West
Friends of victim infuriated by California judge's decision to give probation for fatal stabbing
Two friends of a grieving California family say they’re outraged after a 33-year-old woman received no jail time for fatally stabbing a man she was dating in his Los Angeles apartment.
The Ventura County judge presiding over the case ruled audiologist Bryn Spejcher had fallen into a marijuana-fueled psychosis and had no control over her actions when she stabbed 26-year-old Chad O’Melia 108 times.
“We are absolutely outraged and disgusted with the sentencing judge,” said Lu Madison, a friend of Chad’s late mother who died less than two years after her son’s death.
“From the beginning, [he] was biased. He showed preferential treatment until the end. It’s unimaginable what’s happened here. It is setting a precedent, and we just can’t believe it. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
CALIFORNIA WOMAN WHO GOT HIGH AND STABBED BOYFRIEND 108 TIMES WILL NOT GO TO PRISON, JUDGE RULES
Bryn Spejcher (left) was sentenced to 100 days of community service after stabbing Chad OMelia 108 times in his LA apartment. (Ventura County District Attorneys Office/Fox & Friends First)
Jurors found Spejcher guilty of involuntary manslaughter in December, but the court ultimately sentenced her to two years on probation and 100 hours of community service for the 2018 crime, a sentence that prompted protests and rage from those who say it doesn’t even begin to compare to the crime she committed.
“100 hours of community service isn’t even one hour per stab that she inflicted on Chad, so it’s just unbelievable,” Madison told “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday.
She accused Spejcher of emotionally manipulating the court to gain sympathy and speculated the effort might have influenced the judge’s leniency. Spejcher’s lack of criminal history could have been another factor.
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Robin Bianchi (left) and Lu Madison (right) criticized the lenient sentence on ‘Fox & Friends First.’ (Fox & Friends First/Screengrab)
“Regardless, she committed a vicious crime… Yes, it was [a psychotic break]. That’s not being disputed here. She did have a psychotic break. She didn’t mean to do this, but she did it. She took the hit of marijuana. She asked for it, and she asked for the second hit. This is nothing that was coerced, tricked, forced upon her. She took it. She needs to take responsibility, and we needed the judge to make that ruling that, ‘No, you have to be responsible, and there’s consequences to your actions.’ That’s what he did not do,” she said.
Robin Bianchi shared details about her 50-year friendship with O’Melia’s mother, Michelle. She and Madison watched Chad grow up and described him as a “sweet, funny, athletic [and] kind-hearted” person.
“If he walked in a room and saw that anyone was sitting by themselves or felt uncomfortable, he would go over and make friends with them. He would go and make sure that they felt comfortable,” she told host Carley Shimkus.
“He loved his family. He loved his dog. He would never have hurt anyone. He never would have. He had lifelong dreams to become an accountant. He graduated from college. He was a good man.”
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Bryn Spejcher in her Ventura County booking photo, which shows scars on her neck where prosecutors say she stabbed herself as police tried to arrest her in the stabbing death of her boyfriend, Chad O’Melia. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in December and sentenced this week to no prison time. (Ventura County District Attorney)
Chad’s mother, Michelle, tormented by grief, passed away less than two years later.
His father, Sean O’Melia, who advocated for the case to be tried for murder, said the court’s sentence sets a dangerous precedent, according to the New York Post.
“That judge just gave everyone in this state the license to kill,” he said.
Spejcher was smoking marijuana with O’Melia at his Thousand Oaks apartment before she attacked him.
“Both took several hits from a bong loaded with marijuana,” the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Spejcher had an adverse reaction to the marijuana and suffered from what experts call ‘cannabis-induced psychotic disorder.’”
The state’s mental health expert reportedly determined that as a result she was “unconscious” while she stabbed O’Melia dozens of times. She also stabbed her dog and turned the knife on herself when police arrived.
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California bishop who allegedly made several trips to Mexican brothel arrested at San Diego airport trying to flee US
A high-ranking California Catholic bishop who allegedly took more than a dozen trips to a Mexican brothel known for human trafficking and misused parish funds was arrested at San Diego International Airport while trying to flee the country.
Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, 60, a senior figure in the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, was arrested Thursday by San Diego Sheriff’s deputies following a months-long investigation.
“On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta was contacted and detained at the San Diego International Airport attempting to leave the country,” the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Shaleta faces eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white-collar crime, officials said.
The arrest comes after Catholic news outlet The Pillar reported last month that the bishop allegedly diverted rental payments from church property for personal use and later covered his tracks with charity funds.
Over $427,000 is unaccounted for — but the true number could be as high as $1 million, the outlet reported.
The Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it was contacted by someone from St. Peter Chaldean Church in August 2025.
“The church representative provided a statement and documents showing potential embezzlement from the church,” it said, without elaborating.
The Pillar also obtained documents from a Vatican-ordered investigation into Shaleta that alleged the bishop regularly crossed the border from San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico, to visit a strip club.
A private investigator documented Shaleta using a shuttle “exclusive to the club’s patrons” to visit the Hong Kong Gentlemen’s Club in Tijuana, the outlet reported.
The Hong Kong Gentlemen’s Club operates in Tijuana’s Zona Norte red-light district, an area that has long been scrutinized by law enforcement and anti-trafficking organizations.
Prior reporting has identified the club by name in broader examinations of sex-industry operations in Tijuana.
There is no allegation that Shaleta was involved in trafficking activity.
Shaleta submitted his resignation to the Vatican in January as a result of the Vatican-ordered investigation.
Meanwhile, the priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle issued a statement expressing support for Shaleta.
“After hearing all of the critics and attacks against our eparchy and bishop, we ask the Lord to protect our eparchy and bishop from all of the negative attacks. We are in solidarity with our eparchy and bishop,” the statement reads.
“We are awaiting the decision on this matter. Please continue to keep this eparchy in your prayers and remain faithful to the salvific mission of Christ.”
The 60-year-old was booked into San Diego Central Jail and is being held on $125,000 bail.
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