Seth Rich

Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, 27, was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. in July.

(Washington Post video still)

WikiLeaks is fueling conspiracy theories about the recent death of a Democratic National Committee staffer.

Seth Rich was shot and killed near his home in northwest Washington, D.C., on July 10, less than two weeks before 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials appeared on WikiLeaks. The 27-year-old Nebraska native had been working for the DNC after previously helping with Democrats' campaigns, and the timing of his death raised questions with supporters of the site known for publishing worldwide political and business secrets.

According to NBC Washington, police told Rich's mother that he may have been the victim of an attempted robbery, but nothing was stolen. The Daily Mail reports he still had his watch, cell phone and wallet on him.

"There had been a struggle. His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised, his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything," she told NBC. "They took his life for literally no reason."

The leaked emails were published before Hillary Clinton's nomination at the Democratic National Convention; Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down as chairwoman after emails suggested the DNC favored Clinton over her primary rival Bernie Sanders. Russian hackers reportedly breached DNC security earlier that month, but WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hinted Rich may have been involved.

"Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks as a 27-year-old, works for the DNC who was shot in the back - murdered - just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington," Assange told a Dutch television station Tuesday.

The interviewer asked Assange if Rich was a contributor, but Assange refused to confirm or deny it: "We don't comment on who our sources are."

Assange then stirred further speculation of a connection by offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the murder of Rich. Police have also offered a $25,000 reward, customary in all D.C. homicides.

Rich's father, Joel, told the Washington Post that the additional reward seemed to legitimize rumors but declined to comment further.

"I hope the additional money helps find out who did this," he said. "I don't want to play WikiLeaks' game."

Assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham told the newspaper that they didn't have any information to suggest a connection between Rich's death and the leaked emails. No suspects or motives have been named, but police previously said the neighborhood had recently seen a spike in robberies.

Clinton addressed Rich's death in July as an issue of gun violence.

"Just this past Sunday, a young man, Seth Rich -- who worked for the Democratic National Committee, to expand voting rights -- was shot and killed in his neighborhood in Washington. He was just 27 years old," she said at an event in New Hampshire last month. "Surely we can agree that weapons of war have no place on the streets of America."