Mysterious tweet by murdered college student

Alexandra Kogut, another victim of crime on college campuses

On September 8, campus police responded to concern from Kogut’s mother and went to her residence hall to locate her. They found Kogut dead from severe upper-body trauma and immediately alerted authorities.

Kogut’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Clayton Whittemore from Utica College, was immediately arrested and charged with the crime. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is currently awaiting trial.

As it turns out, Whittemore was planning to visit Kogut on the day she was killed and even exchanged some Tweets with her earlier in the week. Most of them talked about how excited they both were for the weekend, but Kogut’s final Tweet proved much more ominous.

She wrote “should have known” around 12:15 a.m. And the next morning, she was dead.

Kogut’s family released the following statement after a tremendous outpouring of love and support: ”Alexandra Kogut was a bright, beautiful young woman who was thrilled to be beginning her college education. Her lovely and sweet demeanor was truly infectious and she will forever be missed.”

Losing someone so young and with so much promise is truly heartbreaking, but let this serve as a cautionary tale to all college students. Even people who seem trustworthy, including significant others, might not be the people they present themselves to be. Protecting oneself should always be a priority and trust should be earned.

It may be too late to save Alexandra Kogut, but hopefully others can prevent similar tragedies from happening on our college campuses. And I look forward to the day when all college students can feel safe and secure.