A California woman who got out of jail scot-free after stabbing her boyfriend 108 times in a marijuana-induced psychosis is appealing her slap-on-the-wrist conviction, arguing that she was tricked into using the drug to begin with.
Bryn Spejcher, 32, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after she stabbed Chad O’Melia, 26, dozens of times before turning the knife on her dog and then herself.
She received a sentence of two years on probation and 100 hours of community service.
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Bryn Spejcher reacts as the jury finds her guilty of manslaughter on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, for the 2018 cannabis-induced killing of Chad O’Melia. Jurors deliberated less than a day before returning their verdict in the afternoon. (ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK)
In a new interview, she revealed she plans to appeal the slap on the wrist because she believes O’Melia tricked her into using the drug, she told the Daily Mail.
Although the two were dating, Spejcher told the outlet she never considered O’Melia her official boyfriend and said she told him she no longer had any romantic interest in him two days before killing him.
She claimed he was aggressive, intimidating and had a temper, she told the outlet. So when he encouraged her to hit a bong on the day of the stabbing, she gave into the pressure — then went into a deadly psychosis.
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Sean O’Melia joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ to remember his son, Chad, who was fatally stabbed by a California woman. (The O’Melia Family)
“Yes, I physically inhaled it,” she said. “So, we’re both accountable, but there’s obviously been more attention to my part [in the attack] versus Chad’s part.”
Her lawyers have maintained that O’Melia introduced her to a hyper-potent strain of marijuana that she wasn’t ready for, resulting in an adverse reaction that sent her into a deadly craze. They did not immediately respond to questions about the appeal Friday morning, before business hours on the West Coast.
“The defense presented in court was not a ‘con job’ as some have described it,” her attorney Michael Goldstein told Fox News Digital after the initial sentencing.
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Bryn Spejcher, left, was sentenced to 100 days of community service after stabbing Chad O’Melia, right, 108 times in his LA apartment. (Ventura County District Attorney’s Office/Fox & Friends First)
Months before the fatal encounter, O’Melia’s roommate also had an “extreme reaction” after smoking out of the same bong, Goldstein said. He suffered hallucinations and fear of death.
Spejcher had only smoked pot less than a half-dozen times prior to the stabbing, her lawyers said, describing her as a “naive user.” She worked at the UCLA Medical Center as an audiologist and is hearing impaired herself.
“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,” Goldstein said.
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Sean O’Melia, right, chats with other protesters in a demonstration held the day before Tuesday’s sentencing of Bryn Spejcher, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Chad O’Melia, Sean’s son. (TOM KISKEN/THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Wirshing and Mohandie were among four experts whose work was cited in the trial. They both found that the explosive violence was “unpredictable” and “unforeseeable,” Goldstein said.
The specific strain contained a 31.8% THC level and a warning label that said, “Caution, for High Tolerance Users Only,” he added. According to the Yale School of Medicine, the average THC content in cannabis seized by the DEA was 4% in 1995 and had risen to 17% in 2017.
Marijuana is legal in California for prescribed medicinal users over 18 and recreational users above 21.
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Chief Deputy District Attorney Audry Nafziger addresses the jury during the manslaughter trial of Bryn Spejcher on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. Spejcher, who was found guilty, was sentenced to probation and community service. (JUAN CARLO/THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK)
A search of SweetFlower.com, the website for a Los Angeles-based dispensary, found marijuana “flower” for sale legally with THC levels as high as 39%. Similar levels were available Friday from a local competitor, The Artist Tree.
Processed and concentrated products can contain up to 90% THC, Goldstein added.
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“Nobody seems to want to address this issue,” he said.
O’Melia’s father, who organized a protest outside the courthouse for Spejcher’s no-prison sentencing hearing, told Fox News in January that the system has “completely failed” his son and the family when Spejcher received a punishment of just two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and no prison time.
