Spencer Pearson was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing his ex-girlfriend in 2023, stabbing her over a dozen times, paralyzing her, and then slitting his own throat. Pearson was a standout football player in high school.

Judge R. Lee Smith of the St. Johns County Circuit Court ruled that this court does not issue a sentence based on retaliation. “This court finds that this is one of the few crimes that merit the maximum sentence possible,” said Judge R. Lee Smith.

A crowded St. Johns County courtroom handed down Smith’s punishment after Pearson, 20, entered a guilty plea in July to attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated battery causing serious bodily damage with a weapon.

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Madison Schemitz, 17, was disabled and needed a cane to walk after Pearson’s vicious attack. She was a standout softball player and a rising senior at Ponte Verde High School, according to her GoFundMe page from the previous year.

Jacki Rog, Pearson’s mother, and a bystander who stepped in were stabbed. Less than a week prior to the almost deadly assault, Rog reportedly filed a criminal complaint against him for harassment and stalking.

Smith claims that just a few weeks prior, Pearson had tried suicide, but Schemitz saved his life.

According to the court’s decision, 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. The same individual who had tried to save his life was aggressively and violently attacked by the defendant.

According to local NBC and ABC affiliates WTLV and WJXX, also known as First Coast News, Pearson’s defense team argued that Smith should be given a lighter term for his crimes because of his age, mental health, and lack of criminal history, but the judge finally rejected their request.

I have considered the mitigating factors that the defense has successfully shown in this case, Smith told the jurors.

The client’s age, lack of criminal history, and depressed state at the time of the incident were all taken into consideration by the court. However, any mitigating considerations the court may have considered are greatly outweighed by the impact of the offense.

Pearson’s parents gasped and wept from the courtroom audience as the judge read his ruling out loud, with his father yelling, “Oh, God!” several times. Pearson, who did not seem to be crying, was given permission by the judge to give them a hug and bid them farewell.

Smith informed Pearson, who was looking straight ahead with a chilly, expressionless face while his parents wailed behind him, “You are sentenced to serve the remainder of your life in prison.”

After the June 2023 attack, the former high school football star allegedly attempted suicide, leaving a big scar on his neck. “I’ve been living in true torment for the last 538 days thinking about this day, this moment, and this statement,” Schemitz said during the sentence.

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 was allegedly stalking and harassing Schemitz after a split. After following the mother and daughter from the restaurant to the parking lot, Pearson allegedly charged Schemitz, according to the police.

According to a witness who spoke to detectives, the defendant stabbed the young girl about fifteen times while holding her with one arm.

In the process of trying to remove Pearson from her daughter, Rog was stabbed in the leg and forehead.

Pearson was also stabbed by a random stranger in the parking lot who stepped in and managed to extricate Pearson from the two.

According to the arrest warrant, the defendant repeatedly cut his own throat after he dislodged, informing bystanders that he was trying to terminate his own life.

Later, Pearson’s family and attorneys attributed the near-fatal attack on mental health problems, pointing to head injuries from football activity that they said caused CTE.

During his playing career, Pearson was hit about 10,000 times, according to the legal team. His parents expressed regret to Schemitz and her mother at his punishment.

“I apologize,” his dad said. I am aware that you have endured a great deal of suffering. I’m sorry you have to put up with all of this. I can’t express how sorry I am, and I pray that you find forgiveness and serenity. You all aren’t worthy of this.

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