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

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.

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.

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.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

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.

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.

周四午夜过后，匹兹堡一名儿科医生在床上被刺身亡，他的妻子也身受重伤。目前，被捕嫌疑人的作案动机以及他是否认识这位医生仍存在疑问。

据刑事诉状显示，46岁的伊德里斯·埃文斯医生和他的妻子在被一名男子刺伤后试图反抗，该男子后被确认为32岁的伊莱贾·海明威。当时，埃文斯医生的母亲大声呼喊两个年幼的孩子快跑。警方称，嫌疑人随后在附近的一处院子里被捕。

阿勒格尼县警方正在调查这起刺伤案的作案动机。据警方称，海明威面临多项指控，包括刑事杀人、严重袭击和入室盗窃。截至周五晚间，嫌疑人尚未被提审。

以下是我们目前所了解的情况。

警方认为海明威是从后窗进入埃文斯家中的。据阿勒格尼县警方称，他随后去了这对夫妇位于三楼的卧室，并在那里开始在床上刺伤他们。

起诉书称，这对夫妇开始反抗，埃文斯的妻子让他们8岁和12岁的孩子逃到邻居家，孩子们安全脱险。埃文斯的妻子身中数刀，也跑到邻居家求助。

根据法庭文件，急救人员发现埃文斯倒在卧室地板上，身受重伤。他被送往医院后宣告不治。

据警方称，海明威从后门逃脱，后被警犬队发现，当时他可能藏在邻居家的后院里。埃文斯的妻子说海明威曾向她索要车钥匙，但警方表示，他似乎并没有试图开走车辆。

起诉书称，埃文斯的妻子告诉警方，海明威在袭击过程中多次“谈论‘上帝’”，并称自己就是“上帝”。

埃文斯的妻子还说，她丈夫称呼海明威为“以利亚”，但她当时并没有认出他来。阿勒格尼县警局助理局长维克多·约瑟夫表示，埃文斯的妻子说，她不确定在她丈夫说出海明威的名字​​之前，海明威是否表明了自己的身份。

根据宾夕法尼亚州法院记录，自2016年以来，海明威在阿勒格尼县面临多项刑事指控。今年7月，他因涉嫌入室盗窃被捕，后获准保释。他将于10月1日出庭受审。

去年，他还因在佛罗里达州发生的两起独立事件而被控殴打罪。

2025年3月，海明威因与同居于佛罗里达州德尔托纳的前女友发生争吵而被捕，并被控家庭暴力罪。警方提供的宣誓书显示，海明威对此表示不抗辩，但最终结果尚不清楚。

沃卢西亚县警长办公室

次月，在佛罗里达州德尔托纳市的一家富国银行分行，海明威在与银行员工发生争执后，对沃卢西亚县警长副手拳打脚踢。警方提供的证词显示，海明威曾对银行员工大声咆哮。证词还称，一名副警长表示，海明威在争执中不断自称是埃及法老图坦卡蒙。

沃卢西亚县警长办公室称，他承认对三项袭警罪和拒捕罪名不予抗辩。由于他此前因精神健康问题被强制拘留接受治疗，直至被认定具备受审能力，因此他被判处已服刑期。

法庭记录显示，他此前在阿勒格尼县被判犯有扰乱治安罪和交通违章罪。

据匹兹堡大学医学中心称，埃文斯是匹兹堡大学医学中心儿童医院的儿科重症监护医生，也是该大学重症监护医学的助理教授。

同事们回忆说，埃文斯是一位富有同情心的医生，他不仅对病人关怀备至，还培训过其他儿科医生。

“他照顾过很多孩子，拯救过很多生命，而且在他的职业生涯中，他还参与培训了数百名儿科医生，”匹兹堡儿科医生海莉·赫尔斯特恩博士告诉 CNN 附属电视台 KDKA，称埃文斯是“人间真正的天使”。

今年8月，一个家庭失去了他们16个月大的女儿艾瑞斯。他们回忆起埃文斯医生，这位主治医生每天多次为他们看诊，因为艾瑞斯患有神经退行性线粒体疾病。艾瑞斯的父亲凯西·拉瓦尔告诉KDKA电视台，埃文斯医生帮助他们了解了艾瑞斯复杂的医疗需求。

他说，得知埃文斯现在和艾瑞斯在一起，他感到很欣慰。