A judge released a 32-year-old California woman, Bryn Spejcher, who had been convicted of stabbing her boyfriend, Chad O’Melia, 108 times. The court’s decision was based on the argument that she was in a state of “cannabis-induced psychosis” at the time, asserting that she had no control over her actions. The incident occurred in O’Melia’s Thousand Oaks apartment on May 27, 2018, where Spejcher not only stabbed her boyfriend multiple times but also inflicted several stab wounds upon herself. She was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter after reports were received from psychiatrists stating that her adverse reaction to marijuana was to blame.
The prosecution portrayed Spejcher as a callous and selfish party girl who just wanted to get high the night of the incident. Still, her parents and others spoke of her as an audiologist who helped people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Spejcher appeared to show remorse during the sentencing hearing and was sobbing at one point.
It was argued that Spejcher was in the early stages of what experts call Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder when she killed her boyfriend, US media reported. The condition can be brought on by a combination of drugs or alcohol and is known to cause disorganized thinking, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, aggressiveness, and a lack of control.
Spejcher told police that she had smoked marijuana before the incident and suffered an adverse reaction, which led to the psychotic episode. She also said she was not in her right mind at the time of the attack and that she felt like she had died. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, O’Melia was lying in a pool of blood, and Spejcher was screaming hysterically with a knife in her hand. She was tased and struck multiple times with a baton by officers before she was arrested.
During the trial, Spejcher denied she was a cold-blooded killer and argued that she had no control over her actions when she stabbed her boyfriend. She pleaded not guilty to murder but was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Judge David Worley ruled that she didn’t intend to kill her boyfriend and instead acted in self-defense after experiencing an adverse reaction to a bong hit of marijuana.
He sentenced her to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service and ordered her to raise awareness of Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder. He also ordered her never to possess a weapon or smoke marijuana.
The sentence is a lot lighter than it could have been, as the state does not have a mandatory prison term for voluntary manslaughter under its laws. Prosecutors urged the judge to impose prison time, but he disagreed. Prosecutor Audry Nafziger argued that the sentence was too lenient, claiming that Spejcher was a danger to society and that she should have been imprisoned for several years. She will be allowed to appeal her case to a higher court.
