In 2018, 27-year-old Bryn Spejcher, an inexperienced marijuana smoke in California, killed her boyfriend Chad O'Melia by stabbing him 108 times, a crime the local district attorney described as "horrific" and "one of the worst our medical examiner has ever seen." A jury found Spejcher guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but she received only probation at sentencing because of a compelling presentation by her defense team of cannabis-induced psychosis.
Prior to the violent incident, Spejcher had taken two hits of legal marijuana from a bong, and claimed that she began "seeing things that weren't there" and lost touch with reality. She also stabbed herself repeatedly in the neck, and stabbed her own dog. Law enforcement agents called to the scene had to break her arm with a metal baton to get her to let go of the knife-- multiple uses of a taser had no effect on her.
Since her conviction, Spejcher has made the media rounds to tell her story and warn of the dangers of cannabis. Last year, she spoke with WGN News, a local television station in her native Chicago area, telling the station that she had expected a prison sentence. She was also the featured guest in an 80-minute, two-part episode of The Dr. Phil Podcast. These appearances, as well as other media interviews, are part of her court-ordered community service, said Sally Patrone, Spejcher's attorney for the appeal.
Patrone said Spejcher is appealing, despite not getting any jail time, because she wants to clear her name. She is an audiologist and will have trouble finding work with a felony on her record, Patrone said.
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