Suspect in UCLA kidnapping and rape case found dead before court appearance
Alexander Schecter, charged with kidnapping and multiple rape offenses, was discovered unresponsive on San Vicente Boulevard and pronounced dead, with authorities treating the death as a possible suicide.
Police and paramedics responded to a call on Monday around 6 p.m. after a relative reported that Alexander Schecter, 26, was not breathing in the 800 block of San Vicente Boulevard. He was found unresponsive, pronounced dead at the scene, and his death is being investigated as a suspected suicide pending a medical examiner’s determination. Schecter was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 6 at Airport Courthouse on a slate of serious felony counts, including kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential robbery, forcible rape and two counts of forcible oral copulation.
Prosecutors said the alleged offenses involved extreme violence, threats of severe bodily harm and cruelty. The charges relate to a March 6, 2026 incident in which Schecter allegedly prevented a female UCLA student from leaving his car, threatened her, and later was arrested on March 12, 2026. Detectives also linked him to an unsolved sexual assault from late 2025 in Culver City.
Why it matters
The death of a high-profile sexual-assault suspect raises questions about jail safety and the handling of serious criminal cases.
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