Current:Home > Contact-usCalifornia woman who fatally stabbed boyfriend over 100 times avoids prison-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
California woman who fatally stabbed boyfriend over 100 times avoids prison
View Date:2024-12-23 22:31:52
A California woman who fatally stabbed her boyfriend more than 100 times during what prosecutors called a "cannabis-induced" psychosis has been spared prison time, a judge ruled on Tuesday. The decision drew sobs of relief from the woman and a rebuke from the victim's father.
Bryn Spejcher, 32, was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation, according to Ventura County Superior Court records. Last month, Spejcher was convicted in the 2018 fatal stabbing of Chad O'Melia, a man whom she had been dating for several weeks.
Testimony showed she stabbed O'Melia more than 100 times and also stabbed herself, the Ventura County Star reported.
After the sentence was handed down by Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley on Tuesday, Spejcher and her family cried tears of relief, the Ventura County Star reported, while the victim's father said the sentencing set a dangerous precedent.
"He just gave everyone in the state of California who smokes marijuana a license to kill someone," Sean O'Melia said, according to the outlet.
The sentence was handed down nearly four years after Spejcher went to O'Melia's apartment in Thousand Oaks, where they took multiple hits from a bong loaded with marijuana, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office said in a statement last month.
"Spejcher had an adverse reaction to the marijuana and suffered from what experts call Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder," according to the statement. "During that psychotic episode, Spejcher stabbed Mr. O'Melia multiple times killing him."
Police officers who responded to the apartment found O'Melia lying in a pool of blood with Spejcher "screaming hysterically with a knife still in her hands." Before the officers could disarm her, Spejcher plunged the weapon, a long-serrated bread knife, into her own neck, the district attorney said in the statement.
Officers used a Taser and multiple baton blows before they were finally able to disarm and subdue Spejcher, authorities said.
O'Melia was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Spejcher was ultimately convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter.
The Ventura County Star reported that the day before Tuesday's hearing, family and friends of O'Melia marched in front of the county government center, carrying signs that said: "108 Stab Wounds Is A Serious Crime," and "Judge Worley, Do The Right Thing."
Spejcher's lawyer, Bob Schwartz, said he was pleased with the ruling, the outlet reported.
"Judge Worley did the right and courageous thing," Schwartz said.
- In:
- Manslaughter
- California
Stephen Smith is a senior editor for CBSNews.com.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline, shrugging off Wall Street’s overnight rally
- Journalists tackle a political what-if: What might a second Trump presidency look like?
- What to know about abortion lawsuits being heard in US courts this week
- Supreme Court declines challenge to Washington state's conversion therapy ban for minors
- Kate Spade Outlet’s Early Black Friday Sale – Get a $259 Bag for $59 & More Epic Deals Starting at $25
- Palestinians hope a vote in the UN General Assembly will show wide support for a Gaza cease-fire
- Work to resume at Tahiti’s legendary Olympic surfing site after uproar over damage to coral reef
- Texas woman who sued state for abortion travels out of state for procedure instead
- Opinion: NFL began season with no Black offensive coordinators, first time since the 1980s
- Man charged in Fourth of July parade shooting plans to represent himself at trial
Ranking
- Rita Ora pays tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Europe Music Awards: 'He brought so much joy'
- Frost protection for plants: Tips from gardening experts for the winter.
- Bronze top hat missing from Abraham Lincoln statue in Kentucky
- Bachelor in Paradise’s Kat and John Henry Break Up
- Mississippi rising, Georgia falling in college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after Week 11
- 52-foot-long dead fin whale washes up on San Diego beach; cause of death unclear
- How the 2016 election could factor into the case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 race
- SmileDirectClub shuts down months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Recommendation
-
South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
-
Did inflation drift lower in November? CPI report could affect outlook for interest rates
-
The US is restricting visas for nearly 300 Guatemalan lawmakers, others for ‘undermining democracy’
-
Will Levis rallies Titans for 2 late TDs, 28-27 win over Dolphins
-
Tennis Channel suspends reporter after comments on Barbora Krejcikova's appearance
-
Prince Harry ordered to pay Daily Mail over $60K in legal fees following failed court challenge
-
Frost protection for plants: Tips from gardening experts for the winter.
-
Tucker Carlson says he's launching his own paid streaming service