Cowardly Spencer Pearson trembled and bowed his head in court as he was sentenced for the brutal attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend. 

There were gasps in the Florida courtroom and Pearson's sobbing mother cried out as Judge R Lee Smith told Pearson, 20, that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The dramatic scenes unfolded after the court had heard heart-breaking testimony from victim Madison Schemitz, who was just 17-years-old when Pearson stabbed her 17 times, leaving her paralyzed.

Schemitz's statement saw the high school softball star detail what transpired on that fateful day, as she recalled: 'June 3, 2023 was without a doubt, the absolute worst, most traumatic day of my life and I remember every single second of it.'

An emotional Schemitz described in copious, gut-wrenching detail her account of the attack and the 538 grueling days that followed. 

‘I’ve thought about this day, this moment, this statement for the last 538 days. 538 days of living in true torment. 538 days that regardless of the circumstances always had the same dark cloud looming over,' she said.

'538 days of constantly reliving the trauma the defendant put me through.'

The Friday hearing saw Pearson face justice after he was found guilty of viciously attacking his former girlfriend, her mother and a courageous bystander whose intervention likely saved Schemitz's life. 

‘This defendant launched a vicious attack on a 17-year-old girl who had done nothing but show him love and only weeks earlier had done her part to try to save his life when he attempted suicide,' Richard O. Watson Judicial Center, Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith said.

‘The same person who had tried to save his life, he violently and viciously attacked.'

The life sentence came after the Ponte Vedra Beach-local was found guilty of two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon and aggravated battery causing serious bodily injury with a weapon.

Before Schemitz delivered her statement, prosecutors played a video montage of the teen's taxing recovery process, showing her barely able to stand up in the early stages of her rehabilitation.

The former star athlete is now dependent on a cane to walk and move around. 

The near 10-hour sentencing also heard the testimonies of her mother, Jacki Roge, and Kennedy Armstrong, their rescuer, among others. 

Armstrong, 24, who courageously intervened, knocking Pearson off of Schemitz, told the court of his own struggle to recover from that day.

No longer able to apply his trade as a carpenter, the 24-year-old said his life has been permanently altered.

'You planned this,' he told Pearson. 'You knew what you were doing. And thanks to God you failed. You will remain a failure until you see God and he sends you to the devil.'

Meanwhile, Schemitz’s mother called Pearson 'evil' in a scathing testimony that also set its aim on his parents.

'You’re a monster,' Roge said, adding 'I pray for my family’s peace, and I pray for your family to have the lives you deserve.'

A distressed and shivering Pearson later stood before the court, apologizing and pleading for mercy.

'I am so sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I ask for forgiveness, and I ask for mercy.'

In a last-ditch effort for his client to be spared by the judge, Pearson’s lawyer, Matthew Kachergus, argued that his client suffered from varied mental illnesses and had no prior violent history.

Kachergus read statements from supporters who recalled the former high school football star as a once-gentle soul who never exhibited aggression before last year’s carnage.

He also suggested that head trauma from Pearson’s football career played a role.

Yet, in the end, the St. John's County Court Judge said that the irreparable damage his client had wrought was all but beyond calculation.

'There are just certain crimes that are committed that merit the maximum possible sentence,' Smith said.

In describing her near 6-month relationship with her ex, Schemitz said she felt ‘suffocated, trapped, manipulated and controlled,' and claimed he had been stalking her since April 4, 2023. 

Recalling her first memory of Pearson's stalking, Schemitz described in court his relentless tracking of her location, citing an instance when he followed her to a parking lot where she often sat with friends after softball games.

Noticing him on her tail, she frantically called friends and family looking for a safe haven as she did not want Pearson to follow her home.

She described feeling uneasy and unsettled, as he had not exhibited this behavior ever before. 

‘My feeling of fear grew stronger and stronger each second of that drive,’ she said.

She eventually made it safely to a friend's home as Pearson then drove off. 

But, ‘the stalking did not stop there, it had only just begun,' she told the court.

Schemitz then began the process of acquiring a restraining order against her ex as her fears continued to grow.

Remembering every detail of the day of the attack the softball star recalled waking up in excitement as she looked forward to a visit from a distant friend. 

