By Mark Maynard
Kentucky Today
A student was found dead in his Campbellsville University dorm room early Saturday morning, and another student was arrested and charged with his murder.
Campbellsville police identified the deceased student as Josiah Malachi Kilman, 18.
Police arrested Charles E. Escalara, 21, on a charge of murder, the University said Saturday evening. After the arrest, a lockdown at the university was lifted.
Escalara is a student at Campbellsville University, the school said on X. He was arrested after someone called the Green County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police about 5:15 p.m. to report “a suspicious male inside a barn” on the Green-Taylor county line, the Campbellsville Police Department said in a social media post.
Escalara was to be taken to the Taylor County Detention Center, where he’ll be held on a murder charge, Campbellsville police said.
Kilman was found unresponsive in his dorm room at the university in Campbellsville at approximately 12:43 a.m. Saturday, police said.
He was taken to Taylor Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
A cause of death has not been determined. Kilman’s body was transferred to the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville where an autopsy will be performed, police said.
“Campbellsville University is grieving the loss of one of our family,” university President Joseph Hopkins said in a statement. “We have lost a student and our hearts are broken. During this devastating time, the continued safety of our students and the residents of our community are our primary concern.”
Campbellsville University is a private Christian university located in Campbellsville, the county seat of Taylor County, in proximity to Green River Lake State Park. It has about 12,000 students and offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.
