College Locked Down After Student Strangled to Death

(RepublicanDaily.org) – A private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky, was briefly placed on lockdown after a student was discovered unresponsive in his dorm room in campus and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Josiah Kilman, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in theology at Campbellsville University and a member of the school’s wrestling team, was found unresponsive in his room, with police immediately called to the scene. An autopsy performed later indicated that he died of “manual strangulation.”

Police issued an arrest warrant for Charles Escalera, a former member of the university’s wrestling team, pointing to him as a prime suspect for Kilman’s murder. He was apprehended shortly after without incident, after the owner of a barn he was hiding out in noticed his presence and immediately contacted law enforcement. The 21-year-old Escalera, a pre-engineering sophomore at the university and a native of Moore, Oklahoma, was charged with murder, as well as second-degree burglary, as he admitted to stealing food and breaking into the barn owner’s property. His bail was set at $2 million.

During the manhunt for Escalera, the university implemented a lockdown, with students directed to “shelter in place” while the suspect was still at large. Once Escalera had been caught, the school lifted the lockdown directive.

Kilman, who hails from Columbia Falls, Montana, was described by his family as a one who had a “passionate heart on fire for the Lord,” as well as a “true example of compassion, kindness, and love.”

Joseph Hopkins, the president of Campbellsville University, said that the administration stands with Kilman’s family and the rest of the university’s wrestling team. Hopkins also said that he had met with the wrestling team and prayed with them over the incident.

Kilman’s murder is still under investigation. As of press time, there have been no additional details as to how the murder took place or as to the motive behind Escalera’s alleged murder of Kilman.

Kilman’s relatives also set up a GoFundMe page to help with his funeral and burial expenses. The page has managed to reach roughly $56,000 so far.