She recalled going to the beach, feeling too cold and then heading to the community pool before deciding to grab a bite at a popular dine-in spot, Mr. Chubby's Wings in Ponte Vedra.

On the way to the eatery, Schemitz called her mother, inviting her to join her and the friend for lunch before flicking on Katy Perry's 'California Girls' for the rest of the drive.

Schemitz, her mother, her friend and her friend's mother sat and ate inside the wing spot for approximately 30 minutes before noticing Pearson, who had followed them into the establishment.

With growing unease, the four of them decided to leave the restaurant, ignoring Pearson and heading to the parking lot. 

'Never in a million years did I think I wouldn't end up making it to my car,' Schemitz said. 

She recalled taking a photograph of Pearson's truck as to keep records of his behavior and appearances as she was still in pursuit of a restraining order. 

'I remember finally reaching my car and hearing my mother scream. I could hear her fear,' she said.

'At 4:30 pm I saw the defendant running towards me faster than I had ever seen him run before.' 

As she tried to evade his relentless pursuit, he grabbed her from behind and begun viciously stabbing her, landing several lacerations before she then hit the ground and ‘began feeling the attack.’

'I vividly remember being on my hands and knees as my screams slowly becoming more and more silent.'

Terrified and still screaming, her mother ripped Pearson off of her daughter. 

Pearson then began attacking Roge before turning again towards his ex-girlfriend, who had laid, paralyzed, with her eyes closed in the parking lot.

Now, pulling into the parking lot and witnessing the horrific scene, Armstrong raced over, 'hitting him as hard as I could.' 

Schemitz who was still on the ground: 'I remember opening my eyes and still not being able to see. I remember asking my mom, who was now on top of me to get off as she was now actively bleeding onto my face and into my eyes.'

Surrounded by many others who witnessed the gruesome attack, the 17-year-old high school student looked to her left to see her attacker ‘pathetically slit his own throat.’ The gruesome scar from this act was still visible in Pearson's mug shot and as he appeared in court.

After his desperate suicide bid Pearson would later be transported to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. 

'I remember my mom holding one of my 17 stab wounds closed. I remember numerous people trying to help keep me alive, begging for me to stay awake.'

Just four minutes later first responders arrived at the scene, lifting the bleeding teen onto a stretcher and later into a helicopter that would take her to Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, she recalled in court.

'I remember waking up in the ICU on June 4, and my mom had told me I had been paralyzed.'

Schemitz suffered from a lacerated spinal cord.

'Every single day following I would have to continue to fight for my life, for normality and to gain every ounce of independence I once had,' she told the court. 

Both Armstrong and Roge were injured in the attack. 

Armstrong suffered stab wounds to his hand that would later require reconstructive surgery.

Roge suffered stab wounds to the forehead and the leg, for which she was later hospitalized. 

'On June 3 2023 the defendant attacked and stabbed me 17 times with the intent of killing me.' 

For the entire 36-minutes of her testimony, not once did she refer to her attacker by name. 

The teen girl also recalled her inability to sleep through the night while in the hospital as she often woke up screaming as through nightmares she relived the vicious attack. 

'The defendants decision on June 3, 2023 will forever haunt me,' she said. 

Schemitz has since used her tragic experience in a positive way, as she teamed up with a domestic-abuse awareness initiative, the One Love Foundation. The organization was created by Sharon Love, mother of Yeardley Love, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 2010.

It helps teenagers identify healthy and unhealthy behaviors in relationships. 

'One Love's mission is to educate young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and empower them to avoid abuse,' a GoFundMe post created to help cover the costs of her extensive medical care, read.

'I believe there is no looking back now. Everything happens for a reason. I am incredibly lucky to be alive today,' Schemitz wrote on the post. 

'I will take each day as its own opportunity to live and make a difference in the world. Regarding my recovery, I am currently paralyzed from the chest down. It will be a long and hard road, but I am determined and confident in myself that I will reach my goals to one day walk again. Thank you all for the support thus far.

On May 24, 2024 and in spite of her injuries, Schemitz proudly walked across her high school graduation stage as she received a resounding standing ovation. The teen is now a freshman at the Florida Atlantic University. 

'My story is just getting started,' she said.