UF student stabs mother to death, turns himself in

FROSTPROOF, Fla. (WCJB) - A student from the University of Florida is in custody after he drove to his mother’s house in Polk County and stabbed her to death.

Emmanuel Espinoza, a 21-year-old pre-med student, was charged with first-degree murder on Saturday.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd released a statement just hours after the incident. He said Espinoza was driving down to stay with his mom, Elvia Espinoza, for a family event.

Espinoza decided he was going to murder his mother on the drive to her house in Frostproof. When he arrived and she opened the door for him, he started stabbing her in the doorway.

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Elvia tried to run away, but Espinoza kept stabbing her until she fell over and died. She was on the phone with a family member as this was happening.

After committing the murder, the sheriff says Espinoza called 911 and confessed to the crime. He told deputies that his mom got on his nerves, and he wanted to kill his mom for several years despite having a good relationship with her.

Elvia was a second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School. Sheriff Judd says she was well-loved by the community.

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