Pitt student found dead in Oakland homicide, police looking for ex-boyfriend

A homicide investigation is underway after a Pitt student was found dead in her Oakland apartment Sunday morning.

Alina Sheykhet, a Pitt junior, was found dead in a Cable Place apartment in an apparent homicide. Pittsburgh police are looking for 21-year-old Matthew Darby — Sheykhet’s ex-boyfriend. Sheykhet filed a restraining order against Darby in September after he was charged with breaking into her apartment.

“Detectives are asking for the public’s assistance with locating Mr. Darby. Please call the Violent Crime Unit at 412-323-7800,” a Pittsburgh police statement said.

It is unclear as of Monday night what they want to ask him about and police say there are no current suspects, motives or charges in this case.

“We do not believe at this time that this was a random act of violence,” Pittsburgh Police Chief  Scott Schubert said in a statement. “There is no continued threat to Oakland residents and the University communities.”

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office called the death a homicide Monday and said the cause of death was “sharp/blunt trauma of the head.”

Police and paramedics were first dispatched to the scene Sunday at 8:56 a.m. They arrived at a residence on the 3500 block of Cable Place and discovered a female victim on the second floor of the residence. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene, according to a release.

According to Joe Miksch, a Pitt spokesperson, Darby was a student at Pitt’s Greensburg campus but withdrew from the university earlier this month. Darby was arrested Sept. 26 for breaking into Sheykhet’s Cable Place residence, according to the Police statement.

Skeykhet filed a protection-from-abuse order against Darby as a result of the break-in. She wrote in the the order request that Darby climbed up the gutter on the side of her house and broke through the second floor window because she stopped returning his calls after they broke up. She described past incidents of “grabbing, pushing” and “emotional abuse.”

The temporary restraining order was issued Sept. 21 with a final hearing set for Oct. 5, but it’s unclear from Allegheny County records if the hearing took place. Darby was arrested Sept. 26 and posted the $10,000 bail — but that bail was revoked at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, the day Sheykhet was found dead.

Darby is also awaiting trial for charges of rape and sexual assault from March in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He posted the $10,000 bail Mar. 23 in the active case. Darby’s attorney for this case, David Schrager, told The Pitt News he is currently investigating and is not ready to comment.

The Sheykhet family also declined to comment after The Pitt News reached out to them Monday evening.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Yan Sheykhet, Alina’s father, discovered her body when he and his wife were picking her up to go on a breast cancer awareness walk in Allison Park.

“She didn’t answer the phone. She didn’t text us,” Mr. Sheykhet told the Post-Gazette Monday. “So we tried to open the door. It was locked. I pushed the door and I found her laying on the floor.”

The University expressed condolences to Sheykhet’s family and said they are focused on cooperating with police and supporting the Pitt community.

“The University of Pittsburgh community is heartbroken over the loss of Alina Sheykhet, and we send our deepest sympathies to her family and all who knew her,” Miksch said. “The University Counseling Center will be open for walk-in appointments beginning Monday and can be reached around the clock at 412-648-7930.”

Hunter Smith, a Slippery Rock junior political science major, first met Sheykhet when they took a musical theater class together when they were about 13 years old. They became closer friends when they both attended Montour High School and Smith said that friendship continued through college.

“She was always the person that someone wanted to be around. She was always the one who was happy and laughing and smiling,” Smith said. “People just gravitated toward her. And she was friends with everyone. I don’t think I could name anyone that was like ‘oh I don’t like her.’”

Johnny Abel, a junior sports management major at WVU, was friends with Sheykhet all four years of high school. He said her enthusiasm and how she always lightened everybody’s mood are two things that will definitely be missed. Abel said he was shocked to hear of Sheykhet’s passing.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was devastated,” Abel said. “It just doesn’t seem real to me.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.