Doctor Killed in Home Attack as Wife and Children Escaped

By Taylor Bennett. Oct 4, 2026

A Family Was Attacked Inside Its Home

A pediatric critical care doctor was killed and his wife was critically injured after an intruder allegedly entered their Pennsylvania home while the couple slept. Their two children escaped the house unharmed after their mother told them to run to a neighbor’s home, according to police and court records.

Dr. Idris Evans, 46, and his wife were attacked early Thursday in Edgewood, just outside Pittsburgh. Officers arrived around 12:30 a.m. and found both adults badly injured. Evans later died at a hospital. His wife was hospitalized in critical condition.

The couple’s children, ages 8 and 12, were inside during the attack. ABC News reported that their mother yelled for them to leave, and both made it safely to a neighbor’s home. Their escape is one of the clearest human details in a case centered on a family’s home being breached during the night.

Police Arrested a Suspect Nearby

Police identified the suspect as 32-year-old Elijah Hemingway. A K9 unit located him behind a nearby home, authorities said. He was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass.

Investigators believe Hemingway entered through a back window. Court records cited by ABC say Evans’ wife told police that her husband addressed the attacker by the name Elijah, though she said she did not know the man. Hemingway later told investigators that Evans had invited him into the home, according to the complaint.

Those accounts will be tested through the court process. Hemingway is presumed innocent unless convicted, and prosecutors will have to establish the circumstances of the entry and attack beyond a reasonable doubt.

Evans Was a Children’s Hospital Physician

Evans worked as a pediatric critical care doctor at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and was an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. The hospital described him as a valued caregiver and member of its community.

CBS Pittsburgh reported that Hemingway had faced an earlier burglary case and had been released on nonmonetary bond. Officials later discussed whether information from prior out-of-state cases had been available during that earlier release decision. Those questions are separate from the evidence needed to prove the new homicide charge.

For Evans’ family, the immediate facts are more personal: a father was killed inside the family home, his wife survived serious injuries, and their children reached safety. The criminal case will determine responsibility for the attack, while the medical community and family are left grieving a physician whose work centered on caring for critically ill children.

References: ABC News | CBS Pittsburgh