SUNY College Freshman Found Beaten to Death in Dorm, Boyfriend Charged

Alexandra Kogut

Alexandra Kogut, a young freshman at the College of Brockport, was found slain inside the on-campus McLean Hall over the weekend, and abcnews.com is reporting that Clayton Whittemore, 21, has confessed to the crime after police caught up with the young man at a gas station about 110 miles away from the University.

Campus police found the young girl dead in her room with “severe trauma to her upper body,” after her mother reported that her daughter had ceased to respond to any kind of correspondence over the weekend.

Robert Kehoe of the Brockport Campus Police had this to say (13wham.com):

“It’s tragic when anyone loses their life. When a young lady who’s a college student and apparently in a safe environment, is brutally murdered as this young lady was, it’s certainly a tragedy for her family and friends and the entire Brockport college community.”

Clayton Whittemore

According to nydailynews.com, Whittemore initially confessed to killing the young woman, but later pleaded not guilty. Police say a motive “has not yet been released.”

Whittemore attends Utica College, about two and a half hours from Brockport, and police are still sketchy as to the timeline of the crime.

Evidence so far suggests that Kogut was beaten to death sometime between 1:00 and 2:30 am Saturday morning, hours before police apprehended Whittemore at the gas station around 4am.

Kogut’s family has released a statement:

“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.”

Clayton Whittemore is currently being held on second-degree murder charges.