PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend seventeen times outside a Ponte Vedra beach restaurant in June 2023 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Spencer Pearson was sentenced Friday evening after a long day in court.

Before the judge handed down the sentence, he made it clear how long it took to conclude a case he described as “difficult.”

The attack left then-17-year-old Madison Schemitz partially paralyzed, but her remarkable recovery saw her walk across the stage at her graduation just under a year later.

“The events that unfolded that afternoon were horrific,” the judge said. “The 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 save his life when he attempted suicide.”

Pearson stood quietly with no visible emotion as he waited to see what awaited his future.

The defense was looking for a “downhill departure” and asked for a lesser sentence due to Spencer’s mental capabilities, his age and other factors, even focusing on head injuries sustained in football and possible CTE.

Although the judge said all these elements had been taken into account in this decision, he was still not convinced that Pearson deserved a lesser sentence.

“The impact this crime has had on Madison, Jaclyn and Kennedy far outweighs the mitigation measures this court has considered,” the judge said. “There are simply certain crimes committed that deserve the highest possible punishment and this court finds that this is one of them.”

Pearson was sentenced to life in prison, including an additional 30 years in prison to serve concurrently.

An outburst of tears filled the courtroom, but Pearson remained emotionless. His mother and father wrapped him in hugs filled with cries before he was taken back to prison.

Disclaimer: Some may find the details in this article disturbing. Reader discretion advised.

Schemitz’s mother and a bystander who tried to help them were also injured in the attack, and Pearson was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated battery causing serious injury with a weapon.

Pearson tried to slit his own throat during the domestic violence attack.

“I need serious help and I have for a long time, and I am so sorry for what this has resulted in, I am so sorry for my actions,” Pearson said as he addressed the courtroom during his sentencing hearing.

Watch Pearson’s full statement in the video below

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During Pearson’s sentencing hearing Friday, a St. Johns County detective walked the court through the series of events that led to the attack.

She began by telling the court that Pearson had begun stalking Madison, leaving her messages in her car and creating fake social media accounts.

The detective then walked people through surveillance footage from the day of the attack.

It showed Spencer playing the Mr. walked into Chubbys Wings in Ponte Vedra while Madison, her mother and friends sat across the room.

That video also showed the girls walking outside and to the car after seeing Spencer at the restaurant. He eventually got up from his seat, walked out of the restaurant and attacked Madison and her mother before bystanders intervened.

A photo of the knife detectives found at the scene was also shown in court.

The detective described the scene as messy, with blood platelets all over the sidewalk. She added that they found a grinding block in Pearson’s pocket at the hospital.

Schemitz also took the stand. She read a statement in court during the sentencing hearing, in which she spoke about the trauma of not only the attack, but also her previous relationship with Pearson.

“I have thought about this day, this moment, this declaration every day for the past 538 days. Five hundred and thirty-eight days of living in true torment, 538 days where, regardless of the circumstances, the same dark cloud always hangs over them. Five hundred and thirty-eight days of constantly reliving the trauma the defendant inflicted on me. Your Honor, I say 538 because that is the number of days since June 3, 2023,” Schemitz said.

Schemitz also talked about her recovery journey and her physical and mental struggles.

“I suffer from PTSD and anxiety on a daily basis, I still suffer from sleepless nights and constant nightmares. “I refuse to go out alone at night, in the dark I feel that I fear the worst possibilities in every situation,” she said. “I have lost all trust in the world, and finding that trust in people is few and far between. I have lost all childish innocence.”

Pearson’s father, Dan Pearson, addressed the victims. He was one of the first people to take the stand on Friday.

“Madison, Jaclyn, Kennedy, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry this happened to you. Madison, you were always so sweet. When you came along, you were such a beautiful person to be around, you were so good to our family, I’m sorry this happened to you. I think about you every day, I pray for you every day,” Dan Pearson said.

Jaclyn Rogé, Madison’s mother, was wounded in the forehead, hand and thigh when she tried to intervene in the attack on her daughter. She read a statement during the sentencing hearing.

“You gave Madison a life sentence and all you get is the same. I have to watch her struggle to breathe because of you. To then struggle to gain mobility because of paralysis, because of you,” Rogé said.

Pearson, who was 18 at the time of the crime, was initially scheduled to be sentenced about a month ago, but his lawyers got the hearing postponed so he could be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE.

In court filings, Pearson’s lawyers said they recently learned that new scientific signals indicate CTE can be detected in brain scans of living subjects, including in young athletes.

On October 18, a week before Pearson was to be sentenced, his lawyers asked the court to overturn the sentence. They wrote: “An underlying issue in the case is whether the suspect suffers from repetitive head impacts (RHI) while playing his sentence. Tackling football from the ages of 6 to 18 causes him to suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Forensic psychologist Dr. Justin D’Arienzo explained how CTE works.

“It is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder resulting from repeated brain injuries, and it can occur in sports and the military,” he said. “Usually we’re talking about repetitive head injuries, and as a result, behavioral and cognitive changes occur.”

Changes may include increased aggression, impulsivity, and as the disease progresses, more cognitive problems.

D’Arienzo said CTE can contribute to crime.

Pearson’s lawyers cited a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology in 2023, which examined the donated brains of 152 deceased contact athletes under the age of 30. The study found that 41% of them had CTE, and most of them played at the high school and college levels. Their sports include football, ice hockey, rugby, soccer and wrestling. The most common cause of death was suicide, the study said.

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“I believe that in this case, as we await sentencing, they will use this to mitigate the sentence, to reduce the sentence, to show that this gentleman may have had a series of head injuries that led to the CTE which then led to him being impulsive and irrational and having a very aggressive outburst and that, if he never had that CTE, he would never have acted in this way,” D’Arienzo said.

Dan Pearson also described his son’s time in football as a defensive end with multiple concussions and thousands of hits, saying he saw his son change over time.

“When they started the relationship, to be honest, he wasn’t just handling it well. I think he was, but he just couldn’t enjoy it. He was always just stressed. He seemed too preoccupied with many things. Take him to a bad place. Very uncertain,” said Dan Pearson.

In court records, Pearson’s attorney described him as an anxious loner who fell into depression after Schemitz broke up with him a few months before the attack — and even attempted suicide.

They also noted that Pearson’s brain scans showed signs of trauma from years of playing football, which resulted in reduced impulse control, acting without regard to consequences and becoming easily irritated.

The defense noted that Pearson had been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and major depression with psychotic features, due to reports of sometimes hearing voices.

“Spencer deserves a chance at a life. Spencer needs help, I know that without a doubt. He has a lot of problems, a lot of mental problems, I’m worried about his head injury,” Dan Pearson said.

A psychologist called by the state testified that his analysis of Pearson indicated he was fabricating auditory hallucinations.

Sources

If you or someone you know is or has been a victim of domestic violence or abuse, here is a list of other available resources:

• The Florida Domestic Violence Hotline, which will direct you to the nearest shelter, is 1-800-500-1119.

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24 hours a day. The number is 1-800-799-SAFE.

• Hubbard House (Duval, Baker counties): 24/7 hotline is 904-354-3114 and text line at 904-210-3698.
• The Micah’s Place (Nassau County) Domestic Violence Hotline is 904-225-9979.