Accused Doctor Killer Previously Freed on Bail for Prior Burglary

Elijah Hemingway, 32, stands accused of murdering Dr. Idris Evans, 46, a pediatric critical care physician, after allegedly entering the doctor's family home and attacking him as he slept. Police stated Hemingway climbed through an open window in Edgewood, Pennsylvania, and proceeded upstairs to the bedroom where Dr. Evans and his wife were sleeping. The attack occurred shortly after midnight on a Thursday.

According to reports, Hemingway had been facing burglary and theft charges stemming from a February incident at the home of an ex-partner. Authorities arrested him on July 9 for that break-in, and he was released on bail the following day. In that case, investigators alleged Hemingway forced his way into the woman's Pittsburgh home while she was dropping off her child, and subsequently stole a laptop and two cell phones. The woman reportedly told police Hemingway did not have permission to be inside the residence.

Records indicate this was not Hemingway's first encounter with law enforcement. In 2015, he was accused of assaulting three sheriff's deputies in Florida after causing a disturbance at a Wells Fargo bank. Authorities alleged he made concerning statements, referred to himself as an Egyptian Pharaoh, and then fled. When deputies attempted to apprehend him for a mental health evaluation under Florida's Baker Act, he allegedly resisted, striking and pushing officers.

Hemingway pleaded no contest to battery of a law enforcement officer in that case. In another Florida incident from the same year, he was accused of attacking an ex-girlfriend. During an argument, he allegedly punched the woman multiple times and grabbed her by the neck. A criminal complaint from that case noted prior arrests for assault and aggravated assault in Pennsylvania that reportedly did not result in prosecution.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has indicated that authorities are also investigating whether Hemingway might be connected to a sexual assault case in the county.

Dr. Evans, described as a respected physician and medical director of the Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was also an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. UPMC released a statement calling him a "dedicated caregiver and valued member of our hospital and university communities." A GoFundMe page established for his wife and their two young children, aged eight and 12, memorialized him as a "father, a husband, a brother, a friend, and one of the best humans that I had the opportunity to know."

During the attack, Evans' wife was also stabbed but managed to escape and alert their children before seeking help from a neighbor. Investigators described the scene in the bedroom as "very violent," with furniture and mirrors broken. Despite her injuries, Evans' wife recalled her husband addressing their alleged attacker as "Elijah" during the struggle and noted the intruder made a reference to "being God." Both Dr. Evans and his wife were transported to the hospital, where Dr. Evans was pronounced dead.

Hemingway was apprehended by police after being found hiding behind a neighboring home, reportedly with injuries to his hand. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. According to authorities, Hemingway claimed Dr. Evans had invited him into the house and that the doctor and his wife attacked him, but he could not provide details to support this account. He has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, and criminal trespass.