‘Totally shocked’: Longtime friends say slain Frostproof teacher was ‘born to educate’
FROSTPROOF, Fla. (WFLA) — The people who knew Elvia Espinoza, 46, say she was born to be a teacher.
“She was just one of those people that just has that heart for people, especially children,” said Dr. Lori Hutto, an associate professor and chair of teacher education at Warner University.
Dr. Hutto first met Espinoza when they both worked at Frostproof Middle Senior High School.
Espinoza was not yet a teacher and Dr. Hutto said she encouraged Espinoza to become one.
“Everything about her is the characteristic you would want for somebody educating your child,” said Dr. Hutto.
Judd releases 911 call of man admitting to stabbing mother to death
Dr. Hutto said Espinoza was hesitant because she did not want her education to get in the way of time with her three children.
Eventually, Espinoza enrolled at Warner University, where Dr. Hutto was her professor.
She received her degree and eventually became a second grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School in Frostproof.
She was teaching there and pursuing her master’s degree when she bumped into Dr. Hutto a week or so ago.
“She had told me ‘Thank you for always believing in me’ because we had talked about her graduate program here and so I looked at her and said ‘Well, thank you for being somebody I can believe in,’” said Dr. Hutto.
It’s a conversation Dr. Hutto will forever cherish.
Polk Co. teacher’s son stabbed her 70 times, used pre-med training to kill her, sheriff says
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Espinoza was killed by her 21-year old son, Emmanuel Espinoza Saturday afternoon.
Emmanuel Espinoza, who was his high school valedictorian in 2020, drove from the University of Florida to his mother’s home and stabbed her more than 70 times, the sheriff’s office alleges.
He called 911 and confessed shortly after the murder, authorities said.
Espinoza told detectives his mother had gotten on his nerves for years, according to the sheriff.
“I can’t even put it into words just how shocked I am because working together, I watched her kids grow up. I saw what a close knit family they were. It’s unimaginable,” said Dr. Hutto.
“I can sum it up by saying the whole town of Frostproof is totally shocked,” said Chuck Thornton, a local bank manager.
Thornton graduated high school with Espinoza’s brother and knew Elvia all his life.
For the last several years, he and Espinoza lived in the same neighborhood.
“I got to see her in a way that a lot of people didn’t. I got to go over to her home and share dinner with her and she’d cook for our family. Her and her mom were the best cooks,” he said.
He said he saw the crime scene vans at her home Saturday and, as the HOA president, received a lot of calls from people asking questions.
Answers are still hard to come by.
“It is definitely a situation where it affects our community just immensely. It’s such a tough loss. There’s answers that we’ll never know,” said Thornton.
Thornton echoes Hutto’s view that Espinoza was born to be a teacher, saying she loved children.
“I could describe Elvia as being just full of grace. She was the sweetest friend, the best mom. We all wish we had moms like Elvia,” said Thornton.
Her son, Emmanuel Espinoza, is being held on no bond on a first degree murder charge.
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