The Idaho Murders and other devastating incidents all share a common thread — they took place on or around college campuses

Tragic crimes are always devastating, but when they take place on or near college campuses, they profoundly shake entire communities.

These towns and neighborhoods are often tight-knit, and the loss of young lives leaves a profound emotional impact on not only the school but the nation. This was evident with one of the most high-profile college crime cases of all time, the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students at their off-site residence in 2022.

The Idaho case and many others — including a 2024 dorm room strangling and a 1990 Florida college town serial killer who inspired the Scream franchise — reflect the far-reaching effects of these crimes.

From cold cases cracked decades later to trials still underway, here are 18 fatal crimes that occurred at or near colleges and universities.

01 of 18

Campbellsville University Wrestler Strangled to Death in Dorm Room

On Feb. 24, 2024, 18-year-old freshman Josiah Malachi Kilman was found unresponsive in his dorm room at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Ky. He was pronounced dead shortly after being transferred to Taylor Regional Hospital. Authorities later confirmed Kilman died of asphyxia by manual strangulation, reported NBC.

That same day, an arrest warrant was issued for 21-year-old Charles E. Escalera, a fellow student and member of the college wrestling team. He was found hiding on a Green County farm and taken into custody.

As of May 2024, Escalera faces multiple charges, including murder, third-degree burglary, second-degree burglary and evading police, according to The Courier-Journal. He has pleaded not guilty.

Escalera is scheduled to stand trial on July 27, 2026, per 94.3 The Wolf. If convicted of murder, he could face life in prison or the death penalty under Kentucky law.

02 of 18

20-Year-Old Dartmouth College Student Drowns After Fraternity Brothers Allegedly Provided Alcohol

On July 7, 2024, Won Jang, a 20-year-old student at Dartmouth College, was found dead in the Connecticut River in Hanover, N.H., near campus.

According to police, Jang had attended an off-campus party hosted by the Alpha Pi sorority and was given alcohol by his fraternity brothers at Beta Alpha Omega. Near the end of the night, several students reportedly made an impromptu decision to swim in the river near Dartmouth's student docks. A heavy rainstorm hit the area, prompting most of the group to leave, but Jang, who reportedly could not swim, was left behind and drowned.

Four months later, the Hanover Police Department announced two Beta Alpha Omega members, Matthew Catrambone and Samuel Terry, were each charged with a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to a person under 21 during a party. They were found guilty in June 2025 and each fined $930, per The Dartmouth.

Dartmouth previously confirmed to PEOPLE at the time of the incident that it had suspended both Beta Alpha Omega and Alpha Phi. Beta's suspension will end after the summer of 2026; however, they will be on alcohol suspension for two more terms (fall 2026 and winter 2027) and probation in spring 2027, per The Dartmouth.

The student newspaper reported that Alpha Phi completed its four-term suspension, and its three-term alcohol probation will end after the summer of 2026.

03 of 18

Four University of Idaho Students Fatally Stabbed in Off-Campus Home

On Nov. 13, 2022, four students from the University of Idaho — Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20 — were all stabbed to death inside their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. The killings took place in bedrooms located on the second and third floors. Two other female roommates were home at the time, texting one another during the murders, but were left unharmed.

More than a month later, Bryan Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student, was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the stabbings. In May 2023, a grand jury indicted Kohberger on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Kohberger changed his plea to guilty on July 2, 2025. He confessed to the murders of Chapin, Mogen, Goncalves, and Kernodle in a last-second deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. In addition to the four murder counts, he also pleaded guilty to a burglary charge. According to the lead prosecutor for the case, Kohberger didn't plan to murder all four of his victims, though that was the outcome.

The deal outlined by prosecutors stated that Kohberger will serve four consecutive life sentences for the murder charges and an additional 10 years for the burglary charge. He will be unable to appeal the case, but the deal didn't specify whether or not he might ever be eligible for parole.

04 of 18

Professor Charged with Killing 18-Year-Old Incoming Student

In August 2022, college professor Richard Sigman was charged in connection with the murder of Anna Jones, an 18-year-old incoming University of West Georgia freshman.

