Irwin man pleads guilty but mentally ill to killing girlfriend at Monroeville hotel
An Irwin man pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Monday for killing his girlfriend at a Monroeville hotel nearly three years ago.
Matthew Gribschaw, 40, will be sentenced on one count of third-degree murder by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente on Jan. 30.
Police say Gribschaw killed Rochella Anderson, 49, on Jan. 1, 2022, at the Rodeway Inn on Mosside Boulevard. They had been dating for about a year, said defense attorney Patrick Thomassey.
The manager of the hotel saw blood outside a third-floor room and, using security footage, tracked it to Gribschaw, who had exited the room with blood on his arms and legs.
According to the criminal complaint, police found the victim under the hotel bed. Her body had been mutilated.
Gribschaw made several comments to police, including that he “made a mistake,” “didn’t like murdering a woman” and that he “had to do what I had to do.”
Thomassey said his client is mentally ill.
“He was operating at a diminished capacity at the time this occurred,” Thomassey said. “He has no recollection of this at all.”
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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