Brooklyn Man's Burned Body Identified In Pennsylvania

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities in Pennsylvania used DNA testing to identify the burned body of a Brooklyn man, who was found shot to death in the state last month.

Missing persons posters had been up in search of 30-year-old Joshua Rubin for the best part of two months. On Wednesday, word came that Rubin, who vanished from an apartment in Flatbush has been dead all along.

Police said the fire was to cover the crime, which was determined to be homicide caused by a single gunshot wound. The entire situation is a baffling mystery to many people and a horror for those who have been searching for him.

"I don't understand. I don't understand," neighbor Samuel Gumnitzky said.

The last time anybody had seen Rubin was when he walked out of his door October 31, when the Tri-State was digging out from a fall snowstorm. He was seen just 5 blocks from the now-shuttered Whisk Cafe that he opened in Ditmas Park and close to the 70th precinct.

Brooklynites young and old mourned the loss of the energetic young man everyone seemed to like.

"He did all the work. He worked so hard. I'll bet he was here six months late nights working on it...that's awful," neighbor Ariela Bowden said. "He was an awful nice guy. Why would they want to do that to him I cant imagine."

Rubin just vanished and his body was found the next day in eastern Pennsylvania burned and was so badly it wasn't identified until Wednesday.

One possible clue could be money trouble. Notices on the cafe seen Wednesday night said the rent had not been paid since August. Police are asking the public for help with the investigation.

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