Woman Who Killed Boyfriend Gets Away After Blaming Weed

A woman convicted of killing her boyfriend by stabbing him more than 100 times managed to avoid prison time, thanks to a California judge who decided that all she deserved is some hours of community service and probation.

California Gives No Jail Time To Woman Who Killed Her Boyfriend After She Blames Weed https://t.co/JzmsnH2ENs pic.twitter.com/Ps8ei1MA9v

— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) January 26, 2024

Bryn Spejcher, a 32-year-old audiologist, killed Chad O’Melia in May 2018 using a kitchen knife. She also killed her dog, according to authorities, who said she was stabbing herself and screaming when officers apprehended her.

According to authorities, police body cams captured Spejcher responding to hallucinations. However, she later said that she was under the belief that she had died and that only killing O’Melia was the only thing that could bring her back to life.

Ventura County prosecutors initially charged her with second-degree murder but her lawyer argued that she entered a “cannabis-induced psychosis” after she smoked marijuana. According to the lawyer, Spejcher did not have a history of using cannabis but had been pressured to smoke out O’Melia’s bong.

Based on the defense attorney’s arguments, Spejcher’s charges were downgraded from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter as medical experts agreed that the psychotic break could have been triggered by cannabis.

Despite the argument put up by the defense, Spejcher could have been sentenced to up to four years in prison. However, Judge David Worley only placed her on probation and ordered her to give 100 hours of community service.

Speaking to the Daily Wire, the prosecutor who tried the case, Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Audry Nafziger, called the sentence “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”

“I can only hope it is not repeated by other judges. Because involuntary manslaughter and the use of a deadly weapon in California permits judicial discretion… the court was able to set her free with no jail. It is an unheard of sentence in my jurisdiction,” Nafziger added.

Nafziger agrees with the claims of marijuana-induced psychosis but she does not think that should be a get-out-of-jail-free card for Spejcher.

“We do not let people off the hook for drinking and hurting people. People are convicted of being intoxicated and harming others and they, rightly, go to jail,” she said.

Sean O’Melia, the father of the victim, also spoke against the ruling, saying it could be a way for violent criminals to evade responsibility.

“I think [Judge Worley] set an absolute terrible precedent in the state of California where it’s okay to kill somebody after you smoke marijuana,” he said, speaking to KTLA.