Early on Saturday, February 24, 2024, Josiah Kilman, an 18-year-old theology student at Campbellsville University in Kentucky, was discovered unresponsive in his dorm room. He was immediately transported to Taylor Regional Hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
On the same day, the Green County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Charles Escalera, 21, in relation to Kilman’s untimely death. Escalera was arrested without any confrontation following a report of a suspicious person in a barn at the border of Green and Taylor Counties. He confessed to breaking into the barn and stealing food.
Currently held at Taylor County Detention Center, Escalera is facing murder and burglary charges. Both he and Kilman were part of the university’s wrestling team.
The cause of death was determined to be manual strangulation, according to Daniel Cook, the Taylor County Coroner.
Originally from Columbia Falls, Montana, Kilman was a freshman at the university. Escalera, a sophomore pre-engineering student, hails from Moore, Oklahoma. Campbellsville University, a private Christian institution located in central Kentucky, has an approximate student population of 12,000.
Dr. Joseph Hopkins, President of Campbellsville University, voiced the university’s profound sorrow over Kilman’s death, emphasizing the institution’s commitment to the safety of its students. “We at Campbellsville University are mourning the loss of a member of our family. The demise of a student has left us heartbroken,” said Hopkins.
While specific safety enhancements were not outlined, Hopkins underscored the university’s dedication to protecting its community and collaborating with law enforcement to establish necessary security measures.
Despite the distressing incident, the university confirmed that all scheduled classes and activities would continue as planned.
Recent fatalities on college campuses across the United States underscore the persistent challenge of ensuring campus safety, a sobering context for Kilman’s death.
The university and its community are united in mourning Kilman’s loss. President Hopkins remembered him as a beacon of hope. A prayer vigil was held in his honor, reflecting on his life and contributions to the university and wrestling team. This tragic event has sparked a collective call for improved safety measures and support systems to prevent future occurrences.
