Spencer Pearson, a former high school football hero, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing his ex-girlfriend in 2023 by stabbing her more than a dozen times, leaving her paralyzed, and then slitting his own throat. He sat emotionless in a Florida courtroom with his parents watching.
Judge R. Lee Smith of the St. Johns County Circuit Court stated that the court does not impose a punishment based on retaliation. There are only some offenses that deserve the harshest punishment possible, and this court determines that this is one of them.
After Pearson, 20, entered a guilty plea in July to attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated violence causing serious bodily injury with a weapon, Smith was sentenced in a crowded St. Johns County courtroom.
Because of Pearson’s vicious attack, his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend Madison Schemitz suffered spinal cord injuries that left her crippled and reliant on a cane to walk. The kid was a rising senior at Ponte Verde High School and a standout softball player, according to AGoFundMecreated for her last year.
Pearson also stabbed Jacki Rog, her mother, and a passerby who stepped in. It has been revealed that less than a week prior to the almost deadly assault, Rog filed a criminal complaint against him for harassment and stalking. According to Smith, Pearson had also attempted suicide a few weeks prior, but Schemitz had intervened.
According to the judge, this defendant viciously attacked a 17-year-old girl who had only shown him affection and who had just weeks before tried to save his life when he tried suicide. He aggressively and savagely attacked the same guy who had attempted to save his life.
According to local NBC and ABC affiliates WTLV and WJXX, also known as First Coast News, Pearson’s defense team argued that Smith should have received a lesser sentence for his actions because of his age, mental health, and lack of criminal history. However, the judge eventually rejected their arguments.
Smith stated, “I have taken into account the mitigating circumstances that the defense has effectively presented in this case.” This court has given careful consideration to your client’s age, the fact that he had no prior criminal history, and the fact that he was obviously depressed at the time of the crime. However, the impact of the crime and the crime itself far outweigh any mitigation the court has taken into account.
Pearson’s father was heard repeatedly yelling, “Oh, God!” as his parents gasped and sobbed from the courtroom gallery as he read his decision aloud. Pearson was permitted to give them a hug and bid them farewell, but he did not seem to cry.
Smith informed Pearson, who was staring straight ahead with a chilly, expressionless expression on his face while his parents sobbed behind him, “You are sentenced to serve the remainder of your life in prison.”
Following the June 2023 attack, the former high school football star allegedly attempted suicide, leaving a big scar on his neck. “I’ve thought about this day, this moment, this statement for the last 538 days,” Schemitz said during the sentence. live in actual agony.
Pearson’s arrest warrant states that on June 3, 2023, Schemitz and her mother went to Mr. Chubby’s Wings in Ponte Vedra Beach to meet up with some pals. After they were seated, they saw Pearson at a nearby table, who they claimed was stalking and harassing Schemitz following a breakup. According to the police, Pearson followed the mother and daughter out to the parking lot after they decided to leave the restaurant, and then he charged at Schemitz.
According to a witness who spoke to detectives, the defendant stabbed the young girl about fifteen times while holding her with one arm.
According to the police, Rog was stabbed in the leg and forehead while attempting to remove Pearson from her daughter. Additionally stabbed was a random bystander in the parking lot who intervened and managed to separate Pearson from the two.
According to the arrest request, the defendant repeatedly cut his own throat after being dislodged, informing bystanders that he was trying to terminate his own life.
After the near-fatal attack, Pearson’s family and attorneys blamed mental health issues on the football player’s head injury, which they said caused CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). According to Pearson’s legal team, he was a star athlete who was struck almost 10,000 times while competing. At his sentencing, his parents apologized to Schemitz and her mother.
His father said, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I am aware that you have experienced a great deal of pain. I apologize for putting up with all of this. I simply cannot express how sorry I am enough, and I pray for you to find peace and forgiveness. You all aren’t worthy of this.
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