California woman who stabbed man 100 times in cannabis-induced psychosis weeps after guilty verdict

VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: Bryn Spejcher openly wept as a jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Friday, December 1. She was convicted for the brutal 2018 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Chad O'Melia.

Spejcher, 32, reportedly stabbed O'Melia over 100 times in what experts said was a cannabis-induced psychotic break shortly after she took two hits from his marijuana bong.

The Ventura County jury delivered its verdict after less than four hours of deliberation. Spejcher now faces up to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Additional sentencing hearings next week will determine whether her use of a deadly weapon and extreme violence could significantly lengthen her eventual sentence, as reported by Daily Mail.

Bryn Spejcher 'heard voices' telling her to attack Chad O'Melia

On the night of May 27, 2018, Spejcher was spending time at O'Melia's apartment along with his girlfriend when O'Melia offered Spejcher marijuana from his bong.

Spejcher, who court testimony revealed rarely used cannabis, took two puffs but initially felt nothing. O'Melia then prepared the bong again with more smoke and had Spejcher inhale directly.

According to prosecutors, Spejcher had an immediate adverse reaction, experiencing panic, blurred vision and feeling like she was dying. Expert witnesses said Spejcher entered a psychotic state in which she heard voices telling her to attack O'Melia.

In a violent frenzy, she grabbed multiple knives from the kitchen and began stabbing O'Melia across his entire body, piercing vital organs.

In addition to stabbing O'Melia over a 100 times, Spejcher stabbed herself in the face and neck and attacked her dog with a knife during the episode before police managed to subdue her, prosecutors said.

While the defense argued Spejcher was pressured into using cannabis, prosecutors said she willingly chose to smoke marijuana that night at the apartment.

Prosecutors argue Bryn Spejcher should have known risks of heavy cannabis use

While rare, acute psychotic reactions to marijuana do occur in some users. Experts testifying for the defense stated that the marijuana Spejcher  must have been extremely potent to trigger such an extreme psychotic break in a person with minimal cannabis experience.

The case echoes other violent crimes in recent years that experts have linked to marijuana-induced psychosis from potent cannabis strains.

This includes a 2014 Colorado murder in which a husband shot his wife after consuming marijuana edibles and a 2018 Canadian case where a man decapitated his father in front of friends following heavy cannabis use.

Defense attorneys were successful in having Spejcher's initial second-degree murder charges reduced to involuntary manslaughter. Under California law, involuntary intoxication can be a mitigating factor in crimes unless the substance was used completely voluntarily with full knowledge of potential risks.

Prosecutors alleged that even as an inexperienced user, Spejcher should have known heavy cannabis use carried psychosis risks.

Bryn Spejcher's manslaughter conviction typically carries four-year sentence

Judge Anthony Sabo denied a prosecution request to have Spejcher jailed pending additional sentencing hearings next week. Her manslaughter conviction typically carries a maximum four-year prison sentence.

But the judge will decide whether added counts related to use of a deadly weapon and extreme violence during the attack could significantly increase her ultimate sentence to state prison.

For now, Spejcher has been released on bail and left the courtroom with her family on Friday, December 1, after openly weeping when her guilty verdict was read. The victim's father, Sean O'Melia, said that while he was grateful for the work of prosecutors, no outcome could bring justice in his view given the loss of his son.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Sean has been on hold pending the resolution of the criminal case.