The family of a man who was fatally attacked by a woman a few years ago has expressed disappointment when a judge gave her no prison time.
Bryn Spejcher, 32, and her boyfriend, Chad O’Melia, 26, were smoking marijuana from a bong when things took a turn on May 27, 2018.
According to officials, while inside O’Melia’s apartment in Thousand Oaks, California, Spejcher had a psychotic break, leading her to stab him and herself. Experts said Spejcher experienced Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder.
The following day, responding officials discovered Spejcher shouting and wielding a knife. When they attempted to take it out of her hand, she “plunged” it into her neck.
“Officers used a Taser and several baton blows before they were able to finally disarm Spejcher,” officials said in a news release. “A long-serrated bread knife was taken from her hands.”
O’Melia, who was in a “pool of blood,” was stabbed 108 times with several knives and succumbed to the injuries at the scene. The couple only dated for a few weeks.
Years later, a judge gave Spejcher two years of probation and 100 hours of community service on Tuesday, Jan. 23, leaving O’Melia’s family dismayed. The prosecution had sought a five-year prison sentence after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month.
“It’s been five and a half years where she has got to live with her family, and we get to live with a box of ashes,” O’Melia’s brother Shane told KTLA.
Judge David Worley doubled down on his decision, acknowledging that the marijuana played a role in Spejcher’s actions: “From that point forward, she had no control over her actions,” according to the Ventura County Star.
O’Melia’s father, Sean, opposed the outcome and insinuated that the judge gave people in California “who smoke marijuana a license to kill someone,” per the outlet. Before the sentencing hearing, O’Melia’s family demanded that Spejcher be sent to prison and protested at the local government center.
Spejcher’s family, on the other hand, agreed with the verdict. She apologized for the pain she caused his loved ones.
“My actions have ripped your family apart,” she reportedly said. “I am broken and aching inside. I hurt that you never see Chad again.”
