in the early morning hours of Memorial Day in 2018 the Tranquil atmosphere of the affluent city of Thousand Oaks California was shattered by an incident that defied comprehension according to Witnesses it was a startling display of unimaginable violence a chilling Testament to the depths of human brutality local law enforcement rushed to the scene in response to frantic calls unsure of what awaited them what they encountered was pure bedum a frenzied as salent surrounded by a sea of blood inflicted Savage injuries not only on a fellow human being but on the very concept of order and decency the officers who arrived were left reeling struggling to believe their own eyes in their desperate attempts to subdue the aggressor deputies resorted to various methods only to to be met with failure again and again it was as if they had stumbled Upon A malevolent Force even leading some officers to entertain the notion of demonic possession defense attorneys and medical experts had a name for it a cannabis induced psychotic episode law enforcement eventually brought this terrifying situation under control but the nightmare of that fateful Memorial Day lingered in the years that followed the victim's family members would be forced to Grapple with courtroom delays and legal decisions that defied their expectations in this video we will report on the facts of the crime Court proceedings and its outcome with that said let's dive into the haunting story of Dr Brin spacer and her controversial defense the weed made me do it a word to the viewer addressing the question of whether marijuana can cause a psychotic episode Falls outside the scope of this channel this topic has been the subject of numerous medical studies the dsm5 a key diagnostic tool in psychiatry acknowledges cannabis induced psychotic disorder as part of the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders category on the other hand there are staunch anti-cannabis groups that circulate materials that could only be characterized as propaganda aimed at demonizing cannabis given the complexity and the varied perspectives on this issue it is best left to experts in the field to provide Clarity and insights 332 Adam 366 Adam 212 South St Paul Street report of a domestic balance in progress RP versus her husband has been smoking marijuana besides they do keep a handgun in the house but it's not in anybody's possession no you grab the gun she scream the line disconnected Step Up cover 33 Adam 33 Baker ambulance coach party down H gsae we're going to need homicide in 2014 50-year-old Colorado man Richard Kirk pleaded guilty to Second deegree murder after shooting his wife in the head at the couple's home in Denver Kirk was initially charged with first-degree murder but this charge was downgraded after his attorneys argued that a marijuana edible which Kirk was consuming for back pain had severely impaired his judgment they contended he had suffered involuntary intoxication because he did not know he was at high risk for marijuana psychosis based on a family history of schizophrenia Kirk entered a guilty plea for one charge of second-degree murder thus avoiding a trial where his defense of involuntary intoxication would have been tested however this particular defense strategy would eventually resurface in a courtroom in the case of California versus Brinn spacer 26-year-old Chad Amelia was widely regarded by those who knew him best as a kind considerate and outgoing individual a Santa Clara native he attended Hart High School and excelled at football there he graduated from Chico State University and worked at an accounting firm in Camarillo while studying to be a CPA most of all he loved his family and his German Shepherd named Athena he shared a three-bedroom condominium on Megan place just off Thousand Oaks Boulevard with two roommates sometime between late April and early May 2018 Chad had a chance encounter at a dog park with 27-year-old brenn spacer they hung out several times and had what was described by friends as a harmonious relationship spacer would later State I thought he was very funny he was really nice to me we were always sarcastic with each other he ended up being a really nice funny person when I got to know him in the few weeks they had known each other there was no indication of any troubles at all originally from Illinois Bren spacer was born to Mike and Lorie spacer in January 1991 her childhood was marked by medical challenges including a diagnosis of hearing loss at the age of three which nearly led to complete deafness in a video shared on the Facebook page of Washington University School of Medicine spacer opened up about her experiences saying it was difficult to try and be normal because I didn't want to be the only one with hearing loss it was really hard for me to advocate for myself and be open about having hearing loss I was very involved in sports and music and trying to get good grades in classes I wanted to blend in with everybody else spacer's early struggles with hearing loss profoundly influenced her career path leading her to devote her life to helping others with similar conditions despite her own hearing impairments and the need for hearing aids