Pittsburgh pediatric critical-care doctor killed, wife injured in home stabbing
Dr. Idris Evans was fatally stabbed while sleeping in Edgewood, and his wife was wounded; police have detained 32-year-old Elijah Hemingway, who faces homicide and assault charges.
Police responded to a residence in Edgewood shortly after midnight on Thursday and found Dr. Idris Evans, 46, a pediatric critical-care physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital, and his wife with multiple stab wounds. Evans was pronounced dead at a hospital, while his wife remains in critical condition.
Detectives located 32-year-old Elijah Hemingway behind a nearby home with hand lacerations and took him to a hospital for treatment. He is being held on charges that include criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, criminal trespass and possession of instruments of crime.
According to the criminal complaint, Evans’s wife told investigators that she and her husband were awakened by a man stabbing them with a kitchen knife. She described the assailant as “psychotic,” saying he repeatedly spoke about being “God.” She also said the attacker was in his underwear, demanded her car keys, and used other bedroom items as weapons. The couple’s children, ages 8 and 12, escaped unharmed after being warned by their mother.
Allegheny County Assistant Police Superintendent Victor Joseph said investigators are looking into whether Evans and Hemingway knew each other. He noted that the wife believed she heard the name “Elijah,” but the identification remains unconfirmed.
Police found the bedroom in disarray, with blood on the floor, walls, a kitchen knife in the bathroom and a Leatherman-style multi-tool near an open kitchen window. The back door was also open with blood on the handle.
In a police interview, Hemingway claimed Evans had invited him to the home earlier that day and that Evans attacked him with a knife, leading to a struggle in which Hemingway was stabbed in the back. He reported only hand injuries and said no bicycle was found at the scene.
The University of Pittsburgh and its Children’s Hospital issued a statement expressing sorrow over Dr. Evans’s death and requesting privacy for the family.