A former Florida high school football star sat emotionless in court on Friday after learning that he will be sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his girlfriend 15 times before attempting to commit suicide by cutting his own throat.
The attack by Spencer Pearson happened in 2023 and left Madison Schemitz, 17, paralyzed and in need of a cane to walk.
“This court does not impose a sentence based on vengeance,” said St. Johns County Circuit Court Judge R. Lee Smith. “There are just certain crimes that are committed that merit the maximum sentence possible … and this court finds that this is one of them.”
In a courtroom filled with anticipation and hushed silence, Pearson, aged 20, finally received the verdict months after admitting guilt to charges of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated battery causing serious bodily injury with a weapon in July. The criminal complaint, filed by the victim’s mother, Jacki Rogé, revealed that Pearson had been stalking and harassing the girl for almost a week before committing the violent act. This information was reported by Law and Crime.
“This defendant launched a vicious attack on a 17-year-old girl who had done nothing but show him love and only weeks earlier had done her part to try to save his life when he attempted suicide,” the judge said. “The same person who had tried to save his life, he violently and viciously attacked.”
In the complaint, Rogé claimed that Pearson, who was 18 at the time, exhibited peculiar behavior towards her daughter. He would follow her on her way to school, leave notes on her car, and harass her on social media. Despite the girl’s mother blocking Pearson on social media, he persisted in the harassment by creating fake accounts.
According to the complaint filed by Rogé, Pearson, who was dealing with severe mental health issues, allegedly assured Rogé that she would handle her son’s behavior accordingly. However, tensions escalated on June 3 when Schemitz and her mother met with friends at Mr. Chubby’s Wings in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Once the party was seated, the girl and her mother noticed Pearson sitting at a nearby table. They promptly got up and left the restaurant, but Pearson pursued them. According to the warrant, after they left the establishment, Pearson allegedly “charged” at them.
“The defendant held the juvenile victim with one arm and stabbed her approximately fifteen times,” a witness later told investigators. When Rogé tried to interfere, she was stabbed in both the forehead and leg. According to the affidavit, a random stranger was able to pull Pearson off the mother and daughter but was also stabbed in the process.
“After being dislodged, the defendant sliced his own throat several times telling witnesses he was attempting to kill himself,” according to the arrest warrant. It was reported that during the ensuing trial, Pearson’s legal team attempted to use the boy’s mental health problems, lack of criminal history and age to get the judge to issue a punishment below the minimum sentence for his crimes.
However, the judge was not dissuaded. “I have considered the mitigating circumstances that have been well presented by the defense in this case,” Smith said. “This court has carefully thought and weighed and considered your client’s age, his lack of any prior criminal history, the fact that he was suffering from, clearly, a depressive state of mind when this happened at his age…but the crime that was committed, the impact that this crime has had…it just far outweighs any of the mitigation that the court has considered.”
After the sentence was announced, Pearson’s parents were heard sobbing, and his father repeatedly shouted, “Oh, God!” Before being led away, Pearson had the chance to hug his parents and bid them farewell. Schemitz also addressed the court at the sentencing.
“I’ve thought about this day, this moment, this statement for the last 538 days. … living in true torment,” she said. Pearson’s parents also issued a statement at the trial, apologizing for their son’s actions.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” his father said. “I know you’ve had to go through a world of hurt. And just dealing with all of this, I’m sorry. I pray for you to have peace and forgiveness, and I just can’t say I’m sorry enough. Y’all don’t deserve this.”
