Guilty Plea From Ponte Vedra Beach Man Raises CTE Defense Before Sentencing for Stabbing Attack

After entering a guilty plea to the stabbing deaths of his ex-girlfriend Madison Schemitz and her mother Jaclyn Rog, Spencer Ross Pearson is awaiting sentencing this Friday. His defense is breaking new ground in the courtroom by bringing up the issue of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In June 2023, Pearson, then eighteen, attacked outside a restaurant in Ponte Vedra Beach, leaving Schemitz temporarily paralyzed. Kennedy Armstrong, a bystander, was hurt while attempting to assist the victims, according to News4Jax.

The defense will present Pearson’s CTE case in court, arguing that his violent behavior may have been influenced by his history of playing tackle football from the age of six to eighteen. According to First Coast News, Pearson’s lawyers were successful in postponing the sentencing, which was initially scheduled for October, so that their client could get MRI scans. They also disclosed that they had found fresh evidence that suggests CTE may be diagnosed in living individuals.

Previously thought to be confirmed only after death, new research has revealed potential indications of CTE in living people’s brain scans. According to a 2023 study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology, 41% of young players’ brains that were donated after they passed away exhibited CTE, according to Pearson’s legal team. According to News4Jax, the athletes who played contact sports like football and ice hockey displayed behavioral and cognitive abnormalities like heightened impulsivity and hostility, which were linked to the neurodegenerative illness.

The use of CTE as a defense in violent criminal cases has been viewed with suspicion and has typically failed, despite these advancements in medical knowledge. “It is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder due to repeated injuries to the brain, and it can happen in sports and the military,” stated Dr. Justin D. Arienzo, a forensic psychologist, in a statement obtained by News4Jax.

Madison Schemitz, the victim, has drawn notice from the public due to her recuperation and her support of victims of domestic abuse. Additionally, she has worked with the family of Tristyn Bailey, who was killed in a different domestic abuse case. The community is awaiting the sentencing outcome and a press conference from the prosecutor’s office following the attack and Pearson’s subsequent guilty plea. The office also intends to present Rog and Armstrong with the Carnegie Medal in recognition of their valor during the attack, according to Court TV.

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