19-Year-Old Charged with Murder of Philadelphia Journalist

(DailyDig.com) – A friend of a Philadelphia writer, Josh Kruger, who had gone from being homeless to interning for the office of the mayor to penning essays on the region’s social problems, has been charged with murder.

The arrest of Robert Edmond Davis took place on October 25 at his house in South Philadelphia. Authorities have stated that they have no idea what motivated the murder, but that they know the two were together.

Davis, 19, has been charged with firearms offenses, murder, and other associated counts for the October 2 shooting death of 39-year-old Kruger in his Philadelphia home. At 1:30 in the morning, Kruger was fatally wounded multiple times and later fell down on the street while trying to get aid. A medical examiner ruled him dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Authorities claim they have footage showing Davis in the neighborhood of Kruger’s house prior to the shooting, which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for him after four days since the incident.

As of October 26, it was unclear whether Davis had hired legal representation. Davis’ mother claimed that if he did murder Kruger, there is no justification, and that she finds the situation heartbreaking, but that she also sees her son as a victim.

City officials and advocates for the causes Kruger supported, such as biking, ending homelessness, reporting, fighting addiction, and supporting the LGBTQ+ community, were greatly affected by his death. One of the toughest elements of dealing with being homeless in America is being ignored by society. When people fail to see humanity in another, they start to doubt their own.

From 2016 until 2021, Kruger oversaw the communications for the Homeless Services Office and the mayor’s social media accounts. He quit his job at City Hall to devote more time to his writing.

Many newspapers in Philadelphia benefited from his hilarious and heartfelt writing. Kruger called himself an advocate for the singular they, Twitter before Elon, the Oxford comma, and an avid bicyclist.