Bryn Spejcher, the Californian woman who was found guilty in December of involuntary manslaughter after killing her boyfriend during a cannabis-induced psychosis, was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and no prison time.
In a packed courtroom, Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley ruled that Ms. Spejcher, now 33, “had no control over her actions” when she entered into a psychotic episode and stabbed her then-26-year-old boyfriend, Chad O’Melia, to death on May 28, 2018. She had also stabbed herself and her dog.
The mild sentence evoked strong reactions. As Ms. Spejcher and her family drew sobs of relief, the victim’s family was left stunned and shocked.
Sean O’Melia, the victim’s father, accused the judge of being biased, arguing that the ruling set a dangerous precedent.
“I think he set an absolutely terrible precedent in the state of California where it’s okay to kill somebody after you smoke marijuana,” he told reporters.
Ms. Spejcher’s father declined to comment. Her attorney, Bob Schwartz, said he was happy for the family. “Judge Worley did the right and courageous thing,” he told the Ventura County Star.
According to the investigation, Ms. Spejcher and Mr. O’Melia first met at a dog park in 2018. They had been dating for just a few weeks when, according to Ms. Spejcher, she accompanied her boyfriend as he went out to smoke marijuana out of a bong on the porch of his apartment in Thousand Oaks the night of May 27.
Ms. Spejcher said she didn’t feel the drugs had any effect on her, whereupon Mr. O’Melia said he’d give her something more intense to smoke. This made her feel sick, her vision blurred, and she had difficulty breathing. At the time, she believed she was dying and started hearing voices, telling her to keep fighting so she’d come out of it.
Ms. Spejcher stabbed and cut Mr. O’Melia 108 times with two different knives. She’d also stabbed herself multiple times, and her dog.
When Police arrived at around 1 a.m., they found the victim lying in a pool of blood while Ms. Spejcher was screaming hysterically. As officers tried to disarm her, she plunged the knife she was holding into her own neck, piercing her right jugular vein. She was rushed to a hospital.
Court documents noted that Ms. Spejcher was described as appearing “possessed” on Law Enforcement body-cam footage from the scene, which is consistent with acute psychosis.
The court psychologist also noted that Ms. Spejcher’s stabbing of her own dog was “highly inconsistent with her love of dogs, and underscores her level of impairment.”
After her guilty verdict, Ms. Spejcher was facing up to four years in prison, a punishment the judge didn’t believe was warranted considering the evidence and the agreement between both defense and prosecution experts regarding her having had an acute psychotic attack.
The judge also pointed out that Ms. Spejcher did not know marijuana could have this type of effect on her.
Though Ms. Spejcher told police that she had asked her boyfriend of her own initiative to try some marijuana as he went outside to smoke his bong, during the trial, her lawyers claimed she was pressured and intimidated into smoking the more “intense” stuff.
Under California criminal law, people are responsible for their actions when impaired by alcohol or drugs unless their intoxication was involuntary.
If Ms. Spejcher violates her probation, the judge said she will have to do four years of prison time.
