A sports star who cut a girl and then still bears the scars in court – sentenced to life in prison

Former sports star who stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her mother in… last summer in a frenzied attack in a Florida parking lot — before he slit his throat — still had scars from his suicide attempt when he appeared in court for sentencing.

Spencer Ross Pearson, 20, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery charges in July.

His family blamed the attack on a head injury he suffered when he was a high school football star.

Pearson was arrested in June 2023 after he stabbed 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 stalked Schemitz. As a result of the attack, she was paralyzed from the chest down. According to the Florida Times-Union.

Surveillance footage shows the mother and daughter trying to leave the restaurant as Pearson follows them until they finally rush towards Schemitz and stab 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 cut but was able to stop the attack.

Pearson then cut his neck before he was arrested.

Both Schemitz and Pearson, as well as both of their parents, testified during the emotional sentencing.

During her testimony, Schemitz said she had been thinking about this moment since the terrifying attack.

“June 3, 2023 was without a doubt the worst and most traumatic day of my life. And I remember every second of it,” she read.

Schemitz later added: “Your honor, a 17-year-old girl shouldn’t have to experience the feeling of being stabbed. Your Honor, I shouldn’t remember the feeling of being stabbed over and over again. …I remember the moment I realized I was paralyzed. I remember struggling to breathe and form words.

Pearson also apologized, telling the court he had “hurt three innocent people.”

“I think about my terrible crimes committed every second of every day. I think about it all the time and it will never, ever change. … I can’t imagine what I put them through and the negative effects it had on everyone involved. I understand the anger and hatred that everyone has towards 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 trying to kill himself after breaking up with Schemitz.

The devastated father apologized to all three victims, telling his son’s ex-girlfriend: ‘Madison, you were always so sweet… you were such a beautiful person to be around. You have been 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 are a sweet soul, you are a beautiful person, I know it. Sorry.”

Doctors who testified told the court that Pearson’s MRI showed multiple head injuries similar to those an NFL player might suffer, and said his violent act was more likely to occur due to brain injuries.

Meanwhile, Schemitz’s mother took the stand and told Pearson that he sentenced “Madison to life in prison on June 3, 2023, and it seems only right that you receive the same sentence.”

While Pearson’s defense attorney asked for 12 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervision and mental health counseling, Judge R. Lee Smith opted for a more severe sentence.

“June 3, 2023, the events that occurred that afternoon were horrific,” Smith said. “This defendant launched a brutal attack on a 17-year-old girl… who just weeks earlier had done her part to try to save his life when he attempted to commit suicide. He brutally and furiously attacked the same person who tried to save his life.”

The judge noted that the lasting impact of Pearson’s crimes would make “any departure from the (sentencing) guidelines inappropriate.”