Authorities said a Florida pre-med student visited his mother from college over the weekend and stabbed her over 70 times without uttering a word.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd claimed that after Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, savagely killed his mother on Saturday, he perplexingly told detectives that he loved her and that they had a nice connection, but that he had intended to kill her for years because she irritated him.
The sheriff's office charged Espinoza with first-degree murder in the death of his mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza. Grady Judd said Gainesville University student flew to Frostproof, Florida, for a family function Saturday and would remain with his mother.
Judd posted Elvia's doorbell camera footage from Sunday showing Emmanuel knocking on the door with a little knife in his right hand, tucked behind his back. Judd said Emmanuel had AirPods in and was playing Kanye West and Jay-Z's “No Church in the Wild” when he drove up to the house and knocked.
“His beautiful mother, excited to see her son, opened the door. “He charged in and stabbed her the moment she opened the door,” Judd added.
Detectives learned Emmanuel sliced his hand in the incident. After washing himself and the knife in the kitchen sink, "he wanted to ask his mother for the Neosporin for the cut on his hand, but he noticed she was dead," Judd added.
Judd told reporters Emmanuel was quiet and introverted with no difficulties. He graduated high school as valedictorian in 2020 and was "described as being a genius." Since she hadn't seen him recently, Elvia wanted to visit. They communicate daily and every other day by text. No money difficulties. She sent him money to ensure he could attend college and enjoy it. No argument that day. "He never addressed her," Judd added.
He said Elvia Espinoza, a mother of three and second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary in Frostproof, was "well-loved" by the community and "an inexplicable vicious murder."
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