Santa Monica man charged with kidnapping and rape dies by suicide before court appearance

Alexander Schecter, a 26‑year‑old Santa Monica man charged with kidnapping a UCLA student and raping a woman in Culver City, was found dead of an apparent suicide on Monday evening, a day before he was due in court.

The sudden death ends a high‑profile criminal case that had drawn attention to campus safety and severe felony allegations, leaving the accusations without a trial.

First responders arrived at the 800 block of San Vicente Boulevard after a family member reported Schecter was not breathing. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed suicide as the cause.

Schecter faced multiple 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 and threats of bodily harm.

Court documents allege that on March 6, 2026, Schecter blocked a female UCLA student from exiting his car near Landfair Avenue around 3 a.m. The student escaped about half a mile away on Gayley Avenue.

UCLA Police arrested Schecter on March 12, 2026. Detectives later linked him to an unsolved sexual assault from late 2025 and to a reported rape of a woman in Culver City on October 12, 2025.

The preliminary hearing was scheduled for early October at the Airport Courthouse, where a judge would decide whether the case should proceed to trial.

Schecter’s death means the criminal case will be closed without a judicial resolution, leaving victims and the university community without a formal conclusion. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of his death.

The medical examiner will complete its investigation, and any further legal actions related to the case are expected to cease.