she achieved remarkable academic success earning a doctorate in Audiology from the prestigious Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis in 2017 recognized for her exceptional promise and academic prowess spacer was awarded the max e Goldstein award as a member M of both the American Academy of Audiology and the American speech language hearing Association her expertise spans a range of areas including adult and pediatric Diagnostics auditory brain stem response testing and the application of hearing aids and clear implants after earning her doctorate in Audiology in 2017 she relocated to Thousand Oaks and began her career at the house children's Hearing Center of UCLA in Los Angeles according to a former classmate spacer did not do a list drugs and was not a habitual marijuana user spacer had no prior criminal history and no record of violence on the evening of May 27th 2018 spacer was out with friends in Santa Barbara where she consumed a small amount of alcohol she was later invited to Chad's place to watch a movie spacer arrived at Chad's condo sometime between 10: to 10:30 p.m. that evening bringing along her Siberian Husky ARA Chad's two male roommates were also present each engaged in their own activities within their rooms the stage was set for what appeared to be a tranquil Sunday evening a potential spark for romance between two young individuals however beneath this veneer of normaly tension was brewing pois to transform the night into something far removed from a typical romantic rendevu in the early morning hours of Monday May 28th residents of the ca Oaks condominium complex on Megan Place reported hearing a loud altercation followed by screams coming from an apartment occupied by three male roommates hear screaming and enough that I could hear it what four buildings over and then it kind of like stopped a little bit and then I heard it go on and then I heard woman you know woman screaming and then this and then I started hearing blood curling screams shortly after 1:00 a.m. deputies received a report of a disturbance arriving at the condo by approximately 1:15 a.m. they were met with a scene of turmoil there they discovered a wounded service dog Chad lying in a pool of his own blood and spacer Blood Stained as well kneeling beside him and screaming hysterically in her hand she clutched an 8 in Long serrated knife despite officer orders to drop the knife spacer did not comply instead she responded with an exploitive and then alarmingly turned the knife towards herself recounting the incident one officer noted I saw her plunge the knife into her neck published reports indicate that the police first attempted to subdue spacer using a taser but to their surprise it was ineffective even a second deployment of the taser failed to stop her the police then resorted to using a retractable steel baton but the initial strike was also unsuccessful in disarming her persisting the officers continued to use the Baton delivering a total of of nine blows before they could finally disarm her however by this time spacer had already inflicted a staggering 108 stab wounds on Chad as confirmed by the Ventura County Medical Examiner office Additionally the Baton strikes resulted in a fractured left wrist and hand for spacer after she was detained one of the officers on the scene observed that Chad was not breathing he was soon declared deceased at the location approximately 5 minutes later an amb an arrived and spacer was taken to Los robless Regional Medical Center in the wake of this shocking event neighbors were left in a state of profound disbelief and distress struggling to come to terms with the realization that such a horrifying incident had occurred in their immediate vicinity when the Ventura County Sheriff's arrived one man was dead and one female had to be rushed to the hospital deputies won't confirm how the man died or what the motive for his killing was stopping short of calling this a murder and attempted suicide we don't believe there are any outstanding suspects at this point uh so whatever it was was confined to the in inside the residents is what our theory is at this point the deadly incident happened inside one of those apartments just behind me at the casa day Oaks Apartment Complex here in Thousand Oaks where investigators are trying to find witnesses and collect as much evidence as possible in the hospital before her surgery spacer was in interviewed by an officer according to the officer's report spacer did not know what happened and did not know how she sustained her injuries spacer asked me where Chad was currently spacer denied she consumed alcohol or drugs spacer asked me where she was at one point during the interview the officer noted 3 days later while still hospitalized she was questioned by a detective as per a report posted on the Thousand Oaks Acorn website dated May 9th 20 9 and authored by Becca Whitnall Sergeant Steven Jenkins testified to spacer's account of what transpired on the 28th apparently at some point in the early hours Chad stepped out of the condo to smoke marijuana and at that point she told him she'd like to try it as well after smoking and feeling No Effects she claims Chad said