The former star athlete who stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her mother to death in a parking lot in Florida last summer, before cutting his own throat, still bore the scars of a suicide attempt when he appeared in court for sentencing.
Spencer Ross Pearson, 20, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in July to attempted murder and aggravated assault.
His family blamed the attack on a head injury sustained by the former high school football star.
Pearson was arrested in June 2023 after allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend, 17-year-old Madison Shemitz, her mother, Jaclyn Rosi, and a bystander who tried to intervene outside a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant.
He was 18 years old at the time and had been stalking Shemitz. The attack left her paralyzed from the chest down. The Florida Times Union reported.
Surveillance video of the attack shows Pearson chasing the mother and daughter as they were leaving the restaurant, eventually lunging at Shemitz and stabbing them 15 times. There is. Rogge tried to fight her daughter's attacker, but was stabbed in the forehead and leg.
A bystander who intervened was also slashed, but was able to stop the onslaught.
Pearson then decapitated himself before being taken into custody.
Mr. Shemitz and Mr. Pearson, as well as their parents, testified during the emotional sentencing.
In her testimony, Shemitz said she had been thinking about this moment ever since the horrific attack.
“June 3, 2023 was without a doubt the worst and most traumatic day of my life. And I remember it every second,” she read.
Shemitz later added: “Sir, no 17-year-old girl needs to know what it feels like to be stabbed.Sir, I don’t need to remember what it feels like to have my body cut over and over again by a knife. I remember that moment, struggling to breathe and form words.”
Mr Pearson also apologized, telling the court he had “hurt three innocent people”.
“Every second of every day I think about the horrible crimes I committed. It's always on my mind and this will never, ever change. …What I put them through. And I can't even imagine the negative impact I had on everyone involved. I understand the anger and hatred they all have towards me,” he said.
Pearson's father, Daniel Pearson, testified about his son's football-related head injuries over the years and how he and his wife found him attempting suicide after breaking up with Shemitz.
The distraught father apologized to all three victims and told his son's ex-girlfriend: You have been very good to our family. I'm sorry this happened. I think of you every day and pray for you every day. You are a kind soul and a beautiful person, I know that. sorry. “
Doctors testifying in court said Pearson's MRI scan showed evidence of multiple head injuries that can be sustained by an NFL player, and that the violent act was likely due to a brain injury.
Meanwhile, Shemitz's mother took the stand and told Pearson, “I sentenced Madison to life in prison on June 3, 2023, and I believe you deserve the same sentence.'' Ta.
Pearson's attorneys had asked for 12 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervision and mental health counseling, but Judge R. Lee Smith decided on a harsher sentence.
“What happened that afternoon on June 3, 2023 was horrific,” Smith said. “This defendant launched a vicious attack on a 17-year-old girl… who had just done her part in trying to save her life when she had attempted suicide just a few weeks earlier. violently and viciously attacked the same person who was trying to save him.”
The judge noted that due to the lasting impact of Pearson's crimes, “any deviation would fall below the statutory standard.” [sentencing] Guidelines are inappropriate. ”
