Josh Kruger murder suspect shared drugs & sex with him, sources say

Four days after gay journalist Josh Kruger, 39, was gunned down in his home in Philadelphia, police identified 19-year-old Robert Edmond Davis as his alleged killer. Investigators described Davis as a troubled young man who Kruger was trying to help “get through life.” He remains at large.

Now Davis’ family is shedding new light on the nature of the men’s association, asserting they had a years-long relationship involving drugs that started when Davis was 15 years old and Kruger was an adult.

Related:

Gay journalist Josh Kruger murdered in Philadephia apartment

He had recently reported incidents of harassment and vandalism at his home.

Kruger was shot seven times at the base of his stairs early on the morning of October 2 before calling for help and collapsing in the street. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

According to interviews with Davis’ mother and brother reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Davis claimed in a recent phone conversation that Kruger was threatening to post sexually explicit videos of him online.

The family says Davis’ life was slowly unraveling as he tried to keep his drug addiction and relationship with Kruger hidden.

Sources say those claims come as investigators have discovered explicit photos and messages on Kruger’s phone, which they described as “disturbing.” Whether or not they were related to Davis was unclear.

Davis’ mother, Danica, said her son called her just hours after Philadelphia police burst into her home last week in search of Davis. She said she urged him to turn himself in.

“He was scared,” she said.

Davis told her Kruger “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.”

Davis’ mother and his brother, Jaylin, said Davis endured mental health issues from a young age. When he was about 15, he started sneaking out in the middle of the night and coming home high on drugs, they said.

Around that time, Davis told them he was seeing an “older white woman” whom he’d met online and “worked for the government.”

Kruger served as communications director for the Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services at the time.

The family said they frequently saw the name “Josh” appear on Davis’ phone. Davis told them “Josh” was the older white woman’s brother, who was gay.

In the panicked phone call with his mother days after the shooting, Davis admitted he had been seeing Kruger all along.

For years, Davis’ mother said, “We’ve only had pieces of everything. We could never put the pieces together, and now everything is coming out and we see what’s going on.”

While Kruger was transparent in his writing about his own struggles in the past — with HIV, homelessness, sex work, and his addiction to meth — police sources say he was concealing parts of his life, including his relationship with Davis.

Sources added meth was found in Kruger’s bedroom.

Celebrating his sobriety in 2019, Kruger wrote, “I was a daily IV drug user who lived on the street, in bathhouses, in a shelter, and on couches. I saw a lot of trauma and acted out of a lot of pain.”

“People sometimes say I worked hard to get where I am. That’s true and not true. I took opportunities when they appeared. I listened to others who shared their experience with addiction with me. I recognized my inability to fix myself and the need to accept help. That’s all I did.”

“You need other people just like they need you,” Kruger wrote. “Here’s to another year.”