Dr. Idris Evans’ wife fought through critical stab wounds to get her children to safety after a near-naked intruder broke into their Pennsylvania home and killed the pediatric physician as the family slept.
Evans, 46, and his wife were discovered with multiple stab wounds inside their Edgewood residence just after 12:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Allegheny County Police. The couple had been asleep in their third-floor bedroom when suspect Elijah Hemingway, 32, allegedly entered through a back window and launched a savage assault that left the bedroom destroyed.
“It was a very violent scene. The bedroom furniture broken, mirrors broken. It was a very graphic scene,” Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph told reporters at a Thursday news conference.
Hemingway was described as “psychotic” during the attack, making repeated references to God and claiming to “be God,” according to court records obtained by WPXI. The suspect also demanded and took Evans’ wife’s car keys during the ordeal.
Evans’ wife, despite her severe injuries, managed to yell for their two children — ages 8 and 12 — to flee the home. Both children were reported physically unharmed from the attack. She told investigators that she and her husband had tried “fighting back the best of their ability” against the armed intruder.
A chilling detail emerged from the wife’s account to police: during the assault, Evans called out the suspect by his first name, “Elijah,” as if he recognized him. The wife herself did not know Hemingway, Joseph said.
“We do not know if there was any preexisting relationship, though the female victim did not know this male, we are trying to determine if the two males knew eachother, it at all,” Joseph added.
Hemingway claimed he had been invited to the home, but officials found no evidence to support that assertion, according to reports.
Police deployed a K9 unit to track Hemingway, locating him at a neighboring home where he was found with lacerations to his hands. He was transported to a hospital before being charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass.
Court records reviewed by The Post revealed Hemingway had been free on nonmonetary bail following a July arrest for burglary and theft from February.
Evans was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. His wife was also transported to a hospital and listed in critical condition.
Evans served as co-Medical Director of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Pediatric Transport Team and as an Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, according to his professional biography.
“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 health system said in a statement to WPXI.
“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.”
Hemingway remains in custody as investigators continue probing whether any prior connection existed between him and the slain physician.