Homicide Victim Had Money Woes, May Have Known Killer

Brooklyn, N.Y. cafe owner Joshua James Rubin, whose smoldering body was found along Applewood Drive in South Whitehall Township on Nov. 1, probably knew his killer, according to The Brooklyn Paper.

The Brooklyn Paper quotes a New York City Police Department source as saying: "It looks like [the killer] was definitely somebody that knew him. He was trying to get money and may have been involved with [the wrong crowd] to make a couple of bucks."

Rubin owed $14,000 to creditors and was concerned about making his rent payment on his Whisk Bakery Cafe, which had only been open for a few months, according to The New York Post. The day after his body was found, Rubin's credit card was used at the Woodbury Common mall in Orange County, N.Y., The Post reported.  

Rubin was identified through DNA testing. Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin and Lehigh County Coroner Scott M. Grim released his identity on Dec. 21. A family member had reported Rubin missing at 9 p.m. on Oct. 31 to the NYPD. 

His body had been found about 8:30 a.m. Nov. 1 along Applewood Drive, on a bend in the road between Huckleberry and Haasadahl roads, by a South Whitehall public works employee who was cleaning up tree branches after a weekend snow storm. 

He had been shot to death and set on fire, authorities said.