University of Florida Student Stabs, Kills Mother

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Credit: PCSO via Facebook.

FROSTPROOF, Florida - A 21-year-old pre-med student at the University of Florida allegedly drove from Gainesville to his mother’s house in Frostproof, Florida and stabbed her to death around 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2024, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Sheriff Judd said that 21-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza had asked his mom if he could stay at her house while attending a family event in Frostproof that weekend.

The mother was on the phone with a family member when she opened the door for her son. That's when the son began to stab her multiple times, she then ran and fell to the floor where she died.

The son then called 911, confessed, and was taken into custody. 

The UF student's mother, Elvia Espinoza was 46-years-old and a with Polk County Public Schools second grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School in Frostproof. 

Sheriff Judd added that Espinoza will be booked into the Polk County jail and charged with first degree murder.