EDGEWOOD, PA. (THECOUNT) — Idris Evans, 46, was killed, his wife was critically injured, and Elijah Hemingway, 32, was arrested and charged after police say Hemingway entered the couple’s home in Edgewood, Allegheny County, and attacked them with a knife while they slept early Thursday morning.
According to the criminal complaint, Evans’ wife told police that she and her husband awoke to a man attacking them in bed with a kitchen knife. She said the suspect was wearing only underwear and made statements about “being God.”
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Evans was a pediatric critical care physician and medical director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His wife remained hospitalized in critical condition following the attack.
Hemingway, who has at least 16 prior offences, faces multiple charges, including criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass. Police have not announced a motive or confirmed whether Hemingway and Evans knew each other.
Allegheny County police said emergency dispatchers received a report of a stabbing in the 100 block of Linden Avenue at approximately 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Investigators determined through witness interviews that Hemingway allegedly entered the residence through an open window, went to the third floor and attacked the couple while they were sleeping.
During the assault, the woman reportedly yelled for the couple’s two children, ages 8 and 12, to leave the house and go to a neighbor’s residence. The children escaped safely and were not injured.
The woman told investigators that Evans called the attacker “Elijah,” as though he recognized him. She said she did not know the suspect. Police said they were still investigating whether the two men had a pre-existing relationship.
Both Evans and his wife were found suffering from multiple stab wounds and transported to hospitals in critical condition. Evans was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Allegheny County Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph described the residence as a violent crime scene.
“It was a very violent scene. The bedroom furniture was broken, mirrors broken. It was a very graphic scene,” Joseph said.
Following the attack, police searched the surrounding neighborhood for the suspect. A K9 unit from the Monroeville Police Department located Hemingway behind a nearby home with lacerations to his hand.
Hemingway was detained and transported to a hospital for treatment. A television news crew reportedly observed him in handcuffs as first responders loaded him into an ambulance.
Neighbor Sandra Trappen, who lives near the victims’ residence, told Channel 11 that officers rushed into her backyard during the search and found Hemingway hiding in the bushes.
“He was hiding, there’s an area of my garden that’s not particularly well manicured like the other parts,” Trappen said. “He had found a way to conceal himself, but apparently he was injured and bleeding.”
Police later identified the detained man as Hemingway and filed charges in connection with Evans’ death and the assault on his wife.
Hemingway was also facing a separate burglary case in Pittsburgh. According to court records reported by CBS Pittsburgh, he had been arrested in July in connection with a February burglary involving a former partner. He was accused of entering the woman’s home and stealing electronic devices and had been released on non-monetary bond.
Hemingway was scheduled to return to court in that case on October 1, according to the report. The earlier allegations are separate from the charges filed in the Edgewood stabbing.
UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh confirmed Evans’ medical and academic positions and issued a statement following his death.
“The UPMC and University of Pittsburgh community is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Dr. Idris Evans, a pediatric critical care physician at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh,” the statement said.
The statement described Evans as “a dedicated caregiver and valued member of our hospital and university communities.” UPMC expressed its condolences to his family, loved ones and colleagues and asked that their privacy be respected.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack, including whether the suspect and Evans had any prior relationship. The charges against Hemingway are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Edgewood is a borough in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
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