Newly released body camera footage is shedding more light on the previous encounters authorities had with Elijah Hemingway, the 32-year-old Pittsburgh man now accused in the fatal stabbing of a UPMC Children’s Hospital doctor in Edgewood.
Hemingway is accused of killing 46-year-old Dr. Idris Evans and seriously injuring Evans’ wife, Gina, during an overnight attack at their home on Linden Avenue. Police said the couple was asleep when Hemingway allegedly entered the home through a window and attacked them. Their two children, ages 8 and 12, were also inside the house at the time.
Police have not announced a motive and are investigating whether Hemingway knew the family.
Florida arrests came months before the Pittsburgh case
According to information released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Hemingway was arrested twice in Florida in 2025.
The first arrest came in March, when he was accused of domestic battery. Investigators said a woman reported that Hemingway grabbed her by the back of the neck, forced her onto a bed and struck her in the head.
A month later, deputies were called to a Florida bank after employees reported that Hemingway was making threats during an outburst. Authorities said he later struggled with deputies in the parking lot.
Body camera footage from that encounter shows deputies chasing Hemingway around parked vehicles. At one point, he ran onto the hood of a car before jumping back to the ground.
Authorities said Hemingway was subsequently ordered into involuntary mental-health treatment. A court-ordered competency evaluation later found that his mental illness interfered with his ability to understand the proceedings and assist his attorney. The evaluation also raised concerns about a potential danger to himself or others without treatment.
He was later found competent, entered no-contest pleas to the Florida charges and received a sentence of time served.
He was released after a Pittsburgh burglary arrest
Hemingway later returned to Pennsylvania and was arrested in July in connection with a burglary investigation.
Police said a former partner reported that he had entered her Spring Hill-City View home in February and taken two iPhones and a laptop. Hemingway was charged in that case and released on nonmonetary bond.
That earlier release has since become a major focus of questions surrounding the fatal Edgewood attack.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said his office was not present at Hemingway’s preliminary arraignment. He said prosecutors generally attend those proceedings when requested by police, victims or others with concerns about a defendant.
Zappala said that if his office had known the full extent of Hemingway’s criminal history, including the information from Florida, prosecutors likely would have challenged the release decision.
The district court administrator, meanwhile, said judges at Pittsburgh Municipal Court are provided with materials including the criminal complaint, affidavit, warrant, pretrial risk assessment and criminal history when a defendant is arraigned.
New charge expected as investigation continues
The case has also expanded beyond the homicide and burglary allegations.
On Friday, Zappala said investigators had uncovered information connecting Hemingway to a separate sexual-assault investigation. The district attorney said an additional charge is expected, although he did not provide a timetable for when that charge would formally be filed.
Hemingway is already facing charges including criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass in connection with the Edgewood attack.
What happened in Edgewood
Police were called to the Linden Avenue home shortly after 12:30 a.m. Thursday after the couple was attacked.
Responding officers found Evans and his wife suffering from multiple stab wounds. Both were taken to hospitals, but Evans later died.
Police said a K9 team helped locate Hemingway behind a nearby home. He had cuts on one of his hands and was taken to a hospital before being taken into custody.
Evans was 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. UPMC described him as a dedicated physician and valued member of its medical and university communities.
Investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack, including whether Hemingway and the Evans family had any prior connection. Neighbors interviewed after the attack said they did not recognize Hemingway.
The newly released Florida body camera footage, along with Hemingway’s previous arrests and the questions surrounding his July release, is now part of a broader examination of his history as investigators continue building the case against him.
