A man broke into a Pittsburgh house and stabbed a pediatrician to death and injured his wife, officials say. What we know

(CNN) — A Pittsburgh pediatrician was fatally stabbed and his wife was critically injured in their bed after midnight Thursday, and questions remain about an apprehended suspect’s potential motive and whether he knew the doctor.

Dr. Idris Evans, 46, and his wife tried to fight back after they awoke to being stabbed by a man, later identified as 32-year-old Elijah Hemingway, at their home as the mother yelled for their two young children to flee, according to a criminal complaint. The suspect was later arrested in a nearby yard, police said.

Allegheny County Police investigators are working to understand the motive behind the stabbing. Hemingway faces multiple charges including criminal homicide, aggravated assault and burglary, according to police. The suspect hadn’t been arraigned on charges as of Friday night.

Here’s what we know.

Wife critically injured

Police believe Hemingway entered Evans’ home through a back window. He then went to the couple’s third-floor bedroom where he allegedly began stabbing them in their bed, according to Allegheny County Police.

The couple began fighting back, the complaint said, and Evans’ wife told their children, ages 8 and 12, to flee to a neighbor’s house, where they made it safely. The wife, who had several stab wounds, ran to a neighbor’s home.

First responders found Evans on the floor of the bedroom severely injured, according to court documents. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Hemingway escaped through a rear door and was later found by a police canine unit, allegedly hiding in a neighbor’s backyard, according to police. Evans’ wife said Hemingway had demanded her car keys, but it doesn’t appear he tried to take the vehicle, police said.

Evans’ wife told police that Hemingway during the attack made several “utterances about ‘God’” and said he was “God,” the complaint said.

Evans’ wife also said her husband addressed Hemingway as “Elijah,” but she didn’t recognize him, the complaint said. She said she wasn’t sure whether Hemingway identified himself before her husband said his name, Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said.

Suspect faced previous charges

Hemingway has faced several criminal charges in Allegheny County since 2016, according to Pennsylvania court records. In July, he was arrested in connection with burglary and theft and was out on nonmonetary bail. He has a court hearing on October 1.

He was also arrested on battery charges last year on two separate incidents in Florida.

In March 2025, he was arrested on a domestic battery charge after getting into an argument with his ex-girlfriend whom he lived with in Deltona, Florida, a police affidavit said. Hemingway pleaded no contest, court records show, but it’s unclear what the outcome was.

The following month, he punched, pushed and kicked Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies in a Wells Fargo bank branch, also in Deltona, Florida, after Hemingway yelled at bank employees, a police affidavit said. A deputy said Hemingway continually referred to himself as the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the affidavit said.

He pleaded no contest to three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. He was sentenced to time served since he was held involuntarily for mental health treatment until he was deemed competent to face criminal charges, the sheriff’s office said.

In Allegheny County, he was previously found guilty of disorderly conduct and traffic-related offenses, court records show.

Doctor remembered as ‘true angel’

Evans was a pediatric critical care physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the university, the medical center said.

Colleagues remembered Evans as a compassionate doctor to patients who trained other pediatricians.

“He cared for so many children and saved so many lives, and he also participated in the training of hundreds of pediatricians during his career,” Dr. Hayley Hellstern, a fellow Pittsburgh pediatrician, told CNN affiliate KDKA, calling Evans a “true angel on Earth.”

A family that lost their 16-month-old daughter Iris in August remembered Evans as an attending physician who would see them multiple times every day as she faced a neurodegenerative mitochondrial disease. He helped the family figure out Iris’ complex medical needs, the father, Casey LaValle, told KDKA.

He said he found comfort knowing Evans is now with Iris.

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