An 18-year-old student at Campbellsville University, Kentucky, Josiah Kilman, was found unresponsive in his dormitory early Saturday, February 24, 2024, and was rushed to the hospital by authorities. However, he was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Taylor Regional Hospital. 

Charles Escalera, 21, has been arrested by the Green County Sheriff’s office in connection with Kilman’s death. Escalera was apprehended without incident on Saturday evening following a report of a suspicious individual inside a barn near the Green and Taylor Counties border. He admitted to breaking in and stealing food.

Escalera, who is currently being held at the Taylor County Detention Center, faces charges of murder and burglary. Both Escalera and Kilman were members of the wrestling team at the university.

According to Taylor County Coroner Daniel Cook, the cause of death was manual strangulation.

Kilman, from Columbia Falls, Montana, was a freshman theology student. Escalera, from Moore, Oklahoma, is a sophomore majoring in pre-engineering. Campbellsville University, located in central Kentucky, is a private, Christian school of approximately 12,000 students.

In response to Kilman’s death, Campbellsville University President Dr. Joseph Hopkins expressed the institution’s profound grief and reiterated the commitment to student safety. “Campbellsville University is grieving the loss of one of our family. We have lost a student, and our hearts are broken,” Hopkins stated.

He emphasized the university’s dedication to safeguarding its community members and cooperating with law enforcement to implement necessary protective measures, although specific safety enhancements were not detailed in the statement.

Despite the incident, the university confirmed that scheduled classes, events, and activities would proceed.

Kilman’s death comes against the backdrop of recent college campus fatalities in the United States, illustrating the ongoing challenges of ensuring safety and security in campus environments. 

The university and its constituents are united in mourning the loss of Josiah Kilman, remembered by President Hopkins as a beacon of hope. The community held a prayer vigil in his honor, reflecting on his life and contributions to the university and wrestling team. This tragedy has galvanized a collective call for enhanced safety measures and support systems to prevent reoccurrences.