California woman who stabbed boyfriend 108 times sentenced to probation and community service

Bryn Spejcher, 32, avoided prison after being convicted of manslaughter in the 2018 stabbing death of her boyfriend Chad O'Melia, 26.

• Trial expert Bryn Spejcher said she was suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis at the time of the 2018 attack.

• Spejcher stabbed her boyfriend more than 100 times and also stabbed herself

• Judge defending decision to spare Spejcher jail time: 'From that point on, she had no control over her actions,' he said

A California woman who faced up to four years in prison for fatally stabbing her boyfriend more than 100 times during a drug-induced psychotic episode in 2018 was sentenced this week to two years of probation and 100 hours of work. 'general interest.

Last December, Bryn Spejcher, 32, was convicted of manslaughter in the murder of her boyfriend Chad O'Melia, 26, on Ventura County StarTHE Los Angeles Times and KTLA reported from the courtroom. She faced a four-year prison sentence before her sentencing hearing Tuesday.

On May 27, 2018, prosecutors said Spejcher fatally stabbed O'Melia, an accountant, in his Thousand Oaks, California, apartment about 108 times after the couple smoked marijuana together, on Ventura County Star reported. She also stabbed herself several times.

According to Ventura County Star, officers responding to the scene said they found Spejcher in a pool of blood, holding a knife. They should have used a Taser device and a baton to disarm her and take her into custody.

During the trial, a medical expert testified that Spejcher's behavior was the result of cannabis-induced psychosis, Los Angeles Times reported. According to the National Library of Medicine, a disorder diagnosis is made when hallucinations or delusions materialize shortly after cannabis use.

Spejcher's defense attorneys claimed their client was “unintentionally intoxicated” and that O'Melia allegedly bullied and intimidated her into smoking the last piece of marijuana, according to the Ventura County Star.

O'Melia's family confronted Spejcher in court during the sentencing hearing Tuesday, where she expressed remorse for her behavior.

“My actions tore your family apart,” she said, according to the Ventura County Star. “I'm broken and hurting inside. It hurts me that you'll never see Chad again.

Shane O'Melia, the victim's brother, mourned his loved one during the hearing and shared the difficulties of knowing Spejcher had been out on bail since his 2018 arrest.

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“She's had to live with her family for five and a half years and we've been living with a box of ashes,” Shane said, according to KTLA.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley defended his decision to sentence Spejcher to no prison time.

“From that point on, she no longer had any control over her actions,” he said, referring to the moments after she smoked the portion of marijuana, according to the Ventura County Star.

Spejcher's lawyer, Michael Goldstein, agreed, calling the sentence a fair and accurate reflection of conduct that he said was beyond his client's control, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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