Rising senior and her mother stabbed multiple times outside Florida restaurant by jilted ex-boyfriend

Three victims were hospitalized after a jilted ex-boyfriend allegedly attempted a murder-suicide against a 17-year-old high school softball player and her mother, stabbing the girl an estimated 15 times.

(Video: First Coast News)

Saturday outside Mr. Chubby’s Wings in Ponte Vedra, Florida, a posh suburb of Jacksonville, months of alleged harassment came to a head when 18-year-old graduate and former football player Spencer Pearson encountered Madison Schemitz and her mother Jaclyn Roge.

The victim’s friend Casey Estep was with the mother-daughter duo on their lunch outing and told First Coast News their response to seeing Pearson there was “Oh, we’ve got to go.”

In their effort to flee the scene, the suspect reportedly pursued the group and began stabbing Schemitz and her mother. Nearby, 23-year-old Kennedy Armstrong heard the screams and said he discovered the suspect straddling the victim and continuing to stab her.

“You see two girls in trouble getting attacked by a guy, I would hope most people would do the same. Kudos to the mom. I think she’s the real reason that girl is still alive,” he expressed to the outlet.

Armstrong’s effort to stop the suspect led Pearson to take the knife to his own throat which he slashed multiple times.

The victims were rushed to the hospital along with Pearson. While Armstrong suffered injuries to his arm and Roge was stabbed in the leg and forehead, according to St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office, Schemitz had suffered cuts to her spine and was experiencing temporary paralysis.

A statement from the sheriff’s Sunday said, “Should the suspect survive his self-inflicted injuries, he will be charged with multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.”

Later, the arrest warrant detailed allegations of harassment and threats of violence beginning in April following Schemitz breaking up with Pearson. It also conveyed Roge’s attempt to obtain a restraining order against Pearson and indicated the suspect had stabbed Schemitz approximately 15 times.

The 18-year-old was charged with two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder and one of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Since the attack, Schemitz had undergone multiple surgeries and her oldest sibling Tatiana Cruceta spoke to First Coast News about her sister, the incident, and expectations about recovery.

“There were some issues in the past after they’d broken up, where he was threatening her safety. My mother was looking to get a restraining order against him, so this was definitely premeditated,” she charged.

Madison Schemitz, 17, is pictured with her then-boyfriend Spencer Pearson, 18. On Saturday he attacked her, her mother, and a person who tried to save the women

“Madison is a fighter, you know. She’s going to make it through this, and I know she is going to walk out of this hospital,” the sister added.

Cruceta, in New York at the time of the attack, indicated that she had spoken with her sister on the phone. “Madison’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, she’s always smiling, always. So as soon as I answered the phone — we all call her ‘Sass,’ that’s her nickname — so I said ‘how you doin, Sass? How you feelin?’ And she goes ‘Oh just dandy.’ So she was cracking jokes and trying to be strong.”

With multiple crowdfunding efforts underway to cover costs for the victims reaching more than $80,000, Roge released her own statement that read, “I would please ask for privacy at this time but ask everyone pray for my daughter, she is the strongest most amazing person I know. We owe huge gratitude to that young man Kennedy for saving Madison’s life and the incredible trauma team, neuro surgeons, and hospital staff at Memorial hospital.”

Kevin Haggerty

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