Elijah Hemingway, man charged with killing of Pittsburgh doctor, now facing sexual assault charges

Allegheny County police have announced additional charges against Elijah Hemingway, the man charged in the double stabbing in Edgewood that left Dr. Idris Evans dead and put his wife in the hospital. 

According to county police, Hemingway is now being charged in a sexual assault case from a day earlier in Wilkinsburg. 

During Allegheny County police's investigation of the stabbing, they were contacted by Wilkinsburg police about a sexual assault that occurred the morning of Sept. 23. 

According to the criminal complaint, the woman told Wilkinsburg police she was walking to her car on a path that connects an alley to West Street when a man grabbed her from behind.

She says he threatened to kill her, telling her, "stop screaming if you want to live," and "I'm going to crack your neck."

She also told police he repeatedly called himself "Elijah" and a "man of God." That victim later told police she had recognized Hemingway after seeing news coverage of the doctor's killing.

That's when Wilkinsburg police turned the case over to Allegheny County given all the similarities.

Throughout the investigation, detectives recovered multiple items that connected Hemingway to the sexual assault, including the victim's cellphone, which was reported stolen. 

Police also found similar clothing that the victim described Hemingway as wearing at the time of the alleged rape at the crime scene of Dr. Evans Edgewood's home.

"I've dealt with a lot of mental health emergencies in my line of work," said Hunter Bodwell, who lives near the scene of the alleged rape. "It's understood that when someone's in any kind of situation like this, they're likely to, if someone does one terrible thing in a day, they're probably likely to do other terrible things that day."

Now, in consultation with the district attorney's office, Hemingway is being charged with rape, sexual assault, and robbery. 

Hemingway was arraigned for the first time in court on Saturday evening and was denied bail. He remains in the Allegheny County Jail with a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 9.

Doctor attacked, stabbed, and killed inside Pittsburgh home

Early on Thursday morning, Dr. Idris Evans, a medical director from UPMC Children's Hospital, was killed in a violent attack in his home in Edgewood. 

Dr. Evans and his wife, Gina, were both stabbed while they slept in their home on Linden Avenue. According to court documents, the man attacked them in their bed with a kitchen knife and uttered about "being god." 

During the attack, Gina yelled for their children, ages 8 and 12, to get out of the house and go to a neighbor's, which they did. 

Dr. Evans did not survive, and Gina was taken to the hospital in critical condition. 

Hemingway was found in a nearby home not long after the stabbing and had lacerations on his hands. He was taken into custody and has since been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, and criminal trespass. 

Elijah Hemingway had a criminal history

Hemingway had a criminal history prior to the stabbing in Edgewood. 

In July, he was arrested after what police described as a burglary in Pittsburgh's Spring Hill-City View neighborhood. That stemmed from an incident in February when a woman reported to police that after returning from dropping her child off at daycare, she noticed her laptop had been moved. 

According to the criminal complaint, footage from a Nest camera showed Hemingway force his way inside, where he stole two iPhones and a laptop. 

The woman told police Hemingway was her former partner, but he had never lived there and was not allowed to be in the home. 

He was charged with both burglary and theft by unlawful taking, and was released on nonmonetary bond. A Pittsburgh-area attorney said that based on Pennsylvania's online court record system, Hemingway had no prior criminal history, just summary offenses, and that is why he was released. 

Before his history in the Pittsburgh area, a sheriff's office in Florida said on Facebook that he was arrested twice. 

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said that if his office had known about his history in Florida, they would've appealed his release in the Pittsburgh burglary case.