Thousands gather to remember student

BROCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) - "Should have known,” that was the chilling final tweet sent by murdered college student, Alexandra Kogut.

Monday night, shock and grief united the SUNY Brockport community as they remembered the college freshman found beaten to death in her dorm.

Tweets between Alexandra Kogut and Clayton Whittemore seemed very normal leading up to his visit, with Alexandra stating she was excited for the visit from her boyfriend. But he final tweet contained just two words, “should’ve known.”

Just days after the murder of Alexandra Kogut, that police officials say was a case of domestic violence, thousands of Brockport students came together at a vigil for the 18-year-old freshman.

SUNY Brockport Junior Amelia Zaengle said, “It’s sad, our teachers talked about it in some of my classes, and we had a silence.”

Two thousand people inside and over a thousand outside gathered Monday night on the SUNY Brockport campus to remember Alexandra Kogut.

SUNY Brockport President John Halstead said, “This was just an extraordinary young woman, passionate about swimming, about her Communications major, her kindness, her warm, caring nature.”

Police say 21-year-old boyfriend Clayton Whittemore admitted to killer her after he was picked up by state troopers early Saturday morning near Syracuse.

Alexandra was found by campus police after her mother phoned them worried about her welfare.

Despite his admission to state troopers, Whittemore pleaded not guilty to a murder charge Saturday. Alexandra’s funeral will take place in her hometown of New Hartford on Thursday.