Former star athlete who attacked his ex-girlfriend and her mother with a knife The frenzied parking lot attack in Florida last summer – Before slitting his throat – There were still marks of his suicide attempt when he appeared in court for sentencing.
Spencer Ross Pearson, 20, was sentenced to life in prison Friday after pleading guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery charges in July.
His family blamed the attack on the head injuries he suffered as a high school football star.
Pearson was arrested in June 2023 after stabbing his ex-girlfriend Madison Schemz, who was 17 at the time, and her mother, Jacqueline Rose, as well as a bystander who tried to intervene outside a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant Was.
The then 18-year-old was stalking Schemitz. She was 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 pursues them, eventually running toward Schemitz and stabbing him 15 times. Rose tried to fight off her daughter’s attacker, and was stabbed in the forehead and leg.
A bystander who intervened was also shot, but managed to stop the attack.
Pearson slit his neck before being taken into custody.
Both Schmitz and Pearson, as well as both of their parents, testified during an emotionally charged sentencing hearing.
During her testimony, Schmitz said she had been thinking about this moment since the horrific attack.
“June 3, 2023 was undoubtedly the worst, most painful day of my life. And I remember every second of it,” she read.
Schemitz later said: “Your Honor, a 17-year-old girl should not know the feeling of being stabbed. Your Honor, I should not remember the feeling of having a knife stabbed repeatedly in my body. …I remember the moment I realized I was paralyzed. I remember struggling to breathe and form words.
Pearson also apologized, telling the court that he had “hurt three innocent people.”
“I think about the terrible crimes I committed every second of every day. It’s constantly on my mind and it will never change. …I can’t even imagine the impact I’ve had on them and the negative impact I’ve had on everyone involved. He said, “I understand that they all have anger and hatred towards me.”
Pearson’s father, Daniel Pearson, testified about the football-related head injuries his son had suffered over the years, and how he and his wife discovered their son was suicidal after he and Schmitz broke up. Was trying to.
The distraught father apologized to all three victims and told his son’s former girlfriend, “Madison, you were always so sweet… you were such a beautiful person. You were very good to our family. I’m sorry this happened to you. I think about you every day, I pray for you every day. You are a sweet soul, you are a beautiful person, I know it. I’m sorry.”
Doctors who testified told the court that Pearson’s MRI showed evidence of multiple head injuries similar to those of an NFL player and said that his violent acts would be more likely due to his brain injuries.
Meanwhile, Schmitz’s mother told Pearson that she had “sentenced Madison to life in prison on June 3, 2023, and it’s only 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 severe punishment.
“The events that unfolded that afternoon, June 3, 2023, were horrific,” Smith said. “This defendant carried out a brutal attack on a 17-year-old girl… who had played a role in trying to save her life when she attempted suicide just weeks earlier. The man who tried to save his life was attacked violently and brutally.”
The judge said that given the lasting impact of Pearson’s crimes “any deviation below the (sentencing) guidelines would be inappropriate.”
