FROSTPROOF, Fla. — When Elvira Espinoza opened the door to her Frostproof home, she was expected to greet her 21-year-old son. Instead, he "viciously" stabbed her more than 70 times, killing her.
Now, Florida state prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for Emmanual Espinoza, a pre-med student at the University of Florida.
Documents filed Thursday from the 10th Judicial Circuit Court stated the state's intent to pursue the highest penalty in this case. On Friday, he is set to appear in court for a status hearing of his case, court records show.
Emmanuel is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 46-year-old mother, Elvia. She was a second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Elementary in Frostproof.
On Saturday, April 6, Emmanuel was driving to his mother's home in Frostproof from Gainesville for a family event.
When he arrived around 2 p.m. Elvia opened the front door. As soon as she died, deputies say Emmanuel stabbed her multiple times. Although she tried to run away from the attack, he reportedly kept stabbing her until she fell and died.
In all, he stabbed her more than 70 times, investigators say.
According to Sheriff Grady Judd, Emmanuel called 911 immediately after the attack and confessed to killing his mother.
He reportedly told authorities he'd been wanting to kill his mother for several years because "she got on my nerves." He added he made the decision to kill her during his drive to the house.
“I want you to understand that she was very proud of his accomplishments in going to the University of Florida and graduating number one in his high school class," Judd said previously. "And then, I want you to understand that he viciously murdered and confessed to it."
Emmanuel reportedly told investigators they spoke every other day and he loved his mother, but sometimes she irritated him. She missed him and asked him to come visit. He agreed and drove to her home from Gainesville to stab and kill her — something he says he wanted to do for years, according to deputies.
According to Judd, Emmanuel told investigators he knew how to stab Elvia "for maximum effect" because of his biology classes.
Investigators said it's still unclear why Emmanuel did this, and family members said the same. According to her eldest child, Marisol Longo, Elvia was the most loving mother who didn't deserve this.
"She was always full of life. She was always encouraging. She was our biggest supporter,” Longo said.
In April, when 10 Tampa Bay first started covering the story, the family did not want to comment on Emmanuel. They said he was the valedictorian at his high school, and he didn’t get there on his own; he was able to accomplish that due to support from his family, including his mother.
10 Tampa Bay's Anjelicia Bruton and Kaitlyn Snook contributed to this report.