The father of a freshman athlete strangled to death last month in his dorm room at a Kentucky Christian university asked his son's classmates to choose forgiveness because "it's the center of what Jesus is."
Josiah Kilman, 18, was found dead in his dorm at Campbellsville University just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 24. He died of manual strangulation, according to a preliminary autopsy report from the state's medical examiner.
Charles "Zeke" Escalera, 21, a sophomore engineering student who was also a member of the school's wrestling team, faces a murder charge in his killing.
The victim's father, Joe Kilman, asked students assembled at the school's chapel last Wednesday to yell out the emotions they were feeling in the wake of the loss of the "amazing young man."
Among students' responses yelled from the crowd were "anger," "sadness," "mad," "confusion," "frustration," "guilty," "broken," "emptiness" and "unforgiveness."
The elder Kilman told the students that he had "felt every single one of those emotions simultaneously since the moment [he] got the phone call."
"Emotions are one thing," Kilman said during the service, which was recorded and posted to the school's YouTube account. "We have choices in life. Forgiveness is something I didn't hear because it's not an emotion – it's a choice."
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"I challenge you to choose forgiveness, because in that forgiveness, we become the light of Jesus," the father continued. "If Josiah was standing here right now, if he had the opportunity to come speak to you, he would talk to you about forgiveness."
"Unforgiveness, that's a curse. It comes with things you don't want, things you don't need. Josiah would've sat here and challenged you. For the life of Josiah, I challenge you," the teen's father said.
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Travis McIntosh, the school's athletics admissions counselor, spoke to the gathered students about the younger Kilman's character and impact on campus.
"When I first met him, the second day of school, I was instantly intrigued," McIntosh said. "Even in the brightest room, he was the brightest light. The young man showed me nothing else in this world matters but spreading the gospel and leading people to Jesus Christ. He touched a lot of people in this room and in this place."
Kilman was a biblical studies major at the university. His cousin, Sarah Cook, previously told Fox News Digital that he had "dreams of leading others to follow the Lord through the Christian principles."
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Tyler Gilfry, 19, Kilman's childhood best friend from his hometown in Columbia Falls, Montana, characterized the slain student as thoughtful, humble, gracious and kind. He grappled with what could possibly have pushed the suspect to the "unthinkable" act.
"He wasn't the dude to start fights, but he was a dude that everybody liked – I can see someone getting jealous over him just being himself," Gilfry told Fox News Digital about Kilman. "Someone who was struggling with themselves seeing someone so outstanding and outgoing, just a great human being. That's all I can think of. I can't see anyone who would want to do that to Josiah."
Escalera is currently being held at Taylor County Detention Center on $2 million bail, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital. Campbellsville Police have not yet announced a motive in his suspected killing of Kilman.
Kilman's death is one of four homicides on college campuses nationwide in a 10-day span. Student Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, were murdered in a dorm room at the University of Colorado at Colorado Spring campus on Feb. 16. Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley, 22, was killed on Feb. 22 while jogging on a trail on the University of Georgia's campus in Athens.
Kilman's parents, Jessica and Joe, have raised over $65,000 on GoFundMe to transport the undergrad's body home and cover his funeral expenses. Members of the teen's wrestling team will fly to Montana to join Kilman's family for a funeral service this week.
