Crime25 September, 20262 min read
Elijah Hemingway Stabs UPMC Pediatrician Dr. Idris Evans In Edgewood Home, Police Say
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Hemingway, 32, charged with criminal homicide for fatally stabbing Dr. Idris Evans during a break-in. Dr. Idris Evans, 46, died; his wife critically injured during the Edgewood home attack.
Stabbing in Edgewood
Elijah Hemingway, 32, broke into Dr. Idris Evans’ home in Edgewood, Pennsylvania, shortly after 12:30 a.m. Thursday and stabbed Evans and his wife in their third-floor bedroom while their children slept.
Allegheny County Police said Hemingway entered through a rear window, then attacked the couple in their bed, and Evans’ wife told their children, ages 8 and 12, to flee to a neighbor’s house where they made it safely.
Evans was pronounced dead at a hospital, and Hemingway escaped through a rear door and was later found by a police canine unit, allegedly hiding in a neighbor’s backyard.
The criminal complaint described Evans’ wife telling investigators that Hemingway made several “utterances about ‘God’” and said he was “God,” and it also said she wasn’t sure whether Hemingway identified himself before her husband said his name.
The Times of India reported that Hemingway previously told police in Florida, “I am King Tutankhamun,” while moving around a parking lot and jumping across vehicles.
Prior claims and charges
Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said Evans’ wife told police that Hemingway addressed him as “Elijah,” but she didn’t recognize him, and Joseph said she wasn’t sure whether Hemingway identified himself before her husband said his name.
Hemingway faced multiple charges including criminal homicide, aggravated assault and burglary, and he hadn’t been arraigned on charges as of Friday night.
TribLIVE described Hemingway’s Florida history as including incidents where he ranted about vampires, aliens and a pharaoh, and it quoted an affidavit saying he “continually refer[red] to himself as Egyptian Pharaoh King (Tutankhamun).”
District Attorney Stephen Zappala said, “We never asked for a non-monetary bond. I didn’t think that was right,” as Zappala discussed the focus on the bond after Hemingway was released on nonmonetary bond.
Hemingway reportedly replied to an officer, “I am a spirit and “not a physical being,” when asked whether he had thoughts of harming himself or anyone else.
Mental health and next steps
Hemingway remained at UPMC Presbyterian to get treated for cuts to his hands Friday, and investigators did not know when he would appear before a judge.
“On June 3, Hemingway was found to be incompetent to stand trial.”
Florida court records showed that on April 24 a judge ordered Hemingway to have a mental health examination, and the examination showed him to have a mental illness.
On June 3 Hemingway was found to be incompetent to stand trial and was ordered to involuntary treatment, and it included Hemingway’s handwritten letter to the judge that began, “You have my attention. This is me passing your competency test! Thanks for”.
Allegheny County Police investigators were working to understand the motive behind the stabbing, and Hemingway’s criminal history in Allegheny County included prior disorderly conduct and traffic-related offenses.
UPMC described Dr. Idris Evans as 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, and it said the UPMC and University of Pittsburgh community was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Dr. Idris Evans.”