A 46-year-old pediatric critical care physician who led a children's hospital unit in Pittsburgh was fatally stabbed in his own bed by an intruder who had been released without bail on an earlier burglary arrest, leaving two young children without a father.
Dr. Idris Evans and his wife were asleep on the third floor of their Edgewood, Pennsylvania, home when they awoke around 12:30 a.m. Thursday to find a man attacking them with a kitchen knife, according to court documents cited in initial reporting on the case. Evans' wife told investigators the attacker was wearing only underwear and made repeated references to "being God" as he struck them both multiple times.
The suspect, 32-year-old Elijah Hemingway, had entered the home through an open back window and climbed to the couple's bedroom. Both Evans and his wife suffered multiple stab wounds. Evans died at the hospital. His wife survived with serious injuries. Their two children, ages eight and 12, were inside the home during the attack.
During the struggle, Evans' wife managed to scream for the couple's children to flee the house and take refuge with a neighbor. Both children escaped. Evans' wife then fought her way out of the home and called police.
Evans' wife also told investigators that her husband addressed the attacker as "Elijah" during the struggle, a detail that Fox News noted has raised questions about whether Evans may have had some prior familiarity with Hemingway. Police have not confirmed any pre-existing relationship.
Allegheny County Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph described the aftermath inside the bedroom:
"It was a very violent scene. The bedroom furniture was broken, mirrors broken. It was a very graphic scene."
Joseph added that investigators are still working to determine whether the two men knew each other: "We do not know if there was any pre-existing relationship. The woman did not know this male. We are trying to determine if the two males knew each other."
After the attack, Hemingway fled the Evans home. Officers spent roughly an hour searching the dark neighborhood before finding him concealed behind a nearby home, just two doors from the crime scene, according to Breitbart's reporting. He had cuts on his hands consistent with committing a stabbing.
Neighbor Sandra Trappen told WTAE she awoke to the police presence and discovered the suspect had been hiding in her backyard.
"I was going to walk out in the backyard, and then all of the officers rushed through the backyard, so I just kind of stayed back."
Trappen said that when officers finally located Hemingway, "he appeared to be bleeding and incapacitated." She added: "He had found a way to conceal himself, but apparently he was injured and bleeding."
Hemingway was detained and taken to a hospital for treatment. During a subsequent police interview, he claimed Evans had invited him to the house several hours before the attack and alleged that Evans and his wife had attacked him. Police said Hemingway could not provide details supporting that account.
The detail that has drawn the sharpest scrutiny is Hemingway's criminal history. He had been arrested in July for a burglary and theft that occurred the previous February, and was released on nonmonetary bail, meaning he walked free without posting a dollar, the New York Post reported.
He was free on that cashless bond when he allegedly broke into the Evans family home and killed a physician who spent his career saving children's lives.
Hemingway now faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, and criminal trespass. Police have not announced a motive. No mental health context has been publicly provided by authorities to explain Hemingway's references to "being God" during the attack.
Dr. Idris Evans served as Medical Director at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and led the hospital's Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team. He also held a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
UPMC released a statement following his death:
"Dr. Evans was a dedicated caregiver and valued member of our hospital and university communities. Our thoughts are with his family, loved ones, and colleagues during this difficult time. We ask that their privacy be respected."
The university community said it was "deeply saddened" by the loss.
Edgewood police, acknowledging the shock the killing sent through their small borough, issued a statement urging calm:
"We are a small and close-knit community and we are sure that many of you may be feeling shaken today. You may be sad, angry, anxious, distracted, or just having a hard time making sense of what happened."
The department also asked residents not to spread rumors, speculation, or graphic material about the killing.
Several facts remain unclear. Police have not said whether the kitchen knife used in the attack came from the Evans home or was brought by Hemingway. Investigators have not disclosed how Hemingway knew which window was open or why he climbed to the third floor. The basis for Evans apparently knowing the attacker's first name, while his wife said she did not recognize the man, has not been explained.
Evans' wife's current condition has not been publicly updated beyond the initial report that she was hospitalized with serious injuries. Whether the couple's two children were physically harmed has not been addressed.
A man accused of burglary walks free without bail. Weeks later, a doctor who spent his life keeping children alive is dead in his own bedroom, and two kids no longer have a father. The system that turned Hemingway loose owes those children, and the public, an answer for how that was ever an acceptable risk.
