Allegheny County police have filed rape, sexual assault and robbery charges against Elijah Hemingway, 32, the man accused of killing a Pittsburgh pediatrician, saying he attacked a woman in Wilkinsburg just hours before the fatal home invasion in Edgewood.
According to a Facebook post from the Allegheny County Police Department on Saturday, Hemingway allegedly ambushed the woman Wednesday morning along a path connecting to an alley in Wilkinsburg. Police say he stole her cell phone during the attack and that she did not know him beforehand.
Wilkinsburg police alerted county detectives, who investigated the alleged assault alongside the homicide case. Detectives said they recovered “multiple items connecting Hemingway to the reported sexual assault, along with the victim’s cell phone that was reported stolen during the incident.” After consulting with the district attorney’s office, county police added the new charges.
The Wilkinsburg incident occurred just outside Edgewood, where police say Hemingway entered a home hours later and stabbed a couple as they slept early Thursday morning. The pediatrician killed, Dr. Idris Evans, 46, was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital.
A police report states Hemingway attacked the couple while in his underwear. Evans’ wife told police he appeared “psychotic” and claimed to be “God” during the attack. As the couple fought back, she yelled for their children, ages 8 and 12, to get out of the house, according to the report.
She also told investigators that Evans called the attacker “Elijah,” as though he recognized him. County authorities told KDKA they could not confirm whether Evans and Hemingway had any prior relationship, and Evans’ wife said she did not know the suspect or how he got into their home.
Police said Hemingway gave an account of the night that did not match their findings. He claimed Evans had invited him into the home hours earlier and that Evans later attacked him with a knife, leaving him with a stab wound to his back, according to the report. Investigators said they found no such wound and could not locate a bicycle Hemingway said he used to reach the house.
Authorities have filed seven charges against Hemingway in the Edgewood attack, including criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and trespassing. Court records show Hemingway has a criminal history dating to 2016 and was released without bail in July in connection with a February burglary case.
