A Pittsburgh pediatrician was killed and his wife was brutally stabbed as she slept in bed, police said Thursday.
Allegheny County police said officers responded to an Edgewood home shortly after midnight Thursday and found 46-year-old Idris Evans and his wife suffering from “multiple stab wounds.”
Evans, a pediatric critical care physician at Children’s Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
His wife was also taken to hospital and is currently in critical condition.
During the search, detectives found Elijah Hemingway, 32, “with cuts on his hands” behind a nearby home, police said. He was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Court records show Hemingway is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, criminal trespassing and possession of instruments of crime.
At the hospital, Evans’ wife told authorities that she and her husband woke up to find a man stabbing them with a kitchen knife. She reportedly described the man as a “psychopath” and said he repeatedly “talked about ‘God’ and being ‘God'”. Criminal complaint. She also described the man as wearing only his underwear.
Allegheny County Assistant Sheriff Victor Joseph said at a news conference Thursday that police are investigating whether Evans and Hemingway may have known each other.
“The wife believes she heard her husband say a name, Ilya, but she doesn’t know if the actor revealed his name, so we’re still investigating,” Joseph said.
Evans’ wife said she did not know the suspect, the complaint states.
She said the man also used other items in the bedroom as weapons and she and her husband fought back as best they could. She managed to yell at her children, ages 8 and 12, to run away and go to a neighbor’s house, the complaint states. The children were not injured, police said.
Evans’ wife said the man asked for her car keys and she gave them to him, documents state.
Evans’ wife was stabbed multiple times and ran to a neighbor’s house for help and called 911, the complaint said.
When police arrived at the couple’s home, they found Evans lying on the floor of a third-floor bedroom with “multiple severe stab wounds and lacerations to his suitcase,” the complaint states. There was a large amount of what was believed to be blood on the floor and walls of the bedroom. The bedroom was in a mess and items had been knocked over.
The indictment states that police found a large kitchen knife in the third-floor bathroom that also had suspected blood stains on it.
The back door of the house was found open with blood on the handle. Police also noticed an open kitchen window with suspected blood on the bottom and “a Leatherman-style multi-tool nearby,” the document states.
In an interview with police, Hemingway said Evans invited him to the residence hours earlier and let him in when he arrived on his bicycle, the complaint said. However, no bicycle was found, the property said.
Hemingway claimed Evans attacked him with a knife and got into a physical fight with the two victims in a third-floor bedroom, according to the complaint. Hemingway said he was stabbed in the back during the struggle. He did not have any visible injuries other than his hands, the complaint states.
He remains in the hospital. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.
Joseph said Hemingway did not live in the Edgewood area and he did not have immediate information about whether Hemingway had a criminal record. The investigation continues.
Evans’ death shocked the local medical community. In addition to being a physician, Evans is an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
A hospital spokesperson said in a statement that the school and hospital are “deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Dr. Idris Evans.”
“Dr. Evans was a dedicated caregiver and a 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,” the statement read.