According to a statement from the Carrollton Police Department, Sigman got into a verbal altercation with someone at Leopoldo's Pizza and was asked to leave the Carrollton, Ga., restaurant after threatening the other person.

"The investigation then indicates Sigman walked into the parking deck and began shooting into a parked vehicle, striking the victim," the statement alleged.

Per USA Today, Sigman pleaded guilty in October 2023 to malice murder, three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole.

05 of 18

Music Student Shot to Death in New York

In February 2022, 21-year-old Elizabeth Howell was shot to death on a road near the State University of New York at Potsdam campus. According to NBC News, Howell was a music education student and expected to graduate that same year.

Michael J. Snow, of Massena, N.Y., was arrested the day after Howell's unconscious body was found and charged with second-degree murder, and later with first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and first-degree possession of a firearm.

Snow initially pleaded not guilty. However, in June 2023, he confessed to using a ghost gun he found online to kill Howell. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison the following month, per WWNYTV.

District Attorney Gary Pasqua stated that Snow admitted to plotting a scheme to tarnish SUNY Potsdam's reputation, intending to harm a former co-worker, who was employed at the school at the time, by randomly targeting one of its students.

06 of 18

University of Vermont Student Killed in Murder-Suicide

University of Vermont rising senior Kayla Noonan, 22, was found dead inside her friend's apartment in Burlington, Vt., in July 2022.

The gunman, Mikal Dixon, 27, broke a window and entered the apartment with an AR-15 short-barreled rifle, according to a press conference held by officials.

Dixon then shot Noonan, her then-22-year-old friend, who was living at the residence and was left severely injured, and himself, per the press conference. The gunman did not survive, and the unnamed woman was severely injured, per Burlington's NBC5.

In August of that year, police reported Noonan and the gunman knew each other before the shooting and that "an amorous relationship" was involved, classifying it as a domestic violence case, per WCAX.

07 of 18

University of Mississippi Student Disappeared, Suspect Charged with Murder

Jimmie "Jay" Lee, a 20-year-old University of Mississippi student, went missing on July 8, 2022.

Per the Associated Press, two weeks after his disappearance, Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr. — another Ole Miss student who was 22 at the time — was arrested and charged, with prosecutors alleging he murdered Lee to hide a relationship between them. Herrington denied the claims and pleaded not guilty.

According to the Mississippi Free Press, a month after a judge declared Lee legally dead in November 2024, Herrington stood trial, which ended in a deadlock reportedly due to the absence of a body.

Then, in February 2025, Lee's decomposed remains were discovered in a Carroll County, Miss., dumping ground about 90 minutes away from Lee's home, the Clarion-Ledger reported, alongside a gold necklace spelling out "Jaylee."

Herrington was indicted again and scheduled to face a retrial. On Dec. 2, 2025, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Lee. Herrington's attorney, Aafram Sellers, said his client didn't share why he killed Lee, per the Clarion-Ledger.

08 of 18

University of Mississippi Student Killed by On-Again, Off-Again Boyfriend

On July 20, 2019, Ally Kostial was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brandon Theesfeld.

Kostial was 21 years old when Theesfeld, then 22, picked her up from her apartment, drove her to Sardis Lake in Oxford, Miss., and shot her eight times. Both were students at the University of Mississippi. Theesfeld was arrested on July 22, 2019.

Before her death, Kostial, a native of Missouri, told Theesfeld she might be pregnant. Days before the murder, he told her he wasn't interested in becoming a father, ordering her to terminate the possible pregnancy. After her murder, it was revealed she wasn't pregnant.

In August 2021, Theesfeld pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He's serving a life sentence in prison.

09 of 18

Roommate Charged 15 Years After N.D. College Student Was Stabbed to Death

Anita Knutson was an 18-year-old student at Minot State University in North Dakota when she was found stabbed to death in her off-campus apartment on June 3, 2007. For 15 years, the case went unsolved.

In March 2022, Knutson's former roommate, Nichole Rice (née Thomas), was charged with felony intentional murder in connection with her death. The Minot Police Department said in a press conference at the time that their partnership with Cold Justice helped shed new light on the case, according to KFYR-TV. Investigators specifically cited inconsistencies with Rice's alibi and two alleged confessions she made while intoxicated.

