POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A pre-med student at the University of Florida is accused of stabbing his mother to death on Saturday afternoon, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video release that 21-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza was driving from Gainesville to Frostproof for a family event when he asked his mother if he could stay with her.
According to Sheriff Judd, when Emmanuel arrived at his mother’s Polk County home around 2 p.m., he knocked on the front door and when his mother – identified as Elvia Espinoza – answered the door, he stabbed her more than 70 times.
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“She ran from him. She was talking to a family member on the phone and in addition to that, he stabbed her until she fell down and died,” Judd said.
According to officials, Emmanuel immediately called 911 and confessed to the crime.
“I have wanted to kill my mother for many, many years because she got on my nerves,” Judd said of the confession.
Judd also noted that Emmanuel said he really loved his mother, but she irritated him, and he made up his mind on the drive from Gainesville on Saturday to kill her.
At a news conference on Monday, Judd said Emmanuel, the youngest of three children, was a 2020 valedictorian at Frostproof Middle-Senior School. He also noted that there was no history of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, mental health problems with Emmanuel that investigators could find.
According to law enforcement, Elvia was a second grade teacher at Frostproof Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. Elementary.
Judd said Emmanuel was booked into the Polk County jail where he faces charges of first-degree murder.
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