VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KTLA) – Family members of a man stabbed to death by a California woman during an episode of cannabis-induced psychosis in 2018 are outraged after a judge on Tuesday sentenced the 32-year-old woman to two years of felony probation and no prison time.
Bryn Spejcher was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month in the killing of 26-year-old accountant Chad O’Melia.
On May 27, 2018, the 32-year-old went to O’Melia’s apartment where they both took several hits from a bong filled with marijuana. Spejcher experienced an adverse reaction from the marijuana and suffered from Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder, authorities said.
During that psychotic break, she stabbed O’Melia multiple times, eventually killing him. She also stabbed herself repeatedly, officials said.
The next morning, officers arrived at the apartment to find O’Melia in a pool of blood and Spejcher screaming hysterically while still holding a knife in her hands. As officers tried to disarm her, Spejcher plunged the knife into her neck, authorities said.
“Officers used a taser and several baton blows before they were able to finally disarm Spejcher,” police said. “A long-serrated bread knife was taken from her hands.”
O’Melia was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spejcher has been out on bail since the 2018 slaying.
“It’s been five and a half years where she has got to live with her family and we get to live with a box of ashes,” the victim’s brother, Shane O’Melia, said.
The 32-year-old, who had only been dating the victim for a few weeks, was found to have stabbed O’Melia 108 times with three different knives.
“These are things everyone agrees on,” Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Audry Nafziger said. “What we don’t agree on is that she should have walked free today after doing what she did.”
Spejcher faced up to four years in prison along with sentence enhancements, though the judge ruled that given the facts, he didn’t believe it was warranted.
“He took into account her lack of criminal record, her professional standing in the community and that she did in fact suffer from severe psychosis at the time of the killing and really did not know what she was doing,” KTLA Legal Analyst Alison Triessl said of the judge’s sentence.
The judge cited evidence and expert testimony, also saying the 32-year-old did not know marijuana would have this type of effect on her when she smoked with the 26-year-old victim that night.
O’Melia’s family say they are also worried about the broader impact of this ruling.
“I think he set an absolute terrible precedent in the state of California where it’s okay to kill somebody after you smoke marijuana,” the victim’s father, Sean O’Melia, said.
“Does it set a precedent? I don’t know if does, but it’s certainly a case that defense counsels will cite when asking for probation in a case like this,” Triessl said.
If Spejcher violates her probation, the judge said she will have to do four years of prison time. She was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
While the 32-year-old and her family members have not returned KTLA’s requests for comment, she did tearfully address the judge Tuesday. She begged for forgiveness and said she will spend her life doing good for others.