister's drug problems to overshadow her death or what could have been a promising future.

"She was a beautiful, smart girl who was going to go far," Careen said. "What kills me the most is that she didn't want to die. It wasn't her time."