After an eight-day trial in March 2025, the jury acquitted Rice, returning a verdict of not guilty, per KX News.

10 of 18

One Killed, Two Injured in Stabbing at Lincoln University

In February 2022, three Lincoln University students were stabbed on campus, one fatally.

Jawine Evans, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene, while two other victims, both 22 at the time, were rushed to a hospital and survived their injuries. The stabbing occurred after a fight broke out in the dormitory between a group of people.

According to 6ABC, then-39-year-old Nydira Smith was arrested and charged in connection with the stabbings. Smith is the sister of one of the students involved in the fight, the outlet reported.

On March 11, 2024, Smith was sentenced to serve three to six years in prison, per NBC10 Philadelphia, months after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, four counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and possession of instruments of a crime. She was given credit for time served.

Lincoln University was in the news again in October 2025, when a shooting broke out during a post-game homecoming event. One person died, and six more were injured; Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson was initially charged with carrying a firearm without a license. He was later charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime.

However, in May 2026, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe announced the arrests of William Sells, Karon Rollins and Makaveli Valera. All three were charged with second and third-degree murder, conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault, robbery, reckless endangerment and other related offenses, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The family of the deceased student, 20-year-old Ju'Juan Jeffers, sued the university in March 2026, alleging the school was negligent.

11 of 18

Wisconsin College Student Stabbed to Death in Broad Daylight

University of Wisconsin-Madison student Brittany Zimmerman was murdered at her apartment in the middle of the day on April 2, 2008.

She called 911, but it took police officers 48 minutes to arrive at her home. By that time, she had succumbed to her injuries. Police said Zimmerman was beaten before being stabbed in the heart at the Madison, Wis., apartment she shared with her fiancé Jordan Gonnering, who was not home at the time.

Zimmerman's case went unsolved until March 2020, when police arrested then-53-year-old David Kahl, a drifter with schizophrenia who had a past conviction for sexual assault, and charged him with first-degree intentional homicide, according to the Marshfield News Herald. Long a suspect in the murder, advances in DNA science enabled police to link Kahl to the crime.

Kahl pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 27, 2022, to first degree murder. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole, per Spectrum News 1.

12 of 18

The Murders of Eric Plunkett and Benjamin Varner

In September 2000, Eric Plunkett was bludgeoned to death in his dorm room. Months later, in February 2001, Benjamin Varner was fatally stabbed.

They were both 19 at the time of their deaths and murdered in the same dormitory at Gallaudet University, a school for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Former student Joseph M. Mesa Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders in July 2002, according to the Los Angeles Times.

13 of 18

Clark Atlanta University Student Allegedly Murdered by Roommate

Alexis Crawford, a 21-year-old Clark Atlanta University student, went missing in early November 2019. Shortly after, her body was found in a park in Decatur, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta.

Jordyn Jones, Crawford's roommate — who led authorities to Crawford's body — and her roommate's then-boyfriend, Barron Brantley, were arrested in connection with her death. In January 2020, they were charged with two counts of felony murder as well as one count each of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and concealing the death of another, per WSB-TV. The case has been tied up in legal proceedings ever since.

In April 2025, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed a Fulton County judge's decision to exclude recorded jailhouse phone calls made by Brantley as key evidence in his trial, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Prosecutors argue that the audiotapes contain incriminating statements regarding Crawford's death.

Per 11Alive, the state filed a notice of appeal in the Georgia Supreme Court in late August 2025. As of March 2026, no oral arguments had been scheduled, and it could be months before the case proceeded to trial again.

14 of 18

Man Charged 9 Years After North Carolina College Student Was Killed

Faith Hedgepeth, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student, was only 19 years old when she was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment on Sept. 7, 2012.

Although male DNA was found at the scene, her suspected killer wasn't captured for nearly a decade. In September 2021, Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, then 28, was arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder, the Chapel Hill Police Department announced during a press conference.

