The former star athlete who stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her mother in a frenzied parking lot attack in Florida last summer — before slashing his own throat — still had the scars of his suicide attempt as he appeared in court for his sentencing.
Spencer Ross Pearson, 20, was handed a life sentence on Friday after he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery charges in July.
His family blamed head trauma he sustained as a high school football star for the attack.
Pearson was arrested in June 2023 after stabbing his ex-girlfriend Madison Schemitz, then 17, and her mother, Jaclyn Roge, as well as a bystander who tried to intervene outside a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant.
The then-18-year-old had been stalking Schemitz. She was left paralyzed from the chest down in the attack, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Surveillance video of the attack shows the mother and daughter trying to leave the restaurant as Pearson follows them, eventually rushing toward Schemitz and stabbing her 15 times. Roge tried to fight off her daughter’s attacker, and was stabbed in the forehead and leg.
A bystander who intervened was also slashed but was able to stop the onslaught.
Pearson then slit his neck before he was taken into custody.
Both Schemitz and Pearson, as well as both of their parents, testified during the emotionally charged sentencing.
During her testimony, Schemitz said she had been thinking about this moment ever since the horrifying attack.
“June 3rd, 2023, was without a doubt the absolute worst, most traumatic day of my life. And I remember every single second of it,” she read.
Schemitz later added: “Your honor, a 17-year-old girl should not have to know the feeling of getting stabbed. Your honor, I should not have to remember the feeling of my body being inflicted with the knife over and over again. … I remember the moment I realized I was paralyzed. I remember struggling to breathe and formulate words.”
Pearson also took the stand to apologize, telling the court he “hurt three innocent people.”
“I think of my terrible crimes committed every second of every day. It’s on my mind constantly and this will never, ever change. … I can’t begin to imagine what I’ve put them through and the negative effects I’ve had on everyone involved. I understand the anger and hatred they all have for me,” he said.
Pearson’s father, Daniel Pearson, testified about the football-related head injuries his son suffered over the years, and how he and his wife found their son attempting to kill himself after he and Schemitz broke up.
The distraught father apologized to all three of the victims, telling his son’s ex-girlfriend, “Madison, you were always so sweet… you were such a beautiful person to be around. You were so good to our family. I’m sorry this happened to you. I think about you every day, I pray for you every day. You’re a sweet soul, you’re a beautiful person, I know that. I’m sorry.”
Doctors who testified told the court an MRI of Pearson showed evidence of multiple head injuries similar to what an NFL player might sustain and said his violent act would be more likely because of his brain injuries.
Meanwhile, Schemitz’s mother took the stand to tell Pearson he gave “Madison a life sentence on June 3rd, 2023, and it only seems fitting that you get the same.”
While Pearson’s defense team sought 12 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervision and mental health counseling, Judge R. Lee Smith decided on a tougher punishment.
“June 3rd of 2023, the events that unfolded on that afternoon were horrific,” Smith said. “This defendant launched a vicious attack on a 17-year-old girl … who had only weeks earlier done her part to try to save his life when he attempted suicide. The same person who tried to save his life he violently and viciously attacked.”
The judge noted that the lasting impact of Pearson’s crimes would make “any deviation below the [sentencing] guidelines is inappropriate.”
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