On the morning of October 8, the University of Pittsburgh community was shocked by the death of a student found murdered in her house in Oakland.

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Police responded to the home of Alina Sheykhet, 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student before 9 a.m. on October 8, after receiving a distraught call from her parents. Alina’s parents stopped to pick her up for a family outing, but when she didn’t respond, her father kicked in the door. When police arrived, they found Alina in her room where the paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene with the cause of death reported as blunt force trauma. The Pittsburgh police chief, Scott Schubert, quickly released a statement saying that the homicide was not believed to be a coincidence.

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A suspect by the name of Matthew Darby was quickly pursued. The 21-year-old was Sheykhet’s ex -boyfriend who had already been issued a restraining order back in September after he broke into her home.

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Police believe they have a strong case between, “video surveillance footage, cell phone records and interviews. Pittsburgh police were able to document Mr. Darby’s movements the night of Ms. Sheykhet’s death,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Darby was picked up by a car service at 4:21 a.m. near Duquesne University and Darby requested the driver take him to a Cable Place close to the vicinity of the homicide. Police commented that, “Darby asked the driver to wait for 10 minutes before walking in the direction of Sheykhet’s home… Darby returned 10 minutes later, asked the driver to wait another 10 minutes then walked back toward Sheykhet's home…Five minutes later, he called the driver and, in a whispered voice, asked him to wait another 10 minutes. The driver said he could not, and left.”

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Police reviewed surveillance videos from around the area of the crime and found video of a man who resembled Darby stopping to drop shiny objects down a sewer grate and in a farther dumpster. There, police found a hammer and two knives from the sewer grate, which match the description of tools used to kill Sheykhet, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office.

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Sheykhet’s cell phone was missing from the crime scene, however, records show that five phone calls were made between Darby’s and Sheykhet’s phone between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. The last pinged service tower to ping Sheyket’s cell phone occurred at 9:40 a.m. near interstate 76 and route 30, an hour after police found Sheykhet’s body.

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With this information, police went to search for Darby, who had fled the state. On Wednesday, October 11, at 12:48 a.m., Darby was arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina after Eva Barber, a 78-year-old, called police because she spotted Darby trying to break into her home through the window. Once in custody police saw the issued warrant for Darby from Pennsylvania. At 9 a.m. that morning, Darby had a bond trial in which Myrtle beach court brought forward two charges and was denied bond.  After the hearing, Darby was escorted to the county jail. Darby will be brought back to Pennsylvania before the end of the month. Darby is officially charged with homicide, burglary, flight to avoid apprehension, theft and possessing an instrument of crime in connection to a crime.

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The death of Sheykhet has left her friends and family devastated. She was described as a bright student. She was a graduate from Montour High School and a current junior at University of Pittsburgh studying physical therapy. Her family called her, “a beautiful and smart girl with a bright future.”  Her violent death was discovered on the same day as her brother’s birthday. Sheykhet’s murder has become known nationally. The Tab secured a story on their site in which they relay several intimate details given by Sheykhet’s roommate and friend Zach Brander.

 

Sheykhet’s death has struck close to home for a few students here at Behrend. Some students knew Sheykhet and Darby from their pasts. Tresslyn Froehlich, a sophomore studying journalism, went to highschool with Sheykhet, where the two sat together in chorus and got to know each other well. Froehlich reported that since high school they hadn’t talked much since graduating, but that she had seen and talked with Sheykhet only a month ago. While at a friend’s house the two discussed their current classes and Sheykhet had expressed excitement for hers. Froehlich claims Sheykhet’s obsession with Darby had been obvious, but she and other friends got bad vibes from him. Froehlich said that Sheykhet’s attitudes changed along with her wardrobe.

 

“Lately she had been wearing long-sleeved clothes,” said Froehlich, claiming previously that Sheykhet used to wear clothes exposing more skin, a possible sign of hiding abuse from her ex-boyfriend. After many on and off stints with Darby, Froehlich claims that Alina, “knew she needed to get out of [the relationship] but waited too long to get out.” Froehlich also told the said that it was Alina’s dad’s idea to get the restraint warrant against Darby after the break-in back in September. Froehlich was shocked when she found out about Alina’s deaths, as she recalls, “freaking out and throwing [her] phone.”

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Froehlich was not the only student at Behrend to be personally shocked by the homicide. Colton Smith, a senior, majoring in IBE and Project and Supply Chain Management, went to highschool with Darby. Smith recalled that he, “along with a lot of other people weren’t the biggest fans of Darby,” also claiming, “he had a big ego, and wasn’t afraid to express it.”

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Smith brought up that Darby had also been violent in high school.  

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“He did get in a fight with one of my friends in high school, and one of Darby’s friends brought a knife,” Smith said.  As most people closest to this violent crime, Smith also never believed anything like this was possible saying, “I never, however, would have predicted he had the capability of doing this.”

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Sheykhet’s family held a funeral service on October 11, 2017 at noon. However, students and community members continue to leave flowers and candles in memoriam out front Sheykhet’s former home.