St. Johns County

‘Share, pray and show love:’ Friends identify victim in triple stabbing in Ponte Vedra Beach

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Friends have confirmed the name of the main victim in a triple stabbing in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Madison Schemitz is still in the hospital. She’s a rising senior and softball player at Ponte Vedra High School. Her mother and a man who stopped the suspect were also hurt.

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The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office released the arrest warrant for 18-year-old Spencer Pearson. The report said he started harassing the Schemitz in April. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery.

The arrest report said Schemitz was stabbed by Pearson at least 15 times. She is in serious condition at Memorial Hospital, according to friends.

“It’s really hard to wrap your arms around this type of event,” Steven Edisis said. He and his colleague, Joe Petri, work with Schemitz’s father.

The two set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family during this difficult time.

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“The one thing that I know about Chris [Madison’s father] is his kids are the most important thing to him,” Joe Petri said. “Above all else, the kids are the most important thing.”

St. Johns County deputies responded to Mr. Chubby’s Wings in Ponte Vedra Beach around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday for a reported stabbing. A newly released arrest report said the victim and her mother left the restaurant after seeing the suspect at a nearby table. Twenty seconds later, witnesses told deputies, he was charging towards the two. He held Schemitz and began stabbing her. The victim’s mother attempted to intervene and was stabbed by the defendant in the forehead and leg, according to the arrest report.

The man who stepped in to stop the attack also sustained injuries. Action News Jax spoke to Kennedy Armstrong Sunday after he was released from the hospital.

“I just immediately took off sprinting and hit the guy as hard as I could to get him off of her,” Armstrong said.

Read: Ponte Vedra man helps victims during stabbing incident

Pearson then sliced his own throat several times, telling witnesses he was attempting to kill himself.

A second GoFundMe fundraiser, organized by Ponte Vedra Beach Moms, said Schemitz is in critical condition with a spinal cord injury, and her mother, Jacki, went into surgery Monday.

“We did everything we could to take immediate action so that his family [the Schemitz’s] would get as much support and prayers and shares,” Petri said. “Dollars are great, but the shares and the community and having it out there will really help this family during this really horrific time.”

Read: Triple stabbing outside restaurant in Ponte Vedra Beach, SJSO investigating

The arrest report said two of the victims and the suspect remain hospitalized with an “unknown prognosis.”

“The only thing we can do is again share, pray and show love and as much financial support as we can,” Edisis said.

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