A lawyer for the California woman who avoided prison time after fatally stabbing her boyfriend during a marijuana-induced psychosis has applauded the judge’s mild sentence, while warning about the lesser known dangers of the drug.
Medical experts from both the defense and the prosecution agreed that Bryn Spejcher, 33, suffered an acute psychotic episode after smoking extra-strength marijuana in 2008, when she fatally stabbed her boyfriend, Chad O’Melia, 108 times.
She also stabbed her dog, and then herself 43 times when police entered the apartment. She was rushed to a hospital with a punctured jugular vein, where she underwent multiple surgeries.
A jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter in December, which in the state normally carries a sentence of four years in prison.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley ruled that Ms. Spejcher “had no control over her actions” at the time, as he sentenced her to two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and no prison time.
“The defense presented in court was not a ‘con job’ as some have described it,” attorney Michael Goldstein told Fox News. “The defense of ‘cannabis-induced psychosis’ was based primarily on the testimony of both renowned psychiatrist Dr. William Wirshing and prosecution expert Dr. Kris Mohandie.”
In total, four experts were consulted who all agreed that Ms. Spejcher’s violence was “unpredictable” and “unforeseeable,” Mr. Goldstein said, who further clarified that the marijuana Mr. O’Melia had given his client to smoke was an unusually potent strain, with a THC level of 31.8 percent—significantly higher than what is commonly available on the market.
The packaging had a warning label saying “High Tolerance Users Only,” something Ms. Spejcher was not notified of at the time, Mr. Goldstein said.
He said his client had only smoked marijuana a couple of times prior, whereas he described the victim as a “well-documented, experienced, and chronic user of high potency cannabis.”
“That came with a responsibility. With that information, Ms. Spejcher could have made an informed decision and this tragedy could have been avoided,” he said.
Scientists at the Yale School of Medicine have warned about the potential dangers of the dramatically rising levels of THC in marijuana of recent decades—up from 4 percent THC in 1995 to an average of 17 percent in 2017 in a trend that endures until today.
Processed marijuana products can contain up the 90 percent THC, Mr. Goldstein said. “Nobody seems to want to address this issue.”
Though Ms. Spejcher may not have known just how potent the marijuana was, she would at least have been aware of being given something strong, according to a police testimony.
In 2019, Sgt. Steven Jenkins testified that Ms. Spejcher told him that she at first felt no effect from smoking the drug. Her boyfriend then said he’d give her something more intense—which she smoked. This made her feel ill and lapse into a psychotic state.
Given the medical experts’ agreement on Ms. Spechjer’s state, the trial mainly revolved around the question of whether her intoxication was voluntary, as California law does not hold people responsible for their actions under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the intoxication was involuntary.
The defense’s argument that their client had been pressured and intimidated into smoking the more intense strain, failed to persuade the jury. Still, the judge ruled Ms. Spejcher deserved no prison time.
The victim’s father, Sean O’Melia, was deeply disappointed with the mild ruling.
“The judge didn’t do his job,” he told Fox News. “He went against the recommendations of the District Attorney; he went against the recommendations of the probation officer, and …” he remarked, “the community found her guilty. So he obviously didn’t respect the community’s decision either.”
Mr. O’Melia also felt the ruling set a dangerous precedent.
“Ms. Spejcher is broken and remorseful for what happened to Chad,” Mr. Goldstein said of his client. “She will never again live a normal life and her medical license and ability to help other deaf people is at risk.”
