At Campbellsville University, a small Baptist college in Kentucky, former wrestling superstar, Charles Escalera, 21, was accused of murdering 18-year-old freshman Josiah Malachi Kilman. Escalera was arrested Saturday evening.
Kilman was found unresponsive in his dorm at around one a.m. on Saturday morning and was taken to Taylor Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police found Escalera at around 5:15 p.m. that Saturday after receiving phone calls of a suspicious man hiding in a barn they responded to the calls and arrested Escalera.
Escalera is facing charges of second degree murder and admitted to breaking into Kilman’s dorm and stealing food. Escalera is currently held on a two million dollar bond and being held in the Taylor County Detention Center.
The school and city are still being cautious and telling people to “secure [their] residences, secure vehicles, and increase awareness of [their] surroundings.” authorities said. The autopsy results showed that Kilman was strangled to death; the motive still not determined. It is also unclear if Escalera and Kilman knew each other.
Senior Zavien Brady said on the matter, “This is horrible there is no good reason to kill anybody in that situation. I wonder what really happened and what Charles’ reasons were to do such a terrible thing?”
Additionally, Senior Kobey Christian said, “Hearing this makes me never want to go to college.”
All sports and campus events were canceled after the information was released about Kilman. The students and staff at Campbellsville University were all invited to pray and get together as a community for Kilman at the Ransdell Chapel. All scheduled school activities will resume on Sunday.
[Correction: The article originally stated that Charles Escalera was convicted of murder. It has since been corrected to “accused” as his court case has yet to be scheduled.]