UF Student Listened to “No Church in the Wild” By Jay-Z & Kanye West Before Committing Matricide

FROSTPROOF, Fla. Recently released court documents reveal that University of Florida (UF) pre-med student Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, listened to “No Church in the Wild” by Kanye West and Jay-Z while walking up to his mom's door before he murdered her.

Emmanuel Espinoza was booked into the Polk County Jail on April 6th on charges of tampering with evidence and first-degree murder for killing Elvia Espinoza.

The recently released report from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) reads as follows:

| The report is graphically violent in nature, and caution is recommended. | 

| [Brackets] indicate parts of the report that have been edited for readability. |

On Saturday, April 6th, 2024, at approximately [2:26 pm], [PCSO] Deputies responded to the single-family residence located at [the victim’s residence] regarding a stabbing. The response was prompted by a 911 call from Emmanuel Espinoza, hereafter referred to as the defendant. The defendant stated during the 911 call, "I just killed [someone] and further indicated he killed [his mom] by stabbing [her].

Deputy Sheriff Selph #9762 was the first unit to arrive on scene. Deputy Selph approached the front of the residence and observed the defendant exiting the front door. The defendant's entire body was covered in blood, and he spontaneously stated, "I just killed [someone].” 

Additional deputies arrived on scene and made entry into the residence. Deputies discovered large amounts of blood trailing throughout the residence, which led to deputies discovering the body of [Eliva Espinoza], hereinafter referred to as the victim. The victim was face down in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds, obviously deceased. 

As a result, detectives with the [PCSO] Homicide Unit responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. 

During the investigation, detectives executed a search warrant on the residence. During a further examination of the scene, the victim's body was examined. The victim had multiple penetrating stab wounds to the head, back, chest, and neck. Detectives also discovered blood in the kitchen sink and a pocket knife with apparent blood.

The defendant was interviewed at the [PCSO] Southeast District Substation. Post Miranda. The defendant identified the victim as [Eliva Espinoza]. 

The defendant stated on Saturday, April 6th, 2024, he left his residence in Gainesville, Florida, to come to the victim's residence for a pre-planned visit. The defendant stated he was going to be staying at the victim's residence to visit family that reside in the area. 

An hour prior to arriving, he made the decision to kill the victim. The defendant stated he has been conspiring to kill the victim for a long time but just has not had the courage to carry out the act until now. The defendant stated his motivation behind killing the victim was as a result of the victim annoying him when he was younger. The defendant further stated he loved the victim but still decided to kill [her.]

The defendant then described the sequence of events leading up to killing the victim. The defendant arrived at the victim's residence at approximately [2:00 pm.] The defendant then put his AirPod Pros in his ears, put on a Hip-Hop song called "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West, and turned the volume up. 

The defendant then armed himself with his silver folding pocket knife and approached the victim's front door. The defendant attempted to enter the front door; however, it was locked. The defendant knocked on the front door, and the victim opened the door for the defendant. The defendant stated he then repeatedly stabbed the victim in the stomach. The victim attempted to run from the defendant, and he chased after [her] into the kitchen area of the home, repeatedly stabbing [her] as [she] ran.

The defendant stated the victim tried to fight back by trying to take the knife from him, so he began to stab the victim more in the chest and the neck. The victim tried to get up and flee, but fell once again to the floor as the defendant continued to stab [her.]  

The victim ended up lying face down on the floor, at which time the defendant cut the back of the victim's shirt open and began to stab the victim repeatedly in the back until [her] hands stopped moving. 

After this, the defendant then went to the kitchen sink and washed off the knife he used to stab the victim and his hands. At this time, the defendant stated he called 911 because of what he did.

The defendant is a pre-med student at the University of Florida and stated that he used his knowledge of the human body to stab the victim in specific places, such as the chest, in order to make sure he killed the victim. The defendant stated he knew if he stabbed the victim in or around the heart, blood would not be able to be pumped throughout the body, and the victim would eventually bleed out.

Detectives later made contact with the victim’s [REDACTED], who owns the residence where the victim resides. [REDACTED] was on the phone with the victim at the time the defendant attacked her. During a phone interview, [REDACTED] stated he heard the victim say, "I think Manny is here." It should be noted that Manny is short for "Emmanuel," the name of the defendant.

[REDACTED] heard the victim open the front door and then heard the victim begin to scream for help. [REDACTED],  who is currently out of state, then accessed the interior surveillance cameras for the residence and observed the defendant at the kitchen sink washing his hands. The defendant was then observed walking to the camera and attempting to disable it by turning the camera. 

Detectives obtained a copy of the video, which was corroborated with [REDACTED] and the defendant's statements. In video clips provided to detectives, the victim can be heard screaming, "Manny, Manny."

While screaming the defendant's name, a thumping or slapping sound, believed to be the defendant stabbing the victim, can be heard mutliple times as the victim continues to make moaning and groaning noises until there is silence. 

Briefly after this clip, the defendant is observed at the kitchen sink wearing sunglasses, washing blood off of his arms and hands, before walking to the camera and turning the camera away as described above. 

Based upon the facts and evidence obtained, there is probable cause to show the defendant violated F.S.S. 782.04 (First Degree Murder) by killing the victim in a premeditated design. 

Furthermore, the defendant violated F.S.S. 918.13 (Tampering with Physical Evidence) by washing DNA evidence from the knife used to kill the victim.

The defendant was arrested and transported to the [PCSO] Processing Center without incident.

A recent news release from PCSO stated Emmanuel Espinoza’s was the 2020 Frostproof High School Valedictorian with a 4.5 GPA.

He reportedly said at his graduation speech, "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."

PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd reported that Emmanuel Espinoza confessed to detectives that he cut his hand while killing Eliva Espinoza, and while he was washing his wound he wanted to ask his mother for neosporin before remembering that he killed her. He proceeded to call 911 and confess.

The news release said how Eliva Espinoza was a beloved 2nd grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School. She was described as the perfect mother of three remarkable children.

Emmanuel Espinoza has an arraignment scheduled for May 7th where he will presumably plead guilty.