Philadelphia police said they have arrested the man they believe is responsible for killing journalist Josh Kruger in his home earlier this month.
Robert E. Davis, 19, was arrested at his Philadelphia home on Wednesday and is expected to be charged with murder and other related crimes, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Davis was on the run for over two weeks, but he and his mother, Damica Davis, arranged for him to surrender to police.
Lt. Hamilton Marshmond of the Philadelphia Police Department told 6ABC that Kruger and Davis knew each other and that Kruger was trying to help Davis, who reportedly had experienced homelessness, out.
Davis’ mother and older brother, however, told the Inquirer that the pair had been in a relationship since Davis was 15, and that Kruger had been abusive and had threatened to post sexually explicit videos of Davis.
“He was scared,” Damica Davis said to the news outlet. “He said ‘… He wanted me to do some stuff I didn’t want to do, and if I didn’t do it, he said he was going to blackmail me.’”
Kruger, 39, was shot seven times inside his home in the Point Breeze section of the city on Oct. 2. He ran outside to get help but collapsed on the sidewalk. He was taken to a hospital where he died shortly afterward.
Police told 6ABC they have video of Davis in the area of Kruger’s home prior to the shooting. Officials also said that Davis and Kruger exchanged text messages and that drugs were found in Kruger’s home.
Having battled drug addiction and experienced homelessness, Kruger was known as an advocate for the city’s most vulnerable constituents, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.
A former spokesperson for the city’s Office of Homeless Services, Kruger had written for multiple Philadelphia-area publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, The Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY and Billy Penn.
Source: Berkshire mont