Campbellsville University student found dead in dorm died by manual strangulation
The student at Campbellsville University in Kentucky who was found dead in his dorm room died by manual strangulation, the coroner announced Monday.
Josiah Malachi Kilman, 18, a freshman wrestler, was found unresponsive in his dorm at 12:43 a.m. Saturday.
Kilman, of Columbia Falls, Montana, died of asphyxia by manual strangulation, according to preliminary autopsy results, the Taylor County Coroner’s Office said Monday.
Fellow Campbellsville University student Charles E. Escalara, 21, was arrested Saturday evening on a murder charge in connection with Kilman’s death.
Campbellsville police said in an update Monday: "A motive for the crime is still undetermined at this time, however the case is on-going."
Escalara was on the school’s men's wrestling team from 2021 to 2022 under the name “Zeke Escalera,” according to the roster from that year. Campbellsville Police Chief Shannon Wilson told NBC News that Escalara goes by the nickname "Zeke."
Campbellsville police launched a search for Escalera after Kilman was found dead. Just after 5 p.m. Saturday, authorities received a call about “a suspicious male inside a barn” in Green County. Escalera was found there and arrested by Kentucky State Police.
He was booked into the Taylor County Detention Center on a charge each of murder and second-degree burglary with bond set at $2 million, online booking records show.
Campbellsville, a private Christian university, is 85 miles south of Louisville.
Kilman's family said in a statement that he was "a beautiful, young, 18 year old Christian man from Columbia Falls, Montana who had a passionate heart on fire for the Lord.”
They said Kilman was at Campbellsville University on a biblical scholarship “with the dreams of leading others to follow the Lord through the Christian principles, of which he himself adhered to.”
“He was well known to many as an avid athlete and faithful religious leader,” his family said. “Josiah influenced many hearts as he was a true example of compassion, kindness and love."
University President Joseph Hopkins remembered Kilman as a “beloved member of our community” and “a bright light.”
On Monday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said, “It is tragic when we lose any of our young people, especially to violence."
“I can’t imagine as a parent sending your child to college only to learn that you lost them,” he said after an unrelated event at Luhr Elementary School in Louisville.
“My heart mainly goes out for both that individual and their family, who are struggling the most," Beshear said. "And then thinking of everybody on that campus and how they’re feeling and the work we need to do to re-establish the feeling of security and safety that they and every other Kentuckian ought to be able to wake up with every day."
