New details emerged in a case Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd calls “one of the most bizarre” they’ve encountered. A 21-year-old pre-med student, Emmanuel “Manny” Espinoza, is accused of stabbing his mother, Elvia Espinoza, 46, to death on Saturday afternoon, Fox News reported.
According to Sheriff Judd, Espinoza planned a visit with his mother under the pretence of seeing his grandfather. Elvia Espinoza reportedly invited him to stay at her home.
Sheriff Judd stated that Manny arrived at his mother’s residence around 2 p.m. He then presented Ring doorbell camera footage capturing Manny entering the home, allegedly concealing a knife behind his back just moments before the reported assault.
The man was listening to the song “No Church in the Wild” as he reached 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.
Citing the sensitive nature of the evidence, authorities did not release the audio recording from within the home. However, Sheriff Judd described Elvia Espinoza’s voice calling out “Manny” repeatedly during the incident, while the suspect reportedly remained silent.
“He made the statement that he knew where to stab her for maximum effect because of his biology classes,” Judd stated.
The sheriff said that Manny was described as being a “genius, remarkably brilliant.”
Polk County Jail mugshot for Emmanuel Espinoza, DOB 06/12/2002 – charged with First Degree murder in the stabbing death of his 46-year-old mother Elvia Espinoza https://t.co/tRxxqTGkCZ pic.twitter.com/Ts3lsi73dU
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) April 7, 2024
Sheriff Judd stated that the investigation revealed the attack involved a significant number of stab wounds inflicted upon the victim. He added that the assault continued even as Elvia Espinoza attempted to defend herself.
“He said he noticed her hands were still moving, so he stabbed her some more. And then he told the detectives in his confession that he had cut his hand on the knife while stabbing his mother. And as he is standing at the kitchen sink, washing himself off and the knife, he wanted to ask his mom for the Neosporin, for the cut on his hand, but he noticed she was dead,” Judd said.
Sheriff Judd confirmed that Manny Espinoza contacted emergency services shortly after the incident. A recording of the call was presented to the press, where Espinoza reportedly acknowledged his involvement in his mother’s death.
“I want you to understand she was the perfect mom. I want you to understand she was very proud of his accomplishments. And then I want you to understand that he viciously murdered her and confessed to it,” Judd expressed.
Sheriff Judd continued, stating that investigators sought to understand the suspect’s motives during questioning.
“We said, ‘Do you love her? and he said ‘Oh ya, I love her.’ We asked ‘Do you all get along?’ And he said ‘Yea, an 8 out of 10, we get along, but I’ve wanted to kill her for years and I made up my mind when I drove from Gainesville, today is the day,'” Judd said.
Sheriff Judd emphasized that, to their knowledge, Manny Espinoza did not have a history of substance abuse, mental health concerns, or prior criminal activity.
“He was quoted at his high school graduation saying, ‘High school was just one of the chapters out of the many we will have throughout our lives. We still have so much to accomplish in the future that will define what kind of legacy the class of 2020 will leave behind,'” Sheriff Judd said.
“It is one of the most bizarre murders that we have dealt with in a very long time,” Judd said. “And when you see that he left a family behind that loved him, a mom that just worshipped her children, and at this very moment, she should have been in Ben Hill Griffin Elementary creating a future and educating our second-graders, is incomprehensible of what happened that day.”
Manny Espinoza was booked into the Polk County Jail and was charged with first-degree murder.
