A Kentucky freshman was strangled to death by a teammate, leaving his family and friends stunned. His former coach warned that violence on campus “could happen to anyone, anywhere.”
The disturbing comments came in the wake of the “unimaginable” murder of Josiah Kilman, 18, a theology major and wrestler at Campbellsville University, a private Christian college in Kentucky.
“It’s mind-boggling,” said Kilman’s former soccer coach, O’Brien Byrd. told Fox News Digital.
“I hope to God this isn’t a pattern that we’re seeing, but I also think this could happen to anyone, anywhere.”
Killman was found strangled in his dorm shortly before 1 a.m. on February 24, and his wrestling teammate Charles Escalera, 21, received a call from a local farmer who said there was a suspicious person in the barn. He was arrested after receiving a report. According to WLEX.
Escalera was charged with murder and robbery. He is being held in the Taylor County Detention Center on $2 million bail.
Killman’s tragic death is not an isolated incident. His murder charge marks the fourth campus homicide in the nation in just nine days.
Two University of Colorado Colorado Springs students, Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Lane Montgomery, 26, were shot to death in their dorm room on February 16, police said. He was killed by a single gunshot.
Police arrested 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan in connection with the double murder and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder.
Then, on February 22, authorities announced that Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was brutally murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant who allegedly attacked her while she was jogging on the campus near the University of Georgia. did.
The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested and charged with numerous charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, interfering with a 911 call, and concealing the death of another. Ta.
Kilman’s killing occurred just days before the Campbellsville wrestling team was scheduled to travel to Kanas to compete in the national championships.
One fellow wrestler, who requested anonymity, told Fox News Digital that Killman’s death took a “huge toll” on the rest of the team, but that Tuesday’s tournament was hurried to honor the family of his deceased teammate. He said he was there.
“Some of us have been through situations like this before, but at this time of the season it definitely puts a huge strain on us trying to get our minds right and focus on this tournament. ” said Kilman’s teammate.
“A lot of people would go home and be with their families. But we’re going to go out there to fight for his family.”
Killman’s heartbroken family has set up a GoFundMe to cover burial costs and the cost of transporting his body to his home state of Montana, which had raised nearly $75,000 as of Sunday afternoon.
