A university student was arrested hours after another student was found unresponsive in a central Kentucky dorm room early Saturday, authorities said.
Police officers found Campbellsville University student Charles E. Escalera, 21, in a barn following a tip at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, the Campbellsville Police Department said in a statement.
“Escalera was taken into custody by Kentucky State Police … and the arrest warrant will be served for Murder,” the statement read in part.
Campbellsville Police sought Escalera for murder while investigating the death of fellow university student Josiah Malachi Kilman, 18, officials said in an earlier statement. Kilman was found unresponsive in his dorm room early Saturday and was transferred to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, Campbellsville University authorities said in a statement.
The police responded to calls regarding Kilman’s unresponsiveness at about 12:43 a.m. Saturday, according to the statement. “The deceased … was transported to the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville for an autopsy,” police said. (RELATED: Illegal Immigrant With Criminal History Charged In Murder Of Georgia University Student)
Charles “Zeke” Escalera was a 2017 Fargo Champ for Kentucky and a 2018 Prep National Champ for Wyoming Seminary… He has now been charged with Murder after allegedly killing a freshman teammate last night at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/CO8BJN2YUy
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) February 25, 2024
A relative of Kilman’s reportedly set up a GoFundMe campaign for Kilman’s bereaved family. The campaign exceeded its current goal of $50,000 at the time of publication.
“The cost of transporting Josiah from Kentucky back to his home state of Montana alone will be over $10,000,” the campaign read. “That does not include the burial expenses and travel expenses to pick up their son’s belongings from the college dorm.”
Kilman was a member of Campbellsville University’s men’s wrestling team.
Campbellsville University, a private Christian university, identified Escalera as one of its students in a statement. Kilman’s death prompted the university’s main campus to go into lockdown, which was lifted once Escalera was arrested, the university said.
— Campbellsville University (@CampbellsvilleU) February 24, 2024
The university announced a “service of hope and healing” late Sunday as well as the resumption of other on-campus activities.
The president of Campbellsville University, Dr. Joseph Hopkins, described the incident as “a devastating time,” adding that the university was “grieving the loss of one of our family. We have lost a student and our hearts are broken,” according to a statement.
The incident follows 25-year-old University of Colorado student Nicholas Jordan’s alleged Feb. 16 fatal shooting of Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, and Samuel Knopp, 24, on the university campus, in addition to a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, Jose Antonio Ibarra’s alleged Feb. 22 killing of Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley, 22.