GoFundMe/mugshot Josiah Kilman (L) and Charles Escalera (R)
Charles Escalera is the Kentucky college student and high school wrestling star who is accused of murdering a fellow student, who was a wrestling champion in Montana, in a dorm room at Campbellsville University.
The victim was identified as Josiah Kilman, 18, according to a news release from Campbellsville police, which also identified the suspect. According to Daily Beast, Kilman was a “freshman wrestler from Montana.” His full name was Josiah Malachi Kilman.
Kilman was a high school wrestling champion, according to Flo Wrestling. He was listed on the Campbellsville University wrestling team roster.
Escalera was on the university’s 2021-22 roster, according to 14News. The team’s roster says he is from Moore, Oklahoma, and wrestled as Zeke Escalera. TriState Home Page confirmed that Escalera used the name Zeke. His LinkedIn page says he was a business student. The Gleaner reported that Escalara was once named the Adidas High School Wrestler of the Week after winning a national prep championship.
The suspect’s name is also given as Charles E. Escalera. Police later revealed that they had taken Escalera into custody after receiving a call of a “suspicious male inside a barn located on the Green County, Taylor County line.” The university confirmed in a statement that Escalera was a student.
Escalera was accused of murder, although Kilman’s cause of death was not released. The motive is also not clear.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Campbellsville Police Say They Were Called to the Campus Because Josiah Malachi Kilman Was ‘Unresponsive’
Campbellsville PoliceCharles Escalera.
On Saturday, February 24, at about 12:43 a.m., Campbellsville police responded to Campbellsville University’s campus “in reference to an unresponsive male,” a press release says.
“Taylor County EMS arrived and transported the male to Taylor Regional Hospital where he was pronounced deceased,” the release says.
The victim “18-year-old Josiah Malachi Kilman, was transported to the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville for an autopsy,” it reads.
During the investigation, police obtained an arrest warrant for “21-year-old Charles E. Escalera for murder,” police wrote.
Police initially said he was still at large, and they released photos of Escalera, describing him as 21, 5 foot 7 inches tall and 128 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen in the parking lot of Lowe’s in Campbellsville, police said. However, as noted, he was later taken into custody.
CBS News reported that Kilman was found unresponsive in his dorm room.
2. A GoFundMe Page Was Set Up to Help the Parents of Josiah Kilman
GoFundMeJosiah Kilman
A GoFundMe page was created to help Kilman’s parents, Joe and Jessica Kilman.
The page says they are “suffering a terrible loss.”
“There are no words strong enough to mend the broken hearts of this family right now,” the page says. “We are all truly in shock at the abrupt and unexpected loss of Josiah and we are asking for an abundance of prayers for them as they grapple with this devastating tragedy,” the GoFundMe says.
The page described Kilman as a “beautiful young man” and said the money would help the family pay for Kilman’s burial and “travel expenses to pick up their son’s belongings from the college dorm.”
A man wrote on the page, “He was such a great kid so nice and polite and thankful he made a everlasting impression on us both.”
3. Charles Escalera Was a Wrestling Champion in Oklahoma
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.
According to Flo Wrestling, Escalera was a former college and high school wrestler.
He “was a 2017 Fargo 16U champion, a 2018 National Prep champion and 2021 Oklahoma state high school runner-up. He competed for Campbellsville in the 2021-22 season but is not currently listed on the team’s roster,” the site reported.
“KHSAA records show Escalera won the 106-pound wrestling state title with Union County in 2017,” 14News reported.
According to the Oklahoman, “Escalera had an outstanding senior season and went 26-1. His lone loss was against Bixby junior Zach Blankenship in the Class 6A state tournament championship match.”
4. Josiah Kilman Was a College Wrestler Who Was Captain of His High School Soccer Team in Montana
Josiah Kilman was a freshman wrestler down at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. He graduated from Columbia Falls HS in Montana last June and was just 18 years old. 2 days ago, Josiah was senselessly murdered in his dorm room by a former wrestler who has now been apprehended…
Kilman “was a Montana state medalist as a senior at Columbia Falls High School,” Flo Wrestling reported.
Kilman graduated from Columbia Falls High School, according to Daily Interlake.com.
“Kilman was a captain of the Columbia Falls soccer team in 2022 and was a member of the wrestling team as well. He graduated in June 2023,” the site reported.
Campbellsville President Joseph Hopkins told The New York Times that he was “not aware of any history” between Kilman and Escalera.
5. The Death of Josiah Kilman Comes After Murders of Other College Students in the United States
Facebook (Laken Hope Riley)Laken Hope Riley
Kilman’s death comes after a string of other unrelated murders involving college students in the United States.
Laken Riley, 22, was murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus; Samuel Knopp and Celie Montgomery were shot to death in a University of Colorado dorm room.
There are also suspects in custody in both of those cases.
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