Grant Preston|Man arrested in connection with Kentucky student wrestler's death: What we know

2025-05-08 06:52:52source:Esthencategory:My

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a Kentucky college student and Grant Prestonathlete.

Josiah Malachi Kilman, 18, was found unresponsive in his dorm room at Campbellsville University in Kentucky on Saturday, according to the university. He was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead. His body is being sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office in Louisville to determine the cause of death.

Campbellsville University is a private Christian university located in Campbellsville, Kentucky, about 85 miles southeast of Louisville and 83 miles southwest of Lexington.

Kilman is the latest student to die on a college campus this month. Last week, the body of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley was found in a wooded area on the University of Georgia's main campus in Athens. Athens resident Jose Antonio Ibarra was taken into custody in connection with her death. There was another death on UGA's campus at a student dormitory on Feb. 21, but foul play was not suspected and it was not connected to the homicide case, UGA police said.

At the University of Colorado, Nicholas Jordan, a 25-year-old student, faces two counts of first degree murder in the Feb. 16 deaths of Samuel Knopp, Jordan's 24-year-old roommate and a registered student at the university, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, who was not enrolled.

Who was Josiah Kilman?

Kilman was from Montana and joined the Campbellsville University wrestling team, according to a statement from the college's president, Joseph Hopkins, following his death.

Hopkins described Kilman as a "bright light, and a person of incredible hope."

On Sunday, Campbellsville University held a prayer vigil at the Ransdell Chapel on campus.

Who was arrested?

On Saturday, police arrested 21-year-old Charles E. Escalera after the Green County Sheriff's Office and Kentucky State Police received a call of a "suspicious male inside a barn" on the Green County and Taylor County line, according to the Campbellsville Police Department.

He was arrested "without incident" and is facing burglary and murder charges in connection with Kilman's death.

Both Escalera and Kilman were members Campbellsville University's wrestling team, the college told ABC News.

Contributing: Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, Louisville Courier Journal.

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