Police in Campbellsville, Kentucky, arrested a 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of a Campbellsville University student on Saturday, authorities said.
The student, Josiah Malachi Kilman, 18, was found unresponsive in his dorm room around 12:43 a.m. and taken to Taylor Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. said in a statement.
Police identified the man they arrested as 21-year-old Charles E. Escalera. Officials said they had obtained an arrest warrant for him, charging him with murder.
The university, which confirmed The arrest of Mr. Escalera on Saturday night, saying He was a student.
Campbellsville police said in a statement that Escalera was taken into custody after the Green County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police “received a call of a suspicious male inside a barn.” The State Police responded to the call and arrested Mr. Escalera.
Details of what led to Mr. Kilman’s death were not available.
John D. Bertram, the Taylor County prosecutor, said in an interview Saturday night that he believed Mr. Escalera and Mr. Kilman knew each other, but “I am not aware of any history between them.”
Video surveillance helped authorities identify Mr. Escalera as a person of interest, he said.
Bertram called the case “far beyond unusual” and said he was not aware of “anything of this nature occurring on campus, and it is a relatively small campus.”
Joseph Hopkins, president of Campbellsville University, said in a statement that the university was “mourning the loss of a member of our family.”
“We have lost a student and we are heartbroken,” he said. “During this devastating time, our primary concern is the continued safety of our students and the residents of our community. “In consultation with local authorities, we will continue to implement all necessary measures to protect and support students and our community.”
Campbellsville University is a Christian university with a main campus of over 100 acres, 85 miles southeast of Louisville, Kentucky. It has a registration of approximately 12,000 students.
Mr. Kilman’s death was the third case of fatal violence involving college students since February 16.
A University of Colorado student was arrested Monday on charges of murder in connection with the shooting deaths of two people, one of them his roommate. And on Friday, Georgia authorities arrested a 26-year-old man in the murder of an Augusta University student whose body was found in a wooded area of the University of Georgia in Athens.
Rebeca Carballo contributed with reports.
