The ex-boyfriend of a University of Pittsburgh student found slain in her off-campus apartment on Sunday has been arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Pittsburgh police confirmed the arrest of 21-year-old Matthew Darby, but did not provided details about the arrest at about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Darby was charged Tuesday evening with criminal homicide in the death of 20-year-old Alina Sheykhet. Police say they found a claw hammer and two knives in a sewer drain near Sheykhet's apartment.
Darby's attorney read a statement from the suspect's parents earlier Tuesday begging him to surrender, but not addressing the merits of the charges.
Sheykhet was found Sunday morning by her father, who broke down her door after she failed to answer calls. He was picking her up to attend a breast cancer awareness walk.
Authorities said she died of head trauma, and the case was ruled a homicide.
Darby was arrested Sept. 26 and charged with felony criminal trespass for allegedly breaking into Sheykhet's apartment.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
In her protection filing, she wrote that Darby climbed up the gutter of her home and broke in through the second-floor window.
"He did this because I left him and stopped answering his phone calls," Sheykhet wrote. She described him as abusive, controlling and jealous.
The protection order was granted.
Darby was charged in March with rape, sexual assault and other charges in Indiana County. He posted $10,000 bail that month, court records show.
David Shrager, Darby's attorney in both cases, told the Tribune-Review it was too soon for him to comment.
Sheykhet's father, Yan Sheykhet, told the Post-Gazette that he had dropped off his daughter at her apartment around 11 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, he, his wife and daughter were to do the cancer walk together. Her housemates thought she still was sleeping when he arrived.
"She didn't answer the phone. She didn't text us," he said. "So we tried to open the door. It was locked. I pushed the door and I found her laying on the floor."
He called her "the best person in the world," and said she excelled at dancing, singing and gymnastics.
Sheykhet was working toward becoming a physical therapist, her brother told WPXI-TV.
Her Facebook page indicates she attended high school in a Pittsburgh suburb after moving from Ivanovo, Russia.
The university issued a statement expressing sadness and extending "its deepest sympathies to the student's family and those who knew her."
Counselors were made available for students who needed them.
