Accused UCLA Kidnapper Found Dead Day Before Court Date

Santa Monica, Calif. – Alexander Schecter, a man accused of kidnapping a UCLA student and raping another woman, was found dead on Monday, one day before he was scheduled to appear in court. He was 26.

First responders discovered Schecter unresponsive in the 800 block of San Vicente Boulevard around 6 p.m. Authorities were alerted after a family member reported Schecter was not breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His death is being investigated as a suspected suicide, according to NBC Los Angeles, with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner to determine the official cause.

Schecter had been slated to appear in Airport Courthouse on October 6 for a preliminary hearing. He faced a series of felony charges, including kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential robbery, forcible rape, and two counts of forcible oral copulation. Prosecutors had alleged that the offenses involved extreme violence, threats of great bodily harm, and acts demonstrating a high degree of cruelty.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the kidnapping incident occurred around 3 a.m. on March 6, 2026. Schecter allegedly prevented a female UCLA student from exiting his vehicle while dropping her off on Landfair Avenue. He is accused of threatening violence before the victim managed to escape approximately half a mile away on Gayley Avenue.

Following this incident, UCLA Police arrested Schecter on March 12, 2026. A subsequent investigation connected him to an unsolved sexual assault that reportedly occurred in Culver City on October 12, 2025. Detectives allege that Schecter sexually assaulted and raped a woman in that incident.