Montana wrestler killed in Kentucky, suspect charged

by The Associated Press | Mon, February 26th 2024 at 9:54 AM
Updated Mon, February 26th 2024 at 6:18 PM

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — A college wrestler in Kentucky was killed by a teammate at a private Christian university over the weekend, authorities said.

Josiah Kilman, 18, was pronounced dead at a hospital after police officers were called early Saturday to Campbellsville University in central Kentucky, police said in a news release. The freshman theology major and wrestling team member from Columbia Falls, Montana, was found unresponsive in his dorm room, the university said. ... A state autopsy determined Kilman had been strangled, but a motive remains undetermined, police said Monday.

A campus lockdown was lifted after Charles Escalera, 21, a wrestler and sophomore pre-engineering major from Moore, Oklahoma, was arrested Saturday evening by state police following a report of a suspicious person in a barn, police and school officials said.

He was charged with murder and second-degree burglary, and bond was set at $2 million, court records show. Escalera was found in a residence and admitted to breaking into it and taking food, police said in an arrest document.

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"His example compelled so many others to make the same changes he wished to see in the world, and his impact on their lives will never truly be forgotten." Photo: The Kilman Family

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