FROSTPROOF, FL (352today.com) – A University of Florida pre-med student is behind bars on charges of murder after authorities say he stabbed his mother to death.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) says 21-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza drove to his mother’s home in Frostproof and stabbed her more than seventy times on Saturday, April 6.
Espinoza’s mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, taught second grade at Ben Hill Griffin Junior Elementary School. PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd says she was “well-loved” by the community and described her as the “perfect mother” of three children. He says Emmanuel also known as “Manny” was the youngest.
What happened
Judd told reporters during a news conference on Monday that Espinoza and his mother spoke on Saturday about her coming to Gainesville because she hadn’t seen him in a while. PCSO says Espinoza informed her that he would be home for a family event for his grandfather. Judd says Elvia asked her son to stay with her and he replied “Sure, I’d love to.”
They say around 2:00 p.m., he arrived at the home and knocked on the front door. The sheriff showed a video from a security camera at the house and said you can see the knife in Espinoza’s hand.
The sheriff’s office says when she opened the door, Espinoza began to stab her multiple times and she began to run from him. PCSO says she was on the phone with a family member during the incident.
Judd says there’s an audio recording from inside the home and you can hear Elvia screaming “Manny, Manny, Manny” and Espinoza was silent.
Judd says Espinoza immediately called 911 and confessed. He released audio of the 911 call during the news conference. When the dispatcher asks the caller what happened, the caller states, “I killed someone,” and then adds that he stabbed his mother.
The sheriff says Espinoza admitted other details to detectives who interviewed him.
They say he said as his mother tried to get off the floor, he continued to stab her and that when he noticed her hands were still moving, he stabbed her some more.
During his confession, the sheriff says he told them that he cut himself with the knife during the stabbing and that while he was washing his hands and the knife, he wanted to ask his mother for Neosporin for the cut on his hand but “he noticed she was dead.”
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When asked by authorities what his relationship was with his mother, they say Espinoza described it as an “8 out of 10” and that he really loved her. According to the sheriff’s office, Espinoza told detectives that she irritated him and he wanted to kill his mother for many, many years. They say he made up in his mind on his way from Gainesville on Saturday that would be the day he did it.
Judd said Espinoza said he knew where to stab her for “maximum effect” because of his biology classes.
The sheriff says Espinoza had earbuds in and was listening to music as he arrived at his mother’s house. They say he was listening to the song “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye West and played a clip of the song during the news conference.
No sign of trouble
The sheriff’s office says Espinoza was the 2020 Frostproof valedictorian with a 4.5 GPA. They say he was in his fourth year of undergrad at UF and planned to be a medical doctor.
Judd says Elvia moved around to teach at different schools while her kids were in grade school so that she could be close to them.
“I want you to understand that she was really the perfect mom. I want you to understand that she was very proud of his accomplishments and going to the University of Florida, graduating number one in his high school class. And then I want you to understand that he viciously murdered her and confessed to it,” said Judd.
Judd says they asked Espinoza if he was on any drugs or alcohol, and he told them no and that he wanted to do it for some time now but didn’t have the “nerve to do it.” Espinoza had no criminal history nor history of mental health issues according to the sheriff’s office.
“No problems at all. He was known as kind of being an introvert. Kind of a quiet guy. Zero issues,” added Judd.
He says there’s no history of 911 calls to the house nor any argument with her that could have provoked the situation.
“Quite frankly ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know what else to say about this. It is one of the most bizarre murders that we’ve dealt with in a very long time,” stated Judd. “And when you see that he left a family behind that loved him, a mom that just worshipped her children, and at this very moment she should have been in Ben Hill Griffin Elementary creating a future and educating our second graders, is incomprehensible as to what happened that day.
Judd described it as the strangest event that they’ve seen in a very long time.
“She wanted to come see him because she hadn’t seen him in a while. They text every day, every other day, they stay in constant contact. No issues over money. She would send him money to make sure she appropriately funded his ability to go to college,” said Judd.
The Polk County education community is coming together in the wake of Elvia’s death.
Teachers and administrators are showing their support for her family, friends and co-workers on social media by posting photos of staffers wearing bright-colored clothing in her honor.
“You are loved and missed, Elvia. Our hearts go out to the Frostproof community,” said Polk County Public Schools in a post on Facebook.