Bryn Spejcher: Woman who stabbed BF 108 times in cannabis-induced psychosis argues dead lover ‘tricked her’ into having it

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: A California woman who fatally stabbed her boyfriend 108 times in a cannabis-induced psychosis is contesting her conviction, claiming that her deceased lover deceived her into taking an unusually high dose of the drug before she killed him.

In May 2018, a jury found Bryn Spejcher, 33, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the stabbing death of her boyfriend, Chad O'Melia, in their apartment in Thousand Oaks, California.

Bryn Spejcher was intimidated by boyfriend who had 'short fuse' 

Spejcher made headlines in January 2024 when a judge ruled that Spejcher was high on marijuana and" had no control over her actions." The judge sentenced Spejcher to two years probation and 100 community service hours for the gruesome crime.

In her first interview following the contentious sentencing, Spejcher said that she intends to challenge her conviction on the grounds O'Melia's "fraud and trickery" caused her intoxication, which was "involuntary," the Daily Mail reports. 

O'Melia, 26, allegedly had a temper and was occasionally physically aggressive, according to Spejcher who also mentions that O'Melia "put his hands on me during an intimate moment" twice without getting her permission.

“I felt intimidated by him,” she told the outlet. “If something felt personal to him, even if it really wasn’t, he’d have this short fuse.”

When he asked her to smoke marijuana with him the night before his death, she "feared the consequences" because she was so afraid of his "temper outbursts and uncontrollable emotions."

The former UCLA audiologist first met O'Melia at a dog park when she was 27, she argued that she never referred to O'Melia as her "boyfriend."

Spechjer claimed that she had made it clear that she "was not interested in any sort of romantic relationship" just two days before he died. She decided to stay close to him as she had moved to the area.

She claimed that she had only used marijuana ten times before meeting O'Melia. On the other hand, O'Melia smoked every day, including in the morning.

Bryn Spejcher says Chad O'Melia got mad if he didn't get his weed

Vinicius De Oliveira, also known as Vinnie, O'Melia's roommate, testified about O'Melia's marijuana use during the trial. According to video testimony, he told the judge, "When he doesn't have his weed, he can be mad that he doesn't have what he likes."

Spejcher recalled that she and O'Melia had been chatting and hanging out on his balcony the night before the stabbing. He took a bong hit at one in the morning, she said and got really high. Spejcher requested a hit from him. 

“I get asked why I did it a lot,” Spejcher said. “When you’re with your friends who have a drink, or are doing some sort of activity, it’s natural to ask if you can do it with them. It was for social reasons. And of course, I regret those decisions," she added. 

She claimed that she wasn't feeling high after the first hit. Then, despite her objections, O'Melia encouraged her to take an "intense" hit of potent cannabis. “He said ‘hurry up. Inhale now… Do it really fast, go go go,'” she told The Daily Mail.

“Yes, I physically inhaled it. So, we’re both accountable. But there’s obviously been more attention to my part [in the attack] versus Chad’s part,” Spejcher added.

How did Bryn Spejcher kill her boyfriend under influence of cannabis?

Spejcher started to feel lightheaded and had a coughing fit almost immediately. O'Melia laughed when she asked him to watch her as she settled down on the couch. She continued by saying she had lost all sense of reality.

She saw "two hands" take multiple knives in the kitchen as she got up, describing the experience as being similar to watching a television screen. She initially noticed Aria, O'Meila's dog.

“Then there was a brown dog in front of me. And the knife in the left hand stabbed that dog. It [the “television screen”] kept moving towards Chad, who was on the other side of the dining table,” she recalled.

“As the vision got closer to him, I saw the knife in my left-hand stab his abdomen. And then it just went black,” Spejcher said.

She then proceeded to stab him 108 times. Next to her friend’s body, police found Spejcher holding a knife, covered in blood and crying hysterically. Then she kept stabbing herself. O'Melia was pronounced dead at the scene. According to prosecution and defense experts, Spejcher’s fatal drug-induced psychosis was triggered by a hit of marijuana from a bong.