Police: Beating Victim, Suspect Did Not Know Each Other

Portsmouth Police say the beating death of a Dover man at The Page Sports Bar and Restaurant on Saturday was an unprovoked act where the victim and the suspect did not know one another.

Portsmouth Deputy Police Chief Corey MacDonald said police are still gathering more evidence and conducting additional interviews, but already have a suspect in the case. As far as police can determine, the beating death of Joshua Krantz, 24, of Dover, was a random, senseless act.

"It wasn't a bar fight gone wrong," MacDonald said. "The kid was just dancing and had no culpability."

According to Portsmouth Police, the beating happened early Saturday morning while Krantz was on the dance floor located on the lower level of the Hanover Street establishment. For reasons unknown, a male suspect began hitting Krantz in the head repeatedly.

"Nobody called the police and no one reported it," said MacDonald.

Portsmouth and Dover police say that Krantz returned home to his apartment in Dover and was found dead on Saturday. The cause of death was a fractured skull, resulting in an acute epidural hematoma, according to police.

MacDonald said that by all accounts Krantz was a good person. and was employed as an enrollment account specialist at Bottomline Technologies after earning a business degree at Great Bay Community College.

When asked if police have determined whether The Page staff are culpable for the beating death since it happened inside their establishment, MacDonald replied, "I don't necessarily know if there is culpability for The Page with what happened here."

Be sure to stay with Portsmouth Patch to receive the latest information as it becomes available.