Irwin man charged with homicide in woman's death at a Monroeville hotel

An Irwin man accused of killing a woman in a Monroeville hotel told police he “made a mistake” and “didn’t like murdering a woman” but he “had to do what I had to do,” according to the charges filed against him.

Matthew Gribschaw, 37, is charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the Saturday death of a 49-year-old woman.

The incident began when the manager of the Rodeway Inn on Mosside Boulevard noticed blood outside a third-floor room, according to the criminal complaint. The manager told police he reviewed security footage from the hallway to try to determine how the blood got there, and the footage showed Gribschaw come out of the room “with apparent blood on his arms and legs.”

The manager said the footage showed Gribschaw pick up “a brownish-black item that appears to be hair” that was outside the door, according to the criminal complaint.

Police arrived and found a woman dead under the hotel bed, according to the complaint. Investigators noted in the complaint she’d been mutilated and was missing her scalp and hair, which was found along with several teeth in the room’s wastebasket.

Investigators said Gribschaw made several statements alluding to the alleged killing, telling the hotel manager “she doesn’t sleep well at night” and that “she attacked me,” according to the complaint.

He later told a physician at Forbes Hospital who inquired about his injuries that “I was choking my girlfriend,” police wrote. He said his hands were “jacked” because he had to go “barbaric like Conan,” he’d “made a mistake — multiple mistakes,” and he “didn’t like murdering a woman,” according to the complaint.

Investigators wrote Gribschaw said he was tired and wanted to take a nap because he was “up all night” cleaning up the “barbaric act.”

“Gribschaw stated that he was looking forward to celebrating New Year’s Eve but he ‘had to do what I had to do,’ ” investigators wrote in the complaint.

Gribschaw was denied bail, court records show, and he remained in Allegheny County Jail on Sunday. Court records did not list an attorney for Gribschaw.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14.