A Thousand Oaks woman who faced the prospect of life in prison if convicted of stabbing to death a man she was dating was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service after arguing that she suffered from a cannabis-induced psychosis during the murder.
Authorities responded to a Thousand Oaks apartment on May 27, 2018, and discovered that Bryn Spejcher, 32, had stabbed Chad O'Melia, 26, dozens of times and then turned the knife on her and your dog. She was arrested on suspicion of murder and charged with that crime.
But in an extraordinary turn of events last year, a medical expert for the prosecution agreed with an expert for Spejcher's defense that the behavior was the result of a cannabis-induced psychosis, which she suffered after taking hits of the victim's pipe.
The expert conducted what prosecutors characterized as tests that showed she was not exaggerating or faking her behavior that day. Prosecutors opted to reduce the charge to involuntary manslaughter with a number of enhancements.
That decision came after psychologist Kris Mohandie, a law enforcement consultant, examined Spejcher, his law enforcement interviews and police body camera footage and produced a 37-page report concluding that He had lost touch with reality due to highly potent marijuana.
After four hours of deliberation, a jury in December found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that can carry a four-year prison sentence.
However, Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley opted to sentence her to 100 hours of community service consisting of educating others about marijuana-induced psychosis and two years of formal probation.
Spejcher had been dating O'Melia for a couple of weeks when she came to the apartment. Shortly after taking a second hit from a pipe, Spejcher began “hearing and seeing things that weren't there” and believing she was dead and that he had to stab O'Melia to come back to life, the report said. district attorney's office.
In his closing statement, Spejcher told the judge: “I wish I could go back in time and prevent this tragedy from happening.
“I wish I had known more about the dangers of marijuana,” he added. “If he had known, he never would have smoked it that night or ever.”
His lawyer Michael Goldstein praised the ruling.
“Today, the Ventura Superior Court judge did the right thing and imposed a sentence that was fair and accurately reflected Ms. Spejcher's conduct and recognized that it was the content of the marijuana she was given that was the sole cause of her psychotic breakdown.” , said. saying. “It was clear that she had no control over her faculties and she never intended to cause any harm. All the medical experts agreed, including the expert called by the prosecution.”
