A Pittsburgh police commander said standard investigative methods led to the arrest early Wednesday in South Carolina of a suspect in the slaying of University of Pittsburgh student Alina Sheykhet and noted that media attention to the case also generated leads.
Cmdr. Vic Joseph said at a briefing Wednesday afternoon that cooperation from the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and members of the community aided investigators as they raced to identify the person who killed Ms. Sheykhet, 20. Her body was found Sunday in her Oakland residence.
Matthew Darby, an ex-boyfriend, was taken into custody in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Authorities at the Myrtle Beach Jail said Wednesday morning that Mr. Darby, 21, of Greensburg was arrested in the city around 12:48 a.m. after police received a report of a man “tampering with a window” at a private residence. Officers on the scene apprehended Mr. Darby and soon learned he was wanted on the homicide charge in Pittsburgh.
On Tuesday, Mr. Darby was charged with homicide and other crimes in the death of Ms. Sheykhet at her Cable Place home.
He was scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Wednesday morning in Myrtle Beach on charges of being a fugitive as well as for loitering and resisting arrest, police said. Authorities planned to transfer him to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center about 15 miles away in Conway, S.C.
Cmdr. Joseph, calling the crime "a tragic senseless act of violence.” said that the district attorney’s office has started the extradition process. He said police don’t know whether Myrtle Beach was Mr. Darby’s specific destination. He wouldn’t comment on how Mr. Darby got there.
Mr. Darby’s bond hearing:
Myrtle Beach police released the following statement Wednesday:
Using 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 a criminal complaint.
Investigators said Mr. Darby was at Duquesne University at 3:19 a.m. Sunday trying to meet a friend at Brottier Hall. The person he was trying to meet was not available, and, after about an hour, he requested a ride from a commercial car service, the complaint said. Cmdr. Joseph said police learned the identity of the ride service driver through surveillance video.
A driver from the car service picked up Mr. Darby from Duquesne University at 4:21 a.m. and drove him to Cable Street in Oakland, according to the complaint.
Mr. Darby got out of the car at the intersection of Semple and Ward streets in Oakland, asked the driver to wait for him for about 10 minutes, and walked off in the direction of Ms. Sheykhet’s residence, the complaint said.
The driver told police Mr. Darby returned after about 10 minutes and asked the driver to wait for another 10 minutes. About five minutes later, Mr. Darby called the driver and, in a whispered voice, asked him to wait another 10 minutes, the complaint said.
The driver told Mr. Darby he could not wait any longer, ended the fare, and drove away.
Police said Mr. Darby was caught on surveillance video walking on Urie Way toward Semple Street with what appeared to be some type of light in his hand. At the intersection of Urie Way and Semple Street, Mr. Darby knelt down and dropped a shiny object into a sewer grate, the complaint said. He walks a little farther on Urie Way and drops another object into a dumpster, according to the complaint.
Investigators said Ms. Sheykhet was attacked with a weapon that could cause sharp and blunt force trauma.
In the sewer, police said they found a claw hammer and two stainless steel knives they believe were used to kill Ms. Sheykhet.
Cmdr. Joseph said in the press conference Wednesday that he couldn’t comment on how Mr. Darby gained entry to the residence or whether Ms. Sheykhet was asleep when she was attacked.
At the time of Ms. Sheykhet's death, Mr. Darby was free on $10,000 bond on two separate criminal cases: charges including rape filed in March in Indiana County, and a trespassing charge filed Sept. 21 in Allegheny County following Ms. Sheykhet's accusation that he broke into her apartment.
Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty said that Mr. Darby was in his county's pretrial services program, meaning he had to report regularly to a probation officer. He was also barred from having any contact with the victim in that case.
The prosecutor did not take issue with the $10,000 bond. "Bond is considered to ensure attendance" at court hearings, he said. "That's the main reason to consider bond. It's not flashy, but defendants are still innocent until proven guilty in this country."
Mr. Dougherty said that his office, and his county's probation department, received a prompt, computer-generated notice following the filing of the trespassing charge, through the Pennsylvania Justice Network, or JNET, system. He said the technology worked as intended, and is adequate to let one Pennsylvania county know of new charges filed against a defendant in another county.
"I know we were aware that he had some pending stuff in Allegheny County, but he had not been through a preliminary hearing yet, and generally speaking that's when our probation officers tend to act," Mr. Dougherty said. "Usually, they wait to see if the charges are held at a preliminary hearing," because that's when probable cause is confirmed by a judge, he said.
Prior to this weekend, Mr. Darby was complying with his conditions of bond, and appearing in court when required to do so, said Mr. Dougherty. "He was actually in our courthouse on Friday," at which time his case was postponed until Nov. 3, said the prosecutor. "His rape charge was progressing through the system at his normal course.
"In this case, until this weekend, we had no reason to treat him any differently than any other defendant," Mr. Dougherty said.
Following the filing of the trespassing case, his office had the option to seek a revocation of bond, and ask a judge for a detainer under which Mr. Darby could have been held in the Allegheny County Jail. "Could that conceivably have happened? Yes," Mr. Dougherty said. "In the normal course of business, I don't think it would've. We can play Monday morning quarterback all day. We have to establish probable cause before we revoke bond."
He said his office did not know about a protection from abuse (PFA) order filed against Mr. Darby by Ms. Sheykhet on Sept. 27, but added that accusation, made in civil court matter, would not likely have prompted a bond revocation. (A court hearing on the temporary protection-from-abuse order that was supposed to take place Oct. 5 was postponed until Oct. 19 because Mr. Darby had not been served with the paperwork. The temporary restraining order was extended.)
He said the subsequent events certainly bothered him.
"It's disturbing knowing that here's an individial that was in court on Friday, and going through the system. We don't have crystal balls in this system. I don't think anybody could have comprehended that this individual would have done what he did on Friday or over the weekend," if the murder accusations are accurate, he said. "It's terribly shocking, it's terribly sad, and sure, you wish that something could have been done differently."
Upon review, though, he does not think any mistakes were made, based on the available facts, he said.
On Tuesday, his office started the process to revoke bond, which will likely continue even though "it's moot" at this point, said Mr. Dougherty.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Ms. Sheykhet’s family with “their unexpected loss” and funeral expenses.
Rich Lord: rlord@post-gazette.com; Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com.
First Published: October 11, 2017, 10:45 a.m.
Updated: October 11, 2017, 6:20 p.m.
