Spencer Ross Pearson, Florida inmate C52396, born 2004, incarceration intake November 2024 at age 20, sentenced to life without parole
Attempted Murder, Aggravated Battery
In November 2024, sitting emotionless in a Florida courtroom with his parents watching, former high school football star Spencer Pearson was handed a life sentence for butchering his ex-girlfriend in 2023 — stabbing her more than a dozen times and leaving her paralyzed — before slicing his own throat.
"This court does not impose a sentence based on vengeance," said the Judge. "There are just certain crimes that are committed that merit the maximum sentence possible … and this court finds that this is one of them."
As the Judge was delivering the verdict, Pearson was observed shaking nervously in anticipation.
Smith's sentence was delivered in a packed St. Johns County courtroom after Pearson, 20, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated battery causing serious bodily injury with a weapon in July 2024.
Pearson's ex-girlfriend, Madison Schemitz, 17, was left paralyzed and dependent on a cane to walk as a result of his brutal assault after suffering injuries to her spinal cord. She has been described as a "rising senior" at Ponte Verde High School and "star softball player."
Her mother, Jacki Rogé, was also stabbed by Pearson, as was a bystander who intervened. Rogé reportedly filed a criminal complaint against him for stalking and harassment less than one week before the near-fatal onslaught. Pearson had also tried taking his own life "only weeks earlier," per Smith, but was stopped by Schemitz.
"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."
The former high school football star bore a large scar on his neck from his alleged suicide attempt after the June 2023 attack.
Pearson's age, mental health and lack of criminal history were all cited by his defense team as reasons for Smith to go below the minimum sentence for his crimes, but the judge ultimately refused.
"You are sentenced to serve the remainder of your life in prison," Smith told Pearson, who stared straight ahead with a cold and expressionless look on his face as his parents broke down behind him.
While reading his decision out loud, Pearson's parents could be heard gasping and sobbing from the courtroom gallery, with his father shouting "Oh, God!" repeatedly. Pearson, who did not appear to cry, was allowed to hug and say goodbye to them.
Pearson's family and lawyers later cited mental health problems for causing the near-fatal attack, pointing to head trauma he sustained while playing football, which they claimed led to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Pearson's legal team referred to him as a star athlete who got hit "roughly 10,000" times during his playing days. His parents offered up apologies at his sentencing to Schemitz and her mother.
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