{"id":51579,"date":"2017-10-14T03:11:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T03:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=51579"},"modified":"2017-10-14T03:11:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T03:11:26","slug":"slain-students-ex-jail-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=51579","title":{"rendered":"Slain student\u2019s ex should have been in jail: advocate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The brutal murder of a University of Pittsburgh student \u201ccould have been prevented\u201d with better communication between counties and changes to the state\u2019s bail system, according to a victim advocate in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Storm, the state\u2019s official victim advocate since 2013, outlined several steps to make it less likely that suspects awaiting trial would commit new crimes.<\/p>\n

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Her suggestions were made in connection to allegations against Matthew Darby, 21, who was arrested in South Carolina early Wednesday after his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, Alina Sheykhet, was found dead in her off-campus apartment on Sunday by her father after she didn\u2019t answer her phone. Paramedics at the scene said she died from blunt force trauma, police said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that this a horrific tragedy that could have been prevented,\u201d Storm told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. \u201cIf that knowledge doesn\u2019t catapult people to be willing to make systematic changes in their counties, I don\u2019t know what will.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, Darby was charged with raping an ex-girlfriend in Indiana County. Several months later, he was charged with felony criminal trespass for allegedly breaking into Sheykhet\u2019s apartment on Sept. 26. In both cases, he was released on $10,000 bond, and according to the newspaper, there\u2019s no indication that officials in either county noticed the similar charges or communicated with each other.<\/p>\n

Officials in Indiana County have indicated that an electronic notification system alerted them to the new trespassing charge, but details have not been provided. Officials ultimately decided not to consider pretrial detention until after a preliminary hearing in the new case, which has not yet happened, the Post-Gazette reports.<\/p>\n

Storm\u2019s recommendations include better \u201cinformation sharing,\u201d risk assessment software to suggest bail conditions, policies on responses when new charges are filed against released suspects, and giving police the ability to immediately arrest anyone suspected of violating bail conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about you, but [a trespassing charge is] going to prompt me to investigate further,\u201d Storm told the newspaper. \u201cIf they\u2019d inquired, they would have found that he was at the bedroom door of a young female. That should send anyone\u2019s skin crawling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheykhet, who police suspect was murdered by Darby using a claw hammer and two knives, had recently filed for and received a protection-from-abuse order against Darby, telling authorities that he climbed up a gutter to break into her apartment via a second-floor window.<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n