A 61-year-man found living inside a Philadelphia bridge has been arrested in connection with the murder of a man whose body was pulled from the the Schuylkill River earlier this year.
Authorities encountered the suspect, identified as Roger Rosson, while responding Tuesday to reports about a man living inside the Green Lane Bridge in the city’s Manayunk section. When they arrived on the scene, officers discovered Rosson’s elaborate living quarters, complete with multiple levels, an electrical hook-up to a battery, as well as a fully furnished tent, ABC Philadelphia reported.
Police also found a gun while executing a search of the makeshift residence.
Rosson, a former contractor who is believed to be homeless, was subsequently arrested in connection with the murder of 35-year-old Joshua Daywalt, who was found floating in the Schuylkill River near East Falls on Feb. 7. He was pronounced dead on the scene and his manner of death was ruled a homicide.
A post-mortem exam revealed that he suffered a gunshot wound behind his right ear as well as graze wound to the lower right back of his head, according to NBC Philadelphia.
Police have provided few other details about Rosson’s arrest, but they have previously said Daywalt was last seen alive was under the Green Lane Bridge, where Rosson had been living.
Joe Antonini, who told ABC that he knows the suspect, said Rosson has been struggling in recent years.
“He lost his company,” Antonini told ABC, “he lost everything, and just living on the street.”