According to ABC11, the suspect was arrested and charged in September 2021 with murder after authorities used DNA ancestry technology, along with the DNA evidence that was found in Hedgepeth's rape kit, a wine bottle and a take-out bag that was found near her body with the message "I'M NOT STUPID, b—-, JEALOUS" written on it.

In November 2024, Salguero-Olivares was given additional charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense, per WRAL.

One year later, in November 2025, a judge set Salguero-Olivares' trial date for Sept. 28, 2026, ABC11 reported.

15 of 18

Portland Student Killed, Former Football Player Arrested and Charged

Amara Marluke, 19, was attending Portland State University and was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Keenan Harpole, then 20, before her slaying in April 2022.

Marluke was shot to death near the university's campus. Shortly after, police tracked Harpole down 180 miles away, and he agreed to turn himself in, despite later pleading not guilty.

In April 2024, Harpole took a plea agreement and was sentenced to 23 years in prison on one count of first-degree manslaughter and one count of unlawful use of a weapon, per the Multnomah County District Attorney.

16 of 18

Barnard Student Murdered During Botched Robbery

In 2019, Tessa Majors was brutally murdered in New York City's Morningside Park during a botched robbery.

The 18-year-old Barnard College student was stabbed multiple times while attempting to fight off her attackers, who were three middle school boys. Two of the three boys were charged as adults.

In September 2021, then-16-year-old Luchiano Lewis pleaded guilty to murder and robbery and was sentenced to nine years to life in prison. A few months later, in January 2022, then-16-year-old Rashaun Weaver also pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Majors and was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison. Both Lewis and Weaver were 14 at the time of the attack.

The third boy, who was 13 at the time of the murder, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile facility in June 2020.

After the botched robbery, Majors managed to make it up a staircase in the park before collapsing. She was eventually rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

17 of 18

19-Year-Old Murdered at California Polytechnic State University

Although the body of Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has never been found, two men were charged in connection with her 1996 disappearance and presumed murder.

In April 2021, Paul Flores was charged with first-degree murder, while his father, Ruben Flores, was charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder.

Prosecutors believed Paul murdered Smart after walking her home from an off-campus college party on Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Then, after her murder, they believe Ruben helped hide her body and was charged with being an accessory.

They both went on trial with two separate juries, pleading not guilty. In October 2022, Paul was found guilty of first-degree murder, while Ruben was acquitted, per the Daily Mail.

After being sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, Paul filed an appeal to his conviction in November 2024, alleging his constitutional rights were violated during his trial, per the Santa Maria Times.

In May 2026, investigators collected evidence at the home of Paul's mother, Susan Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. Per KTLA, multiple items were discovered at the property and are undergoing forensic analysis. Investigators said no human remains were found.

18 of 18

Gainesville, Fla., Serial Killer Who Inspired 'Scream'

The college town of Gainesville, Fla., home of the University of Florida, was terrorized in August 1990 when five students were murdered by a serial killer.

In July 2025, Jeremy Helligar, a student at the university at the time, shared the story of that horrific summer with PEOPLE, noting the incident left him "too terrified to sleep."

"He murdered five students — four female, one male — breaking into their apartments at night, raping the women and stabbing all five to death," Helligar wrote. "He posed their bodies after killing them, and in a horrific, gruesome twist, he decapitated one of his victims and placed her head on a mantle near her corpse."

The four female victims were all brunettes: Christa Hoyt, 18, Tracy Paules, 23, and roommates Sonja Larson, 18, and Christina Powell, 17. The fifth victim was 23-year-old Manny Taboada, Paules' roommate, who was sleeping in his own bed and was seemingly in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The killer would become known as the Gainesville Ripper, and his horrific crimes were what inspired Kevin Williamson to write the 1996 slasher film Scream.

Two suspects were arrested and released before police arrested Danny Rolling, a native of Shreveport, La., and the son of a police officer, in 1991. Rolling later confessed to a triple homicide of a father, daughter and grandson in his hometown and shooting his father before wreaking havoc in Gainesville. The victims in Louisiana and Florida were all stabbed, with some mutilated and several appeared posed suggestively.

Rolling went to trial in 1994 and was convicted and sentenced to death for the five murders, per The Gainesville Sun. He was executed by lethal injection in October 2006.

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