Why a Judge Only Gave Probation to a Woman Who Stabbed Her Boyfriend 108 Times

Matt Vespa | January 30, 2024 6:30 AM

In California, you can stab someone to death 108 times and get away with it. That’s what happened with Bryn Spejcher, 33, who got off with probation after killing her then-boyfriend Chad O’Melia in 2018. The defense was unreal: she took one hit of marijuana, which rendered her so psychotic that she wasn’t at fault for her actions. A judge agreed with these arguments, leaving the O’Melia family stunned. The New York Post added that Spejcher’s lawyers shifted blame to O’Melia for purchasing the marijuana (via NBC News):

A California judge this week sentenced a woman to two years’ probation for involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 fatal stabbing of a man she was dating, who sustained more than 100 “sharp-force injuries,” according to attorneys and court records.
Bryn Spejcher, 33, faced up to five years in prison for stabbing Chad O’Melia, 26, in his Thousand Oaks home on May 28, 2018, after the pair had smoked marijuana together.
Experts for both the defense and the prosecution concluded the pot she smoked caused her to slip into a psychotic state.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley sentenced Spejcher on Tuesday to two years' probation, as well as community service. She must complete “100 hours of public education on the dangers of THC consumption," according to Ventura County court documents.
Audry Nafziger, who prosecuted the case for the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, said Thursday that the judge’s sentence did not serve justice and was “problematic.”

Bryn Spejcher kiIIed her boyfriend Chad O'Melia by stabbing him 108 times.

Bryn was sentenced to just two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

No prison time.

The judge classified this as involuntary due to the fact that she took a hit of cannabis, which she… pic.twitter.com/ra8MkXDmiQ
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