Al Carlson survived seven stab wounds and returned to walking as the criminal case moved slowly toward a guilty verdict.
PITTSBURGH, Penn. — The people who found Al Carlson at the bottom of a concrete stairway in June 2023 first had to help keep him alive. Three years later, they and other Shadyside neighbors saw a judge convict the man responsible for the attack.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski found Jasper Jacob Hilliard, 24, guilty of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, possessing an instrument of crime and resisting arrest. Hilliard had waived a jury and placed the case before the judge. The verdict brought the prosecution to its final stage but did not end it: Hilliard is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21. For Carlson and the neighbors who supported him through medical treatment and court appearances, the decision marked a formal judgment on an attack that disrupted an ordinary afternoon and unsettled a community where Carlson had long been known simply as the man who walked.
Carlson was 74 when he set out on June 3, 2023, for one of his regular trips through Shadyside. He had followed similar routes for years and was a familiar figure to residents, including people who had never held a long conversation with him. On Lehigh Avenue, Carlson passed a younger man he said he did not recognize. During later testimony, Carlson recalled the stranger speaking to him before suddenly attacking. There was no reported argument, robbery attempt or prior conflict. Police treated the assault as an unprovoked encounter between two people who happened to cross paths.
The attacker stabbed Carlson seven times, according to court testimony and police accounts. Reports differed slightly in summarizing the precise locations of every wound, but they consistently described serious injuries to his upper body. The attacker then picked Carlson up and threw him down an outdoor set of concrete stairs. The stairway removed him from the clearest view of the street. Carlson later testified that he believed he was going to die. His account became a central part of the preliminary hearing and later reporting on the case.
The next people to arrive changed the course of the story. Residents found Carlson at the bottom of the steps, called 911 and began trying to stop the bleeding. A responding Pittsburgh police officer later testified that Carlson was in grave condition. Emergency medical workers took him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery. He remained in intensive care for about a week and then spent another week in a trauma unit. His survival was not assured in the first hours after the attack, according to the descriptions of his condition and treatment.
News of the assault traveled quickly through Shadyside because so many residents recognized Carlson from his walks. Neighbors visited him at the hospital and helped care for him during his recovery. Some accompanied him to court. At an October 2023 preliminary hearing, more than a dozen supporters filled the courtroom as Carlson testified. Virginia Flaherty, a neighborhood resident, described him at the time as a reassuring presence who would sometimes join others walking outside. She said the attack had shaken residents because Carlson’s routine was so harmless and familiar.
Carlson eventually resumed walking. His return gave the case a visible sign of recovery, but it did not erase the legal and personal consequences of the attack. He had endured multiple wounds, major surgery and weeks of hospital care. He also faced the strain of recounting the encounter in court while the criminal case continued for nearly three years. During that period, Hilliard remained under court supervision, much of it at his parents’ home in New Jersey, while attorneys prepared the case for trial.
Police arrested Hilliard shortly after the stabbing. Investigators said he had entered another nearby home while covered in blood, washed a knife and clothing in a sink and changed shirts while people were inside. Officers encountered him near that residence. A witness also turned over video that investigators said appeared to show the attack. A Pittsburgh violent-crime detective testified that Hilliard admitted stabbing Carlson and said he had selected him because of “convenience.” The detective said Hilliard initially believed Carlson had died.
Those reported statements shaped the later trial. Hilliard’s lawyer did not persuade the judge that the attack was legally excused by the defendant’s mental condition. The defense argued that Hilliard had consumed Delta-8 and entered a substance-induced psychosis. Walker contended that Hilliard did not understand his actions well enough to form the specific intent required for attempted homicide. The prosecution pointed to the attack itself, the movement of Carlson to the stairway, Hilliard’s conduct at the nearby home and his statements to investigators as evidence of purposeful behavior.
Borkowski accepted that Hilliard had experienced psychosis after consuming the substance. The judge nevertheless ruled that the condition did not eliminate Hilliard’s ability to intend Carlson’s death. According to reports from the courtroom, Borkowski concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Hilliard possessed the specific intent to kill. The judge noted that Hilliard later showed awareness of what he had done. That distinction allowed the court to recognize evidence of mental illness or intoxication without finding that it defeated criminal responsibility.
Carlson welcomed the outcome and said he was happy Hilliard had been convicted on every charge. Hilliard’s father offered a different view, saying his son had been peaceful and nonviolent before consuming Delta-8. He attributed the attack to the drug and called the result sad. Defense attorney Frank Walker said Hilliard had shown remorse from the beginning and wanted to improve. The verdict did not resolve that disagreement over how to understand Hilliard’s prior character or the substance’s role. It resolved the legal question of whether the prosecution had proved the charged offenses.
The neighborhood had also watched an earlier dispute over Hilliard’s release. A magistrate set a $1 million bond after his arrest, and his family provided the amount required to secure his release. Residents expressed alarm when they learned that he was no longer jailed while Carlson remained hospitalized. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office appealed. Borkowski revoked the bond and sent Hilliard back to jail, but the judge later approved a plan allowing him to live with his parents in New Jersey while receiving treatment and following court-imposed restrictions.
By the time of trial, Hilliard had spent about three years on house arrest. After the guilty verdict, prosecutors asked Borkowski to revoke his bond again. The judge declined. Hilliard therefore remained outside jail pending sentencing, subject to the conditions already imposed. The ruling concerned his custody status and did not weaken the convictions. It also meant that residents who had objected to his pretrial release would have to wait until September to learn whether he would receive an immediate prison term and how long any sentence might be.
The long path from the sidewalk to the verdict gave the case two parallel histories. One was the court record: arrest, preliminary hearing, bond litigation, mental-state evidence, trial and conviction. The other was Carlson’s return from critical injury to daily life. Neighbors who once knew him mainly by sight became hospital visitors, caregivers and courtroom supporters. Carlson said in a 2023 interview that he had thought of them as ordinary neighbors before discovering the depth of their friendship.
That community support did not determine Hilliard’s guilt. The judge was required to decide the case from admissible evidence and the legal standards for each charge. Still, the turnout around Carlson showed the broader effect of a random public attack. It changed how residents viewed a familiar street, drew attention to an older neighbor’s daily routine and required people with no formal emergency role to respond in the minutes before police and medics arrived. Their aid became part of the verified sequence explaining why Carlson survived to testify.
At sentencing, the court may hear more about those consequences. Carlson can describe his injuries, treatment and continuing concerns. Prosecutors can present the attack’s effect on him and the neighborhood. The defense can offer evidence about Hilliard’s mental health, substance use, treatment, remorse and compliance with house arrest. Borkowski will then determine the punishment for all five convictions. Reports reviewed before sentencing did not identify a binding agreement that would dictate the result.
For now, the case stands at a point Carlson’s neighbors waited three years to see: Hilliard has been found guilty, Carlson is alive to take part in the final proceeding, and the court has set Sept. 21 as the date when the legal consequences will be announced.
Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.