Gay Journalist and Advocate 39, Presumed Killed by Robert Edmond 19

Josh Kruger, a gay Philadelphia-based journalist and advocate

 

Philadelphia police have named Robert Edmond Davis, 19, as a suspect in Kruger's murder. According to 6abc, Davis is wanted for murder and “related offenses.” Kruger and Davis were acquaintances and Davis was trying to help Kruger “get through life,” according to Lt. Hamilton Marshmond of the Philadelphia Police Department. 6abc reported that Davis may have experienced homelessness — an issue Kruger had personal experience with and was passionate about — at one time. Police are still investigating possible motives.

Original Story: Josh Kruger, a gay Philadelphia-based journalist and advocate, was shot and killed at his home Monday morning. According to the Associated Press, Kruger was shot seven times at around 1:30 a.m. and was pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital. He was 39 years old.

Local detectives found no sign of forced entry, suggesting that either the door was open or the offender knew how to get inside, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. According to the Inquirer, Kruger had posted on social media about an alarming series of incidents at his home over the past few months. In April, he wrote that an ex-partner broke into his home. In August, someone threw a rock through his window. Around two weeks ago, Kruger posted on Facebook about a person he had never met coming to his house searching for their boyfriend and threatening Kruger in the process.

Kruger was known for his work as a journalist covering LGBTQ+ issues, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS in publications like The Advocate and Plus, as well as local outlets like The Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia City Paper, and Philadelphia Citizen. In 2014 and 2015, he won the Society of Professional Journalists award for newspaper commentary in Pennsylvania.

In addition to his work in journalism, Kruger had also worked for the City of Philadelphia in the Department of Public Health, the Office of Homeless Services, and the Office of the Mayor, according to his website. An HIV-positive man who was open about his past experiences with homelessness and addiction, Kruger often used his platform to advocate on behalf of others impacted by these issues. Kruger wrote on his website that he was a “proponent of the singular they, the Oxford comma, and pre-Elon Twitter,” and was an avowed cat person living with “his best friend, his senior cat with one tooth named Mason.”

In a statement shared to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner praised Kruger for his advocacy efforts.

“Josh Kruger lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities - particularly unhoused people living with addiction,” Krasner said. “As an openly queer writer who wrote about his own journey surviving substance abuse disorder and homelessness… Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story.”

(THEM)

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