Charles Escalera: Man charged with the murder of a Kentucky student told police he'd 'killed a man'

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CAMPBELLSVILLE, KENTUCKY: A wrestling teammate charged with the murder of Kentucky theology student Josiah Kilman was arrested wearing bloodied clothing and confessed to the interrogators that he'd "killed a man," a detective said in court hearing on Wednesday, March 6, New York Post reports.

Charles "Zeke" Escalera, 21, had a preliminary hearing at the Taylor County Courthouse on a murder charge for the February 24 death of 18-year-old Kilman. Campbellsville Detective Jeremy Burton told Judge Mike Hall that the Campbellsville University freshman was found dead in his room at the school's South East dorm where he lived with three roommates. 

What was Josiah Kilman's cause of death?

The Campbellsville Police Department announced last month that the Kentucky State Medical Examiner's Office determined Kilman's cause of death to be asphyxia by manual strangulation. The department has yet to release a suspected motive in the shocking killing. 

The detective knew the victim Josiah Kilman

Burton said he knew Kilman, but was "kind of a secluded person" who generally "didn't really hang out with the wrestling team [or]… in any dorm rooms." Burton added that Kilman and Escalera did not have an "acrimonious relationship."

Where was Charles Escalera arrested?

He was apprehended by state police on a farmer's property between Green and Taylor counties about 12 hours after Kilman's body was recovered in the early hours of the morning. Burton said that when he was arrested there was blood on the white sleeves of his shirt that was sent for forensic testing. The shirt was the same one that he was captured wearing on the dorm building's CCTV. 

The authorities were informed about the defendant's presence on the farmer's property after the landowner called to report him trespassing, when the farmer spotted him, Burton said in court, Escapers went "running across [a] field." 

According to state police, the 21-year-old also faces burglary charges for breaking into a barn on the farmer's property. 

Charles Escalera acknowledged that he was a fugitive

Escalera acknowledged that he was a fugitive "because he'd killed a man" in his interview with Campbellsville detectives at around 6 pm on February 24, Burton said. Before requesting an attorney, the detective said Escalera "described how he provided the strangulation that caused Mr. Kilman to become deceased."

Escalera was "slow to respond" in his half-hour interview, Burton said. His attorney, Travis Bewley, asked the detective if the engineering student's response time seemed "odd," or whether he was "just taking time to think about his answers." 

Bewley said that on February 20, Escalera had been hospitalized after displaying "strange behavior" in the school's cafeteria. Campbellsville Police were called and Escalera was transported to a hospital for evaluation. 

Bewley asked the detective whether, to his knowledge, Escalera was released "against medical advice" to which Burton said he did not know. Escalera's next court case in Circuit Court will be scheduled if and when a grand jury decides to indict him on murder charges.