James Stuhlman Was Murdered While Walking His Dog – Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
A number of blog posts have made claims about the media’s coverage of the murder of 51-year-old James Stuhlman as he walked his dog in Philadelphia.
The Truth:
It’s true that a group of teenagers have been charged with murdering James Stuhlman as he walked his dog in Philadelphia on March 12, 2015.
Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark said that three teenaged boys came up with the idea to rob a dog walker while they played basketball. The boys targeted James Stuhlman because he was walking an older dog that “looked weak,” NBC Philadelphia reports.
James Stuhlman pleaded for his life and struggled with the would-be robbers before he was shot once in the chest. The boys ran away, and police found Stuhlman unresponsive at the scene with his dog cowering in fear beside him. He was later pronounced dead.
Police charged Brandon Smith and Tyfine Hamilton, both 15, with James Stuhlman’s murder, as well as an unnamed 14-year-old boy.
Because James Stuhlman was white and his alleged attackers were black teenagers, a number of blogs have claimed that the mainstream media “buried” the story.
It’s true that national media hadn’t reported on Stuhlman’s murder immediately after it happened. But that’s not very unusual. Right or wrong, the national media covers deaths that involve public officials and well-known people. A man killed in an attempted robbery would usually be considered a local story.
In this case, local NBC, Fox and ABC affiliates have covered James Stuhlman’s murder extensively.
But regardless of national media policies, James Stuhlman’s murder was clearly a senseless tragedy.