A 26-year-old Santa Monica man facing felony charges for kidnapping a UCLA student and raping a Culver City woman was found dead the evening before his court date.
Alexander Schecter had been scheduled to appear at Airport Courthouse on Oct. 6 for a preliminary hearing on multiple severe felony counts, including kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential robbery, forcible rape, and two counts of forcible oral copulation. Court documents showed prosecutors alleged the offenses involved extreme violence, threats of great bodily harm, and acts demonstrating a high degree of cruelty.
First responders discovered Schecter unresponsive in the 800 block of San Vicente Boulevard around 6 p.m. Monday. Police and paramedics had been dispatched after a family member reported that Schecter was not breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are investigating his death as a suspected suicide LA. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
The case against Schecter began with an early morning incident near the UCLA campus. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Schecter prevented a female UCLA student from exiting his car at around 3 a.m. On March 6, while dropping her off on the 500 block of Landfair Avenue. He threatened violence before the victim managed to escape half a mile away on Gayley Avenue.
UCLA Police arrested Schecter on March 12, following the kidnapping incident. A subsequent investigation then tied him to an unsolved sexual assault from late 2025.
Detectives alleged that Schecter sexually assaulted and raped a woman in Culver City at around 3:15 a.m. On Oct. 12. The connection between the two cases emerged only after his arrest in the UCLA kidnapping.
The timing of Schecter’s death cut short what promised to be a significant preliminary hearing, where prosecutors would have presented evidence on both the Westwood kidnapping and the Culver City sexual assault. The felony counts carried substantial prison time if convictions had been secured.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner’s eventual ruling on cause of death will determine whether the investigation into Schecter’s demise requires additional procedural steps or can be closed.