Rochester, N.Y. – Alexandra Kogut, 18, had a big family.
Growing up just outside Utica, she lived by many of them.
Her uncle, Dr. Peter Kogut, though, worked in Rochester, which was a plus when Kogut decided to go to school at The College At Brockport.
“I was going to be the closest relative … it was a little security for her mom and dad … how ironic it is for me right now … that didn’t matter,” Kogut said.
Alexandra Kogut’s body was found in her dorm room on Saturday morning.
Police say her boyfriend Clayton Whittemore, 21, beat her to death.
“There aren’t words that can explain how one feels … it’s senseless … the brutality of it, the lack of understanding, it’s just crazy, it seemed to have come out of nowhere,” Kogut said.
He said his niece was poised for success.
She was swimming for Brockport, majoring in Communications and making friends left and right.
“She was a wonderful luminous person and her life was cut short tragically,” Kogut said.
Without speculating on what happened between his niece and Whittemore, Kogut says this incident should encourage women in an abusive relationship to seek help.
