Inset, from left: Dr. Idris Evans of UPMC and Elijah Hemingway of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. In the background is the Edgewood home where Hemingway allegedly killed Evans (WPXI).
A 32-year-old Pennsylvania man is facing charges after allegedly climbing through a rear window of a couple’s home, attacking them with a knife as they slept and killing a Pittsburgh physician while critically injuring the doctor’s wife.
Elijah Hemingway was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass in the death of 46-year-old Idris Evans, authorities said.
Officers responded to a stabbing report at 12:31 a.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Linden Avenue in Edgewood, according to a press release from the Allegheny County Police Department. First responders found Evans and his wife suffering from multiple stab wounds and took both to a nearby hospital. They were initially listed in critical condition. Evans later died, while his wife remained in critical condition.
A K-9 team from the Monroeville Police Department found Hemingway hiding behind a nearby residence and took him into custody. Police said he was treated at a hospital for cuts to his hand.
At a Thursday news conference, Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said investigators determined that the couple was in their bedroom when an armed man entered the home and began attacking them.
“It was a very violent scene,” Joseph said, describing broken bedroom furniture and shattered mirrors. “It was a very graphic scene.”
Investigators believe Hemingway entered through a rear window. Evans’ wife told police she awoke to find the man stabbing her and her husband, according to a criminal complaint obtained by TribLive. She said the attacker wore only underwear, carried a kitchen knife and repeatedly spoke about God and “being God.”
Joseph said evidence indicated the couple fought back. The injuries to Hemingway’s hand did not appear to be self-inflicted, he said.
“It sounds like they tried to fight him off and maybe even tried to use a mirror in the process,” Joseph said.
The couple’s two children were also inside the house. Neither was hurt; Joseph said they escaped and ran to a neighbor’s home.
Evans’ wife told investigators she had never seen Hemingway before the attack, but believed her husband recognized him. During the assault, she recalled Evans calling the attacker “Elijah.” She was not certain, however, whether Hemingway had identified himself before Evans said the name.
Police have not established whether Hemingway and Evans knew each other or whether Hemingway had any previous connection to Edgewood.
During the attack, Hemingway allegedly demanded the keys to Evans’ wife’s car. She handed them over, but Joseph said investigators found no indication that Hemingway took the vehicle or tried to drive it.
The woman ultimately escaped from the house and called police.
Hemingway later offered investigators a conflicting version of events, according to the criminal complaint.
He allegedly told police that Evans invited him inside and then tried to stab him with a “Michael Myers”-type knife. Hemingway claimed he disarmed Evans and stabbed both residents in self-defense.
“There’s no evidence to support that,” Joseph said of Hemingway’s account.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive and said they were still investigating why Hemingway allegedly entered the residence.
Evans worked as a pediatric critical-care physician at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and served as an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
Hemingway is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond. A date for his arraignment hearing had not been set as of Friday afternoon.
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