Lawyers for the California woman who avoided prison time after fatally stabbing her boyfriend 108 times in a marijuana-induced psychotic episode stand behind their defense, insisting it was not a “con job” but a reaction to ultra-potent weed.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley ruled that Bryn Spejcher, 33, “had no control over her actions” in the involuntary manslaughter case that resulted in the death of her boyfriend, Chad O’Melia in 2018.
“The defense presented in court was not a ‘con job’ as some have described it,” her attorney Michael Goldstein told Fox News.
“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.”
In a state of unconsciousness, Spejcher also stabbed her dog and then herself repeatedly after deputies were called to their apartment.
Wirshing and Mohandie were among four experts whose work was cited in the trial who said Spejcher’s violence was “unpredictable” and “unforeseeable,” Goldstein said.
Spejcher had only smoked weed less than a half-dozen times before the fatal stabbing, which occurred after she consumed a strain with a 31.8% THC level that had a warning label indicating it was for “High Tolerance Users Only,” her lawyers said.
Her lawyers were asked to describe the difference in her case and a fatal drunken driving crash, which Goldstein chalked up to awareness, noting that Spejcher did not know what she was getting herself into as O’Melia provided the pot but did not show her the warning on the label.
“As far as a DUI is concerned, that person knowingly and consciously drinks to excess and decides to get behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “In Ms. Spejcher’s case, she took a hit of what she believed to be a legal consumer product in the sanctity of Mr. O’Melia’s home as they sat on his couch with no plans to go drive home that evening.”
Goldstein described O’Melia as a “well-documented, experienced and chronic user of high potency cannabis.”
“That came with a responsibility. With that information, Ms. Spejcher could have made an informed decision and this tragedy could have been avoided,” he added.
Outside the courthouse, O’Melia’s father, Sean O’Melia, said the system “completely failed” his son. After being convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter, Spejcher received just two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and no prison time.
“The judge didn’t do his job,” Sean O’Melia said. “He didn’t do what he was responsible to do.”
Marijuana is legal in California for prescribed medicinal users over the age of 18 and for recreational users over 21.
“Ms. Spejcher is broken and remorseful for what happened to Chad,” Goldstein said. “She will never again live a normal life and her medical license and ability to help other deaf people is at risk.”