Robert Davis, right, is accused of killing Philadelphia journalist Josh Kruger at Kruger’s home on Monday, Oct. 2. Davis turned himself into police on Wednesday, Oct. 25, and was charged with murder (Kruger photo via his Facebook page; Davis photo from Philadelphia police)
The 19-year-old suspect accused of killing a Philadelphia activist and journalist turned himself in to police on Wednesday and is now charged with murder, authorities said.
Robert Davis was wanted for the Oct. 2 slaying of 39-year-old Josh Kruger. On Thursday, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced murder and other charges against Davis.
Davis’ family told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Davis had sexual contact with Kruger since Davis was 15. Family members say Kruger had threatened to release “disturbing” videos, which may have been a motive for the killing.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the Philadelphia Police Department responded to Kruger’s home on the city’s south side around 1:30 a.m. Oct. 2 and found him shot seven times throughout his chest and abdomen. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m.
The Inquirer reported that a person entered Kruger’s home and started shooting. Police believe Kruger was shot at the base of his stairs and he ran out of his home seeking help from neighbors where he collapsed, the Inquirer said. Police named Davis a suspect a few days after the shooting. Local ABC affiliate WPVI, citing unnamed sources, said drugs were found in Kruger’s home and the two exchanged extensive text messages.
Kruger had written on his Facebook page about a few disturbing incidents that happened to him over the last few months, the Inquirer noted: An ex-partner had broken into his home, somehow obtaining keys to get inside which caused him to change his locks; someone threw a rock through his window; and a person who identified themselves as “Lady Diabla, the She-Devil of the Streets” came to his home asking about a boyfriend and threatened him. Police did not say if any of the previous incidents were related to the homicide.
Kruger was a freelance journalist who wrote for the Inquirer, the nonprofit Philadelphia Citizen, Philadelphia Weekly and LGBTQ Nation. He also worked in the communications office for the City of Philadelphia, as communications director for the Office of Homeless Services and content director for the Mayor Jim Kenney administration from 2016 until 2021, his LinkedIn page said.
“Shocked and saddened by Josh Kruger’s death. He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing,” Kenney wrote on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
Krasner wrote on X that Kruger “lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities — particularly unhoused people living with addiction.” Krasner also said he would keep in close contact with the Philadelphia police to ensure justice can be served.
In a tribute on the Citizen site, journalist Roxanne Patel Shepelavy eulogized Kruger as an “immensely talented writer with an insatiable passion for telling the real truth about hard issues.”
One of Kruger’s last articles for the Citizen pointed out the misguidedness of elected officials’ preferred use of the word “unhoused” over homeless because the latter was too stigmatized. Kruger, who was once homeless himself, wrote that officials should instead focus on pushing through additional funding so the homeless could become housed.
“The fact is that we could solve homelessness with the right investments in the right policies. It would cost less than one percent of the current $6 billion municipal budget. But I’m starting to think everyone would rather talk about the lingo than admit we are failing to actually help those in need,” Kruger wrote.
As an openly gay man who was HIV-positive, he also advocated for the LGBTQ community.
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