A children's doctor was stabbed to death in his own bed near Pittsburgh. The man charged with killing him was already out of jail on a burglary case. He did not have to pay a dime to get out.

Dr. Idris Evans was 46. He and his wife were asleep early Thursday, Sept. 24. Police say a man came in through a back window. He climbed to their bedroom on the third floor. Then he stabbed them both with a kitchen knife.

Dr. Evans died at the hospital. His wife was stabbed several times. She lived. Police said Saturday she was in stable condition.

Police arrested Elijah Hemingway, 32. He now faces a charge of criminal homicide. In Pennsylvania, that is the charge filed when police say someone killed a person. The court decides the exact level of the crime later. He also faces charges of aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass. Court records also list a charge of possessing an instrument of crime.

The attack happened in Edgewood. It is a small town just outside Pittsburgh. Allegheny County Police got the call at about 12:30 a.m.

"It was a very violent scene," said Victor Joseph. He is an assistant superintendent with Allegheny County Police. "The bedroom furniture broken, mirrors broken. It was a very graphic scene."

The couple has two children. They are 8 and 12. They were home that night. Their mom yelled for them to run to a neighbor's house. They made it out. Police said the kids were not hurt.

The wife told police what happened, according to a criminal complaint. She said she and her husband woke up to a man stabbing them. She said he wore only underwear. She said he kept talking about "God" and said he was "God." She called him "psychotic."

She said the couple fought back as hard as they could.

She said her husband called the man "Elijah." But she did not know him. Police said she was not sure if the man said his own name first. Police are still trying to find out if the two men knew each other. They have not said why this happened.

A police K-9 found Hemingway behind a nearby house. He had cuts on his hands.

Hemingway told a different story, the complaint says. He said Dr. Evans invited him over. He said the doctor let him in when he rode up on his bike. Police found no bike at the house. He also said the doctor attacked him first with a knife. He said he was stabbed in the back. The complaint says he had no stab wound on his back. The only wounds were on his hands.

Here is the twist. Hemingway was already facing a burglary case. Police arrested him in July. His ex told police he broke into her Pittsburgh home in February. She said he took two iPhones and a laptop.

He got out the day after that arrest. Court records show it was a nonmonetary bond. That means he did not have to pay any money. He was due back in court on Oct. 1.

Court records show he has faced charges in Allegheny County since 2016. Some ended with him found guilty of disorderly conduct and traffic offenses.

He also had trouble in Florida. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said he was arrested twice there in 2025. In March, he was charged with hurting a woman. In April, he was charged with fighting deputies. The sheriff's office said a court had him held for mental health treatment. Later he was found fit to face the charges. In the case with the deputies, he pleaded no contest. He got time served.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala spoke out Friday.

"We never asked for a non-monetary bond. I didn't think that was right," Zappala said. "What court intake does is they run the rap sheets, and they do a proposed bond. I'm not sure what they had proposed."

Zappala also said that if his office had known about the Florida cases, it would have appealed his release. That means asking a higher court to undo it.

Then came more charges. On Saturday, police charged Hemingway in a separate case. A woman told police a man attacked her the day before the stabbing. It happened in Wilkinsburg, a town nearby. Police say they found items that tie Hemingway to it. One was her stolen cell phone. He now faces charges of rape, sexual assault and robbery in that case.

Hemingway went before a judge Saturday night. He was denied bail. He is in the Allegheny County Jail. His next hearing is set for Oct. 9.

Dr. Evans worked at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He cared for very sick kids. He also taught at the University of Pittsburgh.

"Dr. Evans was a dedicated caregiver and valued member of our hospital and university communities," a UPMC spokesperson said.

Edgewood police asked neighbors to lean on each other. "We are a small and close-knit community and we are sure that many of you may be feeling shaken today," the department said.

Bail fights are big news in Texas too. In November 2025, Texas voters passed Proposition 3. It lets judges deny bail to people charged with some violent or sexual felonies.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.