Elijah Hemingway, 32, is accused of fatally stabbing paediatrician Dr Idris Evans while he slept beside his wife in the family home in Edgewood, Pennsylvania. The case has drawn attention because Hemingway had previously faced burglary and theft allegations, yet was released from jail while those charges remained pending.

Police allege Hemingway entered through an open window shortly after midnight and attacked the couple, while their two children, aged eight and 12, escaped unharmed. Authorities say he had allegedly broken into an ex-partner’s home in February and stolen electronic devices; records also show previous Florida cases involving alleged assaults on deputies and an ex-girlfriend, including a no-contest plea to battery of a law-enforcement officer.