A woman who claimed self-defense after stabbing two children inside an Osceola County home has been found guilty of attempted murder.
On Monday, the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit announced that Osceola County jurors have found 40-year-old Doris Espinoza-Rodriguez guilty of two counts of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and felony battery in connection with the 2023 stabbing of two children.
According to court records, on January 16, 2023, Espinoza-Rodriguez stabbed her boyfriend and his two children multiple times after an argument turned violent.
During a press conference that was held shortly after the incident, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez detailed the grizzly scene that his deputies responded to on January 16, 2023.
Deputies were contacted by the then-14-year-old male victim after he and his sister had been stabbed. Upon their arrival, the 14-year-old boy opened the door and showed visible stab wounds to his left shoulder and chest area.
Deputies entered the home, where they found the father of the children holding down Espinoza-Rodriguez.
According to Sheriff Lopez, Espinoza-Rodriguez and the father returned home from dinner and were arguing in the garage. At one point, Espinoza-Rodriguez began yelling, stood up, and displayed a knife. When the father told her he was going to call police, Espinoza-Rodriguez ran into the home yelling.
At that point, Espinoza-Rodriguez took the knife and began stabbing the father’s then-10-year-old daughter. The girl’s 14-year-old brother attempted to separate Espinoza-Rodriguez from his sister and was also stabbed in the process.
The dad was able to gain control of Espinoza-Rodriguez’s wrists while getting the knife and tossing it away. During the process, he was also stabbed.
When deputies arrived, they found the father controlling Espinoza-Rodriguez’s wrists. In a bedroom, deputies found the 10-year-old girl lying in a pool of her own blood due to her stab wounds.
Both the 10-year-old and 14-year-old siblings were flown to Arnold Palmer Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Espinoza-Rodriguez was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of the two minors. She was transported to Osceola County Jail, where she was held without bond pending the outcome of her trial.
During the four-day trial, Espinoza-Rodriguez testified in her defense, claiming self-defense by alleging that the father had “ordered the children to attack her.”
Jurors ultimately found Espinoza-Rodriguez guilty of two counts of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and felony battery.
The lowest possible sentence Espinoza-Rodriguez can receive for the felony battery charge is nearly 20 years in prison. In addition, each attempted second-degree murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and the aggravated child abuse charge is punishable by up to life in prison.
Espinoza-Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced in December of 2024.