The trial of Matthew Darby begins today in Allegheny County Court. The 21-year-old Greensburg man is charged with the murder of his former girlfriend, 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student Alina Sheykeht at her apartment in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood last October.
Darby is charged with first degree murder, with prosecutors citing aggravating circumstances that warrant the death penalty. Sheykhet was brutally beaten and stabbed, and Darby was arrested three days later in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Darby is also charged with raping another former girlfriend, an IUP student, in April of last year here in Indiana County. His trial was originally scheduled for May 21st, but was continued to October 22nd. Judge William Martin has yet to rule on a defense request for a change of venue, saying he will wait until after the questioning of potential jurors.
In yet another case, Darby is also charged with the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Allegheny County.
