An arrest warrant has been issued for the ex-boyfriend of a beloved Florida high school softball player after he allegedly repeatedly stabbed his former flame and her mom in broad daylight before “steadily” cutting his own throat in a bleak attempt to take his own life.
Spencer Ross Pearson, 18, is suspected of stabbing 17-year-old ex-girlfriend Madison Schemitz 15 times and stabbing her mother in the forehead and leg when she tried to intervene Saturday afternoon outside a Ponte Vedra Beach sports bar and restaurant.
A bystander who interrupted Pearson was also stabbed during the attack, before the suspect turned the knife on himself, according to officials.
The hospitalized suspect is facing two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said.
Schemitz, a rising senior at Ponte Vedra High School, was at a restaurant with her mother, Jaclyn “Jacki” Roge, and friend Casey Estep when they spotted her ex, who had been threatening her with violence ever since she broke up with him in April, the warrant said.
Threats from the recent high school graduate grew so unnerving that Schemitz’s mother was in the process of obtaining a restraining order against him for her daughter’s safety, according to the document.
While dining at Mr. Chubby’s Wings, the trio noticed Pearson seated at a nearby table and quickly tried to pay their check and exit without confrontation.
About 20 seconds after leaving the restaurant, Pearson charged at Schemitz as the group was walking toward their car, the sheriff’s office said.
One of the victims told authorities that Pearson held Schemitz with one arm and stabbed her about 15 times before attacking Roge, the warrant said.
Fortunately for the family, bystander Kennedy Armstrong, 23, was sitting in a parked car nearby when he heard their screams.
He turned toward the sound and saw Pearson repeatedly stabbing Schemitz while straddling her on the ground.
Armstrong immediately darted toward Pearson and knocked him off the screaming and bloodied victim.
Pearson then attacked Armstrong, stabbing him in the arm and severing several tendons.
His violent assault concluded as he began to “steadily” cut his own throat in an attempt to kill himself, the sheriff’s office said.
Schemitz suffered deep cuts to her spine and experienced temporary paralysis as a result of her injuries.
A pair of GoFundMe accounts have already raised thousands to help Schemitz and her family offset incoming medical costs and other expenses.
“She is a sister to five siblings and she will have a long road to recovery as she is in critical condition at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville,” one of the accounts said of Schemitz.
Another of the victims remained hospitalized along with the accused attempted murderer, police said.
