ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A St. Johns County courtroom was packed Friday, as a 20-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Madison Schemitz, who was in high school at the time, her mother and a good Samaritan who intervened in the incident outside of a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant in 2023.
Spencer Pearson was sentenced on charges of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon (two counts) and aggravated battery causing serious injury with a weapon after changing his plea from not guilty to guilty July 10.
St. Johns County Judge R. Lee Smith said he gave a "tremendous" amount of thought and this was an "extremely difficult" case.
Pearson's attorneys had asked that the court go below the minimum sentence for his crimes. Smith said Pearson requires specialized treatment for his mental health condition. He did not agree with other points made and said the defense's argument did not meet the threshold to deviate from the minimum sentence.
In denying this motion, Smith pointed out that Schemitz had tried to help Pearson when he attempted suicide. "The same person that tried to save his life, he violently attacked," he said. He said that without the intervention of Kennedy Armstrong, the good Samaritan who helped stop the attack, and Schemitz's mother, Pearson would have killed her.
Smith complimented Pearson's counsel for their arguments on his behalf, demonstrating he was "clearly" suffering from a "depressive state of mind," and asking the judge to consider his age and the fact he had no violent history. "This court does not impose a sentence based on vengeance," Smith said.
He said he had carefully considered the mitigation the case. "But the crime that was committed, the impact that this crime has had on Madison, Jacki and Kennedy... It just far outweighs any of the mitigation that this court has considered. There are just certain crimes that are committed that merit the maximum sentence. And this court finds that this is one of them."
After the sentence was read, Pearson's mother could be heard crying and saying, "I love you, Spencer."
He was allowed to hug his parents goodbye before he was taken out of the courtroom.
Schemitz was seen hugging her family as court convened.
What happened?
On June 3, 2023, Madison Schemitz and her mother, Jacki Rogé, attempted to leave Mr. Chubby's Wings in Ponte Vedra Beach when they saw Pearson. According to police records, Pearson charged at them and stabbed Schemitz, as Rogé was stabbed in the forehead and leg trying to protect her daughter.
Kennedy Armstrong, the good Samaritan, suffered hand injuries in the attack.
Pearson's arrest warrant says he reportedly began to follow and harass Maddison Schemitz in April 2023.
Casey Estep, who was eating with Schemitz and Rogé at the restaurant shortly before the stabbing, previously told First Coast News that when Schemitz and her mom spotted Pearson, "They were like, 'Oh, we’ve got to go.'"
Estep said they asked for the check and tried to quietly leave, but before cashing out, Pearson took off running toward Schemitz and her mom.
Pearson's warrant also says that he slit his own throat several times during the incident.
Defense argues Pearson has CTE for shorter sentence
Going into Friday, the defense planned to argue that Pearson has CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a brain disease, from playing tackle football.
During Pearson's father's testimony, he told the courtroom Pearson started playing tackle football at six years old and stopped playing at 18. He said Pearson was hit in the head "roughly 10,000" times over the course of the 12 years he played football, and said he made the calculation based on "the number of games, number of practices" his son had.
The defense called on Dr. Mark Rubino, a neurologist who described the MRI results he observed from Pearson. He said Pearson has a pinched nerve or a spinal cord injury, which leads to brain trauma, and that could be a result for erratic actions and depression.
'I know you've had to go through a world of hurt'
After testifying about Pearson's hits to the head he suffered while playing football, Pearson's father issued an apology to Schemitz, her mom and Armstrong who were all present in the courtroom front row.
To Schemitz, he said: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Madison, you were always so sweet... coming over, 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. You're a sweet soul. You're a beautiful person, I know that. I'm sorry."
To Rogé, he said: "And Jacki, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. 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."
To Armstrong, he said: "Kennedy, thank you. Thank you for saving multiple lives. You are a hero. And I believe you also saved my son, I know you didn't intend to, but I thank you for that."
