CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Campbellsville University student killed early Saturday was a "bright light," the university's president said Monday.
Josiah Kilman, 18, was found unresponsive just before 1 a.m. in his dorm and taken to Taylor Regional Hospital. A freshman theology major from Columbia Falls, Montana, and member of the wrestling team, Kilman was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Taylor County Coroner's Office said the cause of death was asphyxiation by manual strangulation.
A campus alert was sent out shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday stating the campus would be on lockdown because authorities believed the suspect could be in the area. Shortly before 6 p.m., another campus alert was sent stating that Charles Escalera, 21, was arrested by police and the university was lifting the lockdown.
Charles Escalera. (Source: Taylor County Detention Center)
Campbellsville is a private school with more than 12,000 students enrolled in classes on campus.
"It is a safe community, and that's where this shakes us, that this could happen even in this beautiful place of quiet and beauty," Campbellsville University President Joseph Hawkins said Monday. "But it does remind us that we must always be on guard, and I'm thankful for those who stand in that place of protection every day."
Flags are at half-staff on campus, and students said many teachers didn't take attendance Monday. Holding back tears, a student named Abigail, a friend of Kilman, was determined to share with the world what kind of person he was.
"Everything he did, he revolved it around God," she said. "He was a kind person. He had a kind soul. He was open to loving everybody. He didn't have a bad bone in his body."
According to police, Escalera was spotted by a local farmer in his barn. Kentucky State Police arrested Escalera, who admitted to breaking into the barn and taking food, according to an arrest citation.
Also a wrester at Campbellsville and a sophomore pre-engineering major from Moore, Oklahoma, Escalera was charged with murder and second-degree burglary. He's being held at the Taylor County Detention Center on a $2 million bond and is expected back in court March 6.
Friends of Kilman in Montana started a GoFundMe page to raise money for travel and burial expenses. The initial goal of $50,000 was quickly surpassed.
To donate, click here.
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