Wife of Pittsburgh doctor killed while he slept released from hospital after attack
The wife of the physician from UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh who was fatally stabbed by an intruder last week was released from the hospital.
The Allegheny County Police Department confirmed on Wednesday that Gina Evans is out of the hospital. Gina Evans was critically injured and her husband, 46-year-old Dr. Idris Evans, was fatally stabbed while they slept inside their home in Edgewood Borough on Sept. 24 by Elijah Hemingway, according to the court paperwork.
According to the court paperwork, Gina Evans told investigators that she and her husband awoke to a man attacking them in bed with a kitchen knife. Gina Evans also yelled for their children, ages 8 and 12, to get out of the house.
Hemingway, who was arrested in a neighbor's backyard, faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and trespassing in connection with the attack. Questions remain about the shocking killing, including the motive and the suspect's criminal history. Hemingway was charged in a rape in a neighboring community that happened about 14 hours before the double stabbing, investigators said.
Police chief addresses concerns
Residents have raised concerns over why law enforcement did not notify the public about the alleged rape in Wilkinsburg on Sept. 23.
On Wednesday, Wilkinsburg Police Chief Christopher Duncan said one of the biggest reasons information was not released publicly was that the department had knowledge that Hemingway left the area on a bus and believed the public was not in imminent danger.
"I understand the public's concern, I do," Duncan told KDKA-TV. "But again, there are certain protocols that we have to follow as well. As I mentioned earlier, if we had any inclination that there was an immediate threat that the actor was still in the area, we certainly would have at least gone door to door to let people know."
According to the criminal complaint, the victim told investigators that she was grabbed from behind as she walked to her car on a path that connects an alley to West Street. The victim drove to the police department and reported the crime by noon on Sept. 23, police said.
"We never want to tip off the actor, letting them know exactly where we are in the investigation," Duncan said. "This is also one of those incidents where after speaking with the victim, she did not want us to immediately release the information."
Why BOLO was not issued
Duncan said in the hours after the alleged rape, officers searched the area, checked for surveillance cameras and found evidence.
"We had spoken to a couple people, and from what we gathered there were several people who believed they may have spotted this individual at a bus stop getting on a bus leaving our area," Duncan said.
Duncan did not put out a countywide be-on-the-lookout but said he alerted other neighboring police departments.
"We did not put out a BOLO. Again, at the time, we put out a description so that way, any police department that would have come across this individual, we would have known," Duncan said.
