Judge Denies Bail For Suspect In Pitt Student's Murder
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A judge has denied bail for a man accused of killing a Pitt student.
The Honorable Jeffrey Manning ruled on Monday that Matthew Darby is not entitled to bond under the law because of the severity of the homicide charge against him, the penalty's associated with it, and also to ensure the safety of the public.
The judge's ruling means Darby will stay behind bars until his cases are resolved. He has three cases in Allegheny County and one in Indiana County.
In Allegheny County, the allegations are that Darby first trespassed into Alina Sheykhet's home in September and that is what prompted her to get a PFA, Protection from Abuse Order, against him. Next, police said Darby raped an underage girl from Elizabeth. After that is when police said Darby murdered Sheykhet.
"Under the laws of Pennsylvania and the Constitution, technically he is not entitled to bond. It's my job as an attorney to do the best I can in every situation. It is my position that he would be entitled to bond on the other two cases, but that would be academic, as he is not entitled to bond on the homicide case," said Darby's attorney, David Shrager.
Shrager spoke for Darby when Darby appeared before Judge Manning by video conference from the Allegheny County Jail.
This was Darby's first appearance since being brought back from South Carolina. Police said he fled to Myrtle Beach after they said he killed Sheykhet. She was Darby's ex-girlfriend and a Pitt student.
"He's very despondent, as you would expect. He is doing the best he can to cope," said Shrager.
The Sheykhet family is doing coping of their own, coming to terms with the loss of their daughter.
"The family is devastated. As I said before, this was the love and light of their life. They have two children. By all accounts, a talented, gifted, beautiful, wonderful, vivacious, vibrant woman," said Bob DelGreco, who represents the Sheykhet family.
Sadly, it was Sheykhet's parents who found her brutally murdered in her bedroom on Oct. 8, 2017.
"They just haven't been able to come to grips with the fact that they found their daughter," said DelGreco.
It was during the time police were looking to arrest Darby for Sheykhet's death that an underage girl from Elizabeth came forward to Allegheny County Police and said Darby had raped her on Oct. 3, 2017.
This is separate from the rape charge that was filed in Indiana County for the rape of a different woman that allegedly occurred in March of 2017.
"This is a very serious case, as you are aware, the most serious type of case that we work on here at the Courthouse. So I'm going to be working on it for quite some time," said Shrager.
