Matthew Darby

PITTSBURGH — Prosecutors in Allegheny County are seeking the death penalty against a former Cranberry Township man in the homicide of a University of Pittsburgh student in her off-campus apartment last year.

Matthew Darby, 21, formerly of Cranberry but most recently from Greensburg, was formally arraigned Friday in Allegheny County Court on charges of homicide, felony burglary, flight to avoid apprehension, misdemeanor theft, trespassing and possession of an instrument of crime.

Authorities allege that Darby broke into the Oakland apartment of 20-year-old Alina Sheykhet, his ex-girlfriend, before beating her and then using a claw hammer and two knives to kill her on Oct. 8.

He then allegedly fled, before being captured in Myrtle Beach, S.C., after a witness reported him tampering with a window at a residence three days after the Pittsburgh slaying.

On Thursday, an affidavit of aggravating circumstances was filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, the first step required by state law in seeking the punishment.

The aggravating circumstances cited by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office states that the murder occurred to prevent Sheykhet from testifying about the break-in and the murder occurred while other felonies were being committed, with Darby breaking into Sheykhet’s apartment and stealing her cell phone; Darby’s previous criminal history, which includes allegations that he raped two people in Indiana County in February 2017; and he violated a protection from abuse order that police said Sheykhet had filed against him.

For more about this story, read Sunday’s Eagle.