The family of a man who was murdered by his date after she stabbed him more than 100 times has voiced their outrage after the California woman was sentenced to just 100 hours of community service with no jailtime.
Bryn Spejcher, 33, was given the lenient sentence after psychiatrists said the incident was ‘100 percent’ caused by cannabis-induced psychosis, which she suffered after taking two hits of the victim’s bong.
The judge ruled Ms Spejcher ‘experienced a psychotic break from reality’ and ‘had no control over her actions’ when she killed Chad O’Melia, who was 26 years old at the time of his death, on Memorial Day weekend 2018.
The family of O’Melia cried when the sentence was read out at Ventura Superior Court, with the victim’s father warning it gave ‘everyone who smokes marijuana in this state a license to kill.’
And several members accused Spejcher of adopting a ‘victim blaming defense’ when she claimed the victim pressured her into smoking the high potency marijuana that triggered the episode.
Police were called to the victim’s apartment on Memorial Day weekend 2018 where they found Spejcher had fatally stabbed O’Melia 108 times
Outside the Ventura court, Chad O’Melia’s brother shed tears for his loved-one
The victim’s father, Sean O’Melia, told the courtroom that Chad’s mother had died shortly after his son due to the unbearable pain caused by her grief
Lu Madison, a long-time friend of the O’Melia family said they were frustrated with the legal proceedings and felt the outcome had been pre decided and that their victim statement was ignored.
Many members of the O’Melia family pleaded for ‘justice to be served’ by sentencing Spejcher to several years in prison.
Mr O’Melia’s father, Sean, said he had initially planned to forgive Spejcher as ‘to heal, I need to forgive.’
However he admitted that feuding between the families over the past several years has ‘removed my mind’s ability to live in forgiveness.’
On the night in question, Bryn Spejcher, 33, also stabbed her beloved dog and herself in the neck and face several times (her injuries are shown above)
He followed this statement by pointing his index finger directly at Spejcher, who was sat to the left of him, and declaring: ‘She killed my son. That’s a fact.’
Further contempt for her came from Mr O’Melia’s uncle, who stated: ‘There must be a consequence for the taking of a life.’
He accused Spejcher of adopting a ‘victim blaming defense’ for her previous statements suggesting Chad ‘pressured’ her into smoking from his bong that contained the high potency marijuana that triggered the episode.
Several other O’Melia family members accused Spejcher of showing ‘no remorse’ for her actions throughout the course of the trial.
Ms Madison said: ‘Not once did she acknowledge her actions… she only cares about herself. What about Chad?
‘The defendant’s use of marijuana was her decision. This is a serious felony and should be punished as such.’
Ms Madison also told The Signal: ‘It was all negative for us and [Monday], we went and stood in the rain and picketed for about three and a half hours, standing in the rain, saying our piece — but it didn’t matter.
‘So she stabbed someone to death and she got zero jail time,”
Ms Madison also said that the family attributed the death of Mr O’Melia’s mother to the intense grief she carried over her son’s death.
Michelle Larrivee died 18 months after her son was killed.
Chad O’Melia, an accounting student, was stabbed 108 times. He was said to be a ‘regular’ weed user
The family friend said: ‘She really struggled with how brutally he was murdered and how he died,’ adding that his mother refused to be photographed smiling after her son’s death.
Police reports, legal proceedings and expert testimony claim Ms Spejcher flew into a violent frenzy in a ‘psychotic episode’ after smoking marijuana from the victim’s bong.
She testified during her trial that she began to hear voices moments after taking two inhalations of the bong, and stabbed O’Melia to death before also stabbing herself in the face and attacking her dog.
A jury found Ms Spejcher guilty of involuntary manslaughter in December and this week she was handed a sentence of two years probation and suspended voluntary manslaughter for stabbing her O’Melia 108 times.
A suspended sentence is an alternative to jailtime in which a judge may allow the convicted person to forgo jailtime if they fulfill certain conditions.
In California, voluntary manslaughter is defined as the killing of a person ‘upon a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion.’ It carries a prison term of between three and 11 year, fines, community service and probation.
Ms Spejcher will spend the 100 hours educating others on marijuana-induced psychosis and two years on probation – but has promised to spend the rest of her life debunking the myth that cannabis is harmless.
Ms Spejcher, the last to speak at the sentencing, issued a tearful apology to Sean O’Melia. ‘I am so sorry for my actions,’ she said. ‘I do not expect your forgiveness. My actions have ripped your family apart. I’ve listened to accusations that I show no remorse…I do.
‘The hole in your life is not lost on me. I am truly sorry.’
