Family of man wanted in death of ex calls for him to come home

The loved ones and the attorney representing a Pennsylvania man wanted by authorities in connection with the murder of a former girlfriend begged his client to reach out or turn himself into authorities.

“We cannot find him. I cannot find him. His parents cannot find him,” Attorney David J. Shrager told reporters during a press conference Tuesday. “Call me, text me, email me. You have not been charged. We can work through this.”

Authorities in Pittsburgh began their search for 21-year-old Matthew Darby after they discovered his ex-girlfriend, Alina Sheykeht 20, dead in her off-campus home Sunday morning. Police spokeswoman Sonya Toler on Monday said the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student died from sharp and blunt force trauma to the head.

Darby was arrested and charged with felony trespassing just days earlier on Sept. 26 for breaking into Sheykhet’s home on Cable Place, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Sheykeht, who was studying physical therapy, had sought to obtain a restraining order against Darby, alleging he “climbed up the gutter on the side of the house and broke though the second-floor window of my home. He did this because I left him and stopped answering his phone calls.”

She was granted a temporary restraining order and a hearing for a protection-from-abuse order was scheduled for Thursday, according to the newspaper.

(Matthew Darby via Pittsburgh Bureau of Police)

Authorities have not said why they’re searching for Darby, only that they hope to speak with him.

“I’ll take him to the police station myself. If he’s apprehended by the police, we never know how these things will go,” said Shrager, who is also representing Darby in an unrelated case of rape and sexual assault filed in Indiana County.

A different ex-girlfriend claimed Darby raped her in February and then attempted to contact to her after being told by police not to do so. He posted $10,000 bond in March, which authorities have since revoked, according to the Gazette

The attorney also read a statement from Darby’s parents, echoing his pleas that he return home.

“Matthew, son, we have always handled things as a family,” it said. “Together we can get through anything. God is still God and we stand with his word. We are pleading with you to contact your attorney.”