Police Recover Claw Hammer, 2 Knives From Sewer In Pitt Student's Murder
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There are new developments in the murder of a Pitt student who was found dead over the weekend.
Her ex-boyfriend has now been charged with murder, and police think they've discovered what may be the murder weapons.
Matthew Darby has not turned himself in, and so far, police have not found him.
But on Tuesday evening, detectives scoured the streets around the home where Alina Sheykhet was found murdered. They searched in trash cans, bushes, fire escapes and storm drains.
"There's just cops absolutely everywhere," said Peyton Miller, who lives on the street and knew both the victim and now her alleged murderer.
He described Darby this way: "He seemed like a nice kid. We didn't have any problems with him, which is really mind boggling now."
Christine D'Antonio's Report:
Later in the evening, police used a scope with a camera to search down a sewer drain for more evidence.
Court papers show that police have pieced together where they think Darby was in the hours before Sheykhet was found dead.
Police say he was spotted on the Duquesne University campus before using a car service to head to the street in Oakland where Sheykhet lived.
They've determined that he called her five times that night, but all appear to have gone unanswered.
According to the criminal complaint, he asked the driver several times to stay for 10 minutes longer, until the driver said he had to leave.
"We were able to show them footage of the perpetrator getting out of an Uber vehicle," said Kevin McCrea from Larry & Carol's Pizzeria, whose surveillance video apparently also showed something else.
According to court papers, surveillance video shows a man matching Darby's description walk down an alley and place a shiny object in the storm drain and then walk over and put another object in a dumpster.
An autopsy showed Sheykhet died from injuries to her head delivered with both a sharp and blunt object.
Police say they've found a claw hammer and two stainless steel knives down the sewer drain, which they believe could be the murder weapons.
One more note revelation from the complaint: Sheykhet's cell phone is missing after the murder.
Police traced it to Westmoreland County, in the Irwin area near the Turnpike.
And it turns out, they have witnesses who say Darby was in that area a few hours after the victim was found dead.
Shekyhet had taken out a PFA against Darby.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Sheykhet's family. More than $5,000 has already been raised. If you would like to help, visit this link.
