UK's Kentucky Kernel remembers student, colleague killed four years ago

Wednesday marks four years since the death of University of Kentucky student Jonathan Krueger.

He worked for UK’s student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel, and on Wednesday the paper made sure he isn't forgotten.

“Just his love of life and his smile. He was always on the move and happy. Never saw him in a bad mood,” says May May Barton, assistant media advisor at the paper.

That disposition makes what happened to Jonathan Krueger four years ago even harder to think about. Krueger was shot and killed during a robbery on Maxwell Street in 2015.

“It’s a hard day for me especially. And others that knew Jonathan. Just to be on this campus, you know it’s a close knit community, the Kernel is. It’s a hard day for a lot of people.

Krueger was a photo editor at The Kentucky Kernel. His name lives on in the scholarship awarded each year to a student who shared his love of photography.

The paper has continued to cover his case, which is still working its way through courts.

A story in the Kernel Wednesday talks about the memories of the student they say absolutely loved life.

“It had been four years and I was one of the last two people at the Kernel that knew him. The other being the photo advisor and I just felt like we needed to keep his spirit alive. It was good timing for me to put my thoughts into words.”

The four men charged in Krueger’s murder are set to go to trial in November.