A Florida pre-med university student killed his mother by stabbing her over 70 times without saying a word when he visited her from college over the weekend, authorities said.
After Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, brutally killed his mother on Saturday, he perplexedly told detectives that he loved her and that they had a good relationship — but that he had wanted to kill her for years because she irritated him, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Espinoza has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, the sheriff’s office said.
The student at the University of Florida in Gainesville had traveled to Frostproof, Florida, for a family event Saturday and was going to stay with his mother, Grady Judd said.
He arrived at her home around 2 p.m., knocked on the front door, and seemingly without provocation stabbed her “many times” after she opened the door, Judd said.
On Sunday, Judd shared doorbell camera video from Elvia’s home that showed Emmanuel approach with a small knife in his right hand, hidden behind his back, and knock on the door. Judd said that Emmanuel had put AirPods in his ears and was playing Kanye West and Jay-Z’s song “No Church in the Wild” when he drove up to the house and knocked on the front door.
“His beautiful mother, who was so excited to see her son, opened the door. The second she opened the door, he charged in and started stabbing her,” Judd said.
The mother ran from him, but “he stabbed her until she fell down and died.”
Judd said Emmanuel confessed to stabbing his mother repeatedly, even when he noticed her hands were still moving. He told detectives that he knew where to stab her for maximum effect because of his biology classes.
Emmanuel told detectives that he had cut his hand in the stabbing. When he went to the kitchen sink to wash himself and the knife off, “he wanted to ask his mother for the Neosporin for the cut on his hand, but he noticed she was dead,” Judd said.
Emmanuel immediately dialed 911 and confessed to operators.
Audio of the dispatch call was played for reporters Sunday.
“I killed someone,” Emmanuel is heard telling dispatch. “I stabbed my mom.”
When Emmanuel spoke with detectives, he told them he loved his mother and had a good relationship with her but that she irritated him.
“We talked to him and he confessed. He said, ‘You know, I have wanted to kill my mother for many, many years because she got on my nerves,'” Judd said.
When asked, “What’s your relationship with your mother?” Espinoza replied: “About a eight out of 10.”
“He really loved her, but she irritated him and he made up his mind today on his way from Gainesville that he would murder her, and that’s exactly what he did,” Judd said Saturday.
The sheriff said Emmanuel told detectives he wasn’t on drugs or alcohol at the time of the stabbing — nor did he have any history of such abuse or mental health issues, no arrest record and there was no record of calls under the Baker Act (which focuses on crisis services for individuals with mental illness) to the home.
Emmanuel was known to be introverted and quiet, with zero issues, Judd told reporters. He was the Class of 2020 valedictorian at his high school and was “described as being a genius.”
“[Elvia] 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 and enjoy his college life. No argument that day. He never said a word to her,” Judd said.
Elvia Espinoza was a mother of three and beloved second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary in Frostproof, and was “well-loved” by the community, the sheriff’s office said, calling the incident “an inexplicable vicious murder.”
“I want you to understand this lady who was a school teacher for 20 years actually moved around and taught at different schools while her kids were in school so she could be close to them,” Judd said. “I want you to understand that she was the perfect mom. I want you to understand that she was very proud of his accomplishments.”
“Then I want you to understand that he viciously murdered her and confessed to it,” he added.
Polk County Public Schools said in a statement: “Her students and colleagues greatly loved her, and her sudden, unexpected death is a devastating loss. She was a very special part of her school family.”
Grief counselors have been made available at her school and another school where she previously worked.
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