'He was scared': Josh Kruger's murder suspect Robert Davis' mother claims journalist was blackmailing him
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Damica Davis, the mother of Josh Kruger's murder suspect Robert Davis, said her son was “scared” of the Philadelphia journalist who was threatening to release sexually explicit videos of him.
Kruger, 39, was fatally shot seven times in his Point Breeze home in Philadelphia in the middle of the night on October 2. The journalist was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Robert Davis, 19, has been named as the prime suspect in Kruger’s murder. While a warrant has been issued, he has not yet been arrested.
Damica says Robert Davis ‘was scared’ of Kruger
Robert’s mother told The Philadelphia Inquirer that she spoke to her son on Friday, October 6, just hours after the police came to her South Philadelphia home to search for the suspect.
The mother said, "He was scared," adding she pleaded with him to surrender to the police.
Damica quoted Robert and shared, "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.”
Damica and her elder son Jaylin Reason also provided insight into the chain of events that may have led to the tragic death of the journalist.
Robert’s family said that he suffered from mental health issues from an early age, partly because of an absent biological father. His mother also said that he dealt with anger issues and got into fights.
Damica added that he started sneaking out at night and coming back home high on drugs since the time he was 15.
He also admitted to his family that he was dating an “older white woman” who “worked for the government.” The same alleged girlfriend would buy him expensive items including Gucci pants.
Damica said that they had noticed the name “Josh” popping up on Robert’s phone. He, however, said that Josh was his girlfriend’s gay brother.
During his call with his mother on Friday, Robert, however, accepted that he was with Josh Kruger during that time.
The outlet revealed that Kruger worked for the city from 2015 to 2020, including his stint for the Office of Homeless Services.
The suspect’s family also added that they believed Robert became addicted to meth during this time, and they tried to rehabilitate him.
The 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.”
Damica added, “It’s tragic what happened,” but made a case that her son is a victim as well, saying, “But I feel like my son is a victim in this, as well.”
Detectives say Robert Davis could provide critical details in the investigation
The investigatrs have indeed unearthed some "disturbing" contents in Kruger's phone. It is however, not known whether those contents are related to Robert.
Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said that Robert could provide a lot of critical details in Kruger's death as he told the Inquirer, “I think he could answer a lot of questions if he comes into custody and surrenders,” before adding, “It might help us put all this together.”
The investigators further added that they found crystal meth from Kruger's bedroom.
