Ex-boyfriend repeatedly stabs Florida high school softball star before slitting his own throat

News

By Selim Algar

June 5, 2023 | 5:30 pm

The crazed ex-boyfriend of a popular Florida high school softball star repeatedly stabbed his ex-boyfriend before slitting his own throat in a desperate attempt to kill himself, police said.

The grisly daylight assault on posh Ponte Vedra beach near Jacksonville was stopped only after a brave Good Samaritan saw the frenzied attack and intervened, according to police.

Madison Schemitz, 17, a senior at Ponte Vedra High School, was eating at a restaurant Saturday with her mother, Jackie Roge, and her friend Casey Estep when they spotted Spencer Pearson, a recent high school graduate and former football player.

Estep told local reporters that Schemitz had recently broken up with the 18-year-old and had threatened her with violence ever since.

Pearson’s threatening promises became so unnerving that Schemitz’s mother was in the process of obtaining a restraining order against him for her daughter’s safety.

“They said, ‘Oh, we have to go.'” Estep told First Coast News about her shocked reaction to Pearson’s sudden appearance.

The group quickly paid their bill and attempted to walk to their vehicle, but Pearson intercepted them and began stabbing both Schemitz and his mother.

Bystander Kennedy Armstrong, 23, was sitting in a car parked nearby when he suddenly heard piercing screams.

He turned towards the sound and saw Pearson repeatedly stab Schemitz as he straddled her to the ground.

Armstrong immediately lunged at Pearson and knocked him off the screaming and bloody victim.

“You see two girls in trouble being attacked by a boy, I hope most people do the same,” Armstrong told First Coast News. “Congratulations to the mother. I think she’s the real reason that girl is still alive.”

Pearson then attacked Armstrong, stabbing him in the arm and severing several tendons.

The assault concluded when Pearson slit his own throat in an attempt to kill himself.

All four participants were rushed to a local hospital, and Schemitz suffered deep cuts to his spine and went into temporary paralysis. She has already been through several surgeries and remains in critical condition.

A pair of GoFundMe accounts have already raised more than $80,000 to help Schemetz and his family offset incoming medical costs and other expenses.

“She is the sister of five brothers and will have a long road to recovery as she is in critical condition at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville,” one of Schemitz’s accounts said.

Pearson also remains in critical condition after suffering a severe self-inflicted cut to the neck.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said it intends to charge Pearson with attempted murder if he survives.

The investigation of the case is ongoing.