- Spencer Pearson, 19, has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing 17-year-old Madison Schemitz 15 times in June.
- Schemitz was saved by a heroic passerby who pulled Pearson off her and was stabbed herself in the process
- Pearson then allegedly tried to slit his own throat, after apparently attempting to kill himself two months earlier in April
A 19-year-old accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend and leaving her paralyzed reportedly attempted suicide in the weeks before the attack, court records show.
Spencer Pearson, 19, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing 17-year-old Madison Schemitz 15 times outside a restaurant in Ponte Vedra Beach, Flordia, in June.
Pearson, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, then allegedly tried to slit his own throat after apparently attempting suicide two months earlier in April and being hospitalized for five days.
His parents arranged for him to speak to counselors from a virtual mental health service called “Here Tomorrow” after he became concerned about his mental health, according to a recent lawsuit filed by his lawyers in the case.
'Mr. Pearson saw Here Tomorrow staff on or about April 17,” the papers state.
Spencer Pearson, 19, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing 17-year-old Madison Schemitz 15 times
Schemitz and Kennedy Armstrong (left) who acted as a Good Samaritan and jumped in when he saw Pearson about to attack Schemitz and her mother
Pearson and Schemitz had been separated for months, but he allegedly continued to stalk her
'The evening after the meeting with Here Tomorrow staff, Mr Pearson attempted suicide, which resulted in a five-day hospital stay.'
Pearson met again with representatives of the organization on June 1, just two days before his stinging attack on the standout softball player.
Schemitz, a rising senior at Ponte Vedra High School, was with Mr. Chubby's Wings with her mom, Jacki Roge, and girlfriend Casey Estep when they saw her ex-boyfriend Pearson.
Her mother filed a complaint against Pearson for allegedly stalking Schemitz in the months after their breakup.
Rogé said her increasingly fearful daughter said Pearson had followed her on the way to school, left notes in her car and harassed her on social media using fake accounts.
As the group left the restaurant, Pearson suddenly attacked Schemitz, police said.
Paramedics at the scene of the attack outside a restaurant on June 3
Schemitz, a softball player at Ponte Vedra High School before the attack in June
Schemitz's mother, Jacki Roge, was also injured in the attack that left her daughter paralyzed
Speaking about her recovery at a press conference in July, Schemitz said: 'There is no going back. Everything happens with a reason.'
Bystander Kennedy Armstrong, 23, intervened and pulled Pearson off Schemitz, likely saving her life.
Schemitz said of her recovery during a press conference in July: “There is no going back.
'Everything happens with a reason. I am incredibly lucky to be alive today and I will use every day as its own opportunity to live and make a difference in the world.
“In the future, I will start a One Love chapter at my high school in hopes of raising awareness about the unhealthy behaviors in relationships.”
Adding: 'It will be a long and difficult road, but I am determined and confident that I will achieve my goals of one day walking again… My story is just beginning.'