A Florida medical master’s student allegedly killed his mother, a beloved elementary school teacher, because he was “frustrated,” police said.
Emmanuel Espinoza, a 21-year-old University of Florida student, was on his way to a family event when he asked his mother, Elvia Espinoza, if he could stay with her for the weekend at her home, about two hours south of Orlando. According to the Daily Mail.
But when the second-grade teacher, 46, opened the door around 2pm on Saturday, a maniac with a knife began a violent assault.
“She lived in a very nice house in the woods south of Frostproof,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. he said in a recorded statement. “He knocked on the front door and when the mother opened the front door, he started stabbing her.
“She ran away from him and was talking on the phone with her family, and then… he stabbed her until she collapsed and died.
“We spoke to him and he confessed,” the sheriff continued. “He said, ‘I wanted to kill my mother for years because it annoyed her.’
Immediately after the bloody murder, Espinoza called 911 and confessed to the dispatcher, the sheriff added.
Espinoza, who was charged with first-degree murder, allegedly told authorities that he truly loved his mother but was frustrated with her, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said Espinoza was transported to the Polk County Jail. According to Click Orlando.
Tributes have been pouring in since news of the late Frostproof Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Elementary School educator’s death broke.
“Her students and colleagues loved her very much, and her sudden and unexpected death is a great loss,” a spokesperson for Polk County Public Schools said in a statement. “She was a very special part of our school family.”
“Elvia always had a smile on her face,” Nancy Murray DeMarco said in an online memorial.
“She loved her family and her children,” she continued, according to the newspaper. She said, “She was proud to be a teacher and worked hard to be one. She was one of my best students, her colleague, and a fellow teacher.”
Another woman, Sherry Dakers, wrote, “Elvia Espinoza was the sweetest person to me and my family, always cheerful and kind.”
“I have so many memories of chatting outside at the end of a long day,” she added. “She really loved teaching and she was so proud to be a grandmother. What a sad day in our little town. Rest in heaven, dear friend.”
“Knowing you’re gone makes the world a little darker,” Monica Alvarado said. “I’ve always admired the way you pour your heart into everything you do and everyone around you.”
“We are all incredibly devastated,” she continued. “Elvia, thank you for loving us and being everyone’s biggest cheerleader. I love you and I miss you so much.”
