Current:Home > MarketsPre-med student stabbed mother on visit home from college, charged with murder, sheriff says -PrimeFinance
Pre-med student stabbed mother on visit home from college, charged with murder, sheriff says
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:51:16
FROSTPROOF, Fla. (AP) — A University of Florida pre-med student who is charged with murder in the weekend stabbing death of his mother at her home had no history of mental illness or substance abuse, a sheriff said Monday.
Emmanuel “Manny” Espinoza stabbed his mother, Elvia, more than 70 times on Saturday after she opened the door of her home in central Florida to welcome him for a visit from college, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference.
Espinoza, 21, was charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering. He was being held Monday in the Polk County Jail.
Judd said Espinoza stabbed his mother in the chest and stomach as places he knew from his medical schooling that would be most effective. Espinoza then called 911 and confessed to killing his mother, a longtime elementary-school teacher in Polk County between Tampa and Orlando, the sheriff said.
“It is one of the most bizarre murders that we have dealt with in a very long time,” Judd said, adding Espinoza was listening to the Jay-Z and Kanye West song, “No Church in the Wild,” on his ear buds during the stabbing.
Espinoza, the youngest of Elvia Espinoza’s three children, told detectives he had been thinking about killing his mother for a “long time” and finally got up the courage to do it on the drive from the university in Gainesville in north Florida to the home in Frostproof, according to an arrest affidvait.
When asked why he did it, Espinoza told detectives that his mother had annoyed him since childhood but he loved her, it said.
Judd also said in noting Espinoza had no history of mental illness or substance abuse that he had been a high school valedictorian who others described as being “remarkably brilliant.”
Online court records on Monday showed Espinoza had declined the services of a public defender but there was no indication that he had hired an attorney to represent him. Another document showed that he was exercising his right not to be interviewed by investigators about the charges he is facing.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Why Miley Cyrus Nearly Missed Her First-Ever Grammy Win
- Why Glen Powell’s Mom Described Him as a “Little Douchey”
- About 1,000 manatees piled together in a Florida park, setting a breathtaking record
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- FOX debuts Caitlin Clark cam during Iowa's women's basketball game against Maryland
- A story about sports, Black History Month, a racist comment, and the greatest of pilots
- After record GOP walkout, Oregon lawmakers set to reconvene for session focused on housing and drugs
- Trump's 'stop
- Mayorkas is driven by his own understanding of the immigrant experience. Many in GOP want him gone
Ranking
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- How often will Taylor Swift be shown during the Super Bowl? Now you can bet on it
- Abortion access on the ballot in 2024
- 'Below Deck' returns for all-new Season 11: Cast, premiere date, how to watch and stream
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Man sentenced to life without parole in 1991 slaying of woman
- Grammys 2024: Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Victoria Monét and More Best Dressed Stars on the Red Carpet
- What if Super Bowl Monday became a national holiday? Here's what would have to happen
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
'Curb your Enthusiasm' Season 12: Cast, release date, how to watch the final episodes
Fighting for a Foothold in American Law, the Rights of Nature Movement Finds New Possibilities in a Change of Venue: the Arts
They met on a dating app and realized they were born on same day at same hospital. And that's not where their similarities end.
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Kandi Burruss Leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta After 14 Seasons
Grim California weather forecast says big cities could face 'life-threatening flooding'
Oklahoma jarred by 5.1 magnitude earthquake