I'll give you something stronger he allegedly refilled the bong and spacer told the detective they both took a second hit of marijuana spacer recounted exper icing a severe adverse reaction immediately after the second hit she reported feeling as if she couldn't breathe and believed she was on the brink of death she also noted feeling angry when she realized that she was high while Chad seemed unaffected spacer detailed a hallucination in which she perceived herself as dead convinced that this hallucination was reality she believed injuring Chad was necessary in order to resurrect herself this belief led her to attack both him and her dog Sergeant Jenkins recounted her mentioning the voices encouraged her to keep fighting keep doing what you're doing upon the arrival of deputies these perceived voices urged her to inflict harm on herself after a 4-night stay in the hospital spacer was released and immediately arrested on site her bail was set at $510,000 her first court appearance was scheduled for June 4th upon successfully posting bail on June 7th spacer was released from custody and remained free while awaiting trial she was initially charged with first-degree murder and one count of animal abuse during their investigation detectives learned Chad's 2 roommates were witnesses to the chaotic and violent event but did not physically intervene they felt the best chance to save Chad was to contact the police as quickly as possible police described the roommates as fully cooperative forensic analysis of spacer's blood as confirmed by the sheriff's crime lab revealed the presence of THC and no illicit substances further examination of the remnants of burned plant material in Chad's bang and 5 grams of marijuana ceased from his apartment showed no substances other than THC the marijuana found in the condo sourced from an unlicensed delivery service had a THC concentration of 4% significantly lower than the levels typically found in cannabis sold at legal dispensaries where THC content often exceeds 20% and more potent strains are available blood tests were also conducted on Chad which likewise identified THC as the only psychoactive compound present on June 22nd 2018 3 weeks after spacer's arrest the speech language pathology and Audiology and hearing aid dispensers board of California filed a request via the State Attorney General's office to suspend spacer's license to practice spacer appeared in court on July 12th to defend her license but a Ventura County Superior Court Judge ruled she would not be allowed to practice in the time before her criminal trial the baffling case of Brin spacer and Chad Amelia Laden with unresolved issues and shocking violence had left the community seeking answers while Chad's Family awaited Justice Pacer's family asserted her wrongful accusation following a lengthy 5-year period filled with legal postponements due to defense tactics the trial was finally scheduled to begin in October 2023 this pivotal moment promised to provide answers to the pressing question did Bren spacer experience a cannabis induced psychotic episode or was she conscious of her actions during the Fatal stabbing of chadia as the trial approached it became apparent that there were still unexpected developments yet to unfold at a court hearing on September 27th 2023 to the great surprise of the Amelia family spacer's charges were reduced from murder to involuntary manslaughter by Ventura County Prosecutors this decision came after their medical expert agreed with the defense's medical expert on her mental state while second deegree murder could have led to a life sentence manslaughter generally carries a maximum of 4 years in prison the decision came less than a month before the scheduled jury trial as the judge ruled on the motion and spacer entered a not guilty plea cries could be heard from the gallery where Chad's friends and family set a defiant sha Amelia Chad's father declared to the judge she was aware of what she was doing when she viciously and prematurely ended my son's life I'm here because on the 14th of this month our family was completely ambushed by the ventur County DA's office five 5 and A2 years later they wanted to try this case for involuntary manslaughter there was an eyewitness to the crime with the roommate Chad cried out to him and he said Vinnie he goes I need you to call the police I've been stabbed and get out of the condominium so you know he's getting stabbed and he's worried about his roommate get out of here you know she was in some form of hallucination but if you go through you know the different types of Consciousness that's one of them she was not unconscious she knew what she was doing and she was actually making choices she acted with intent to kill somebody in line with what the original da Greg Totten of ventur County filed his charges for it's also in line with what the original Deputy da Katherine vuler discussed with our family and expressed to our family we as a family Fai like we're completely ambushed by these people you know I mean I've never seen a group of people try to fight the opposition's fight as much as they did we're in a place now that Audrey KN singer the deputy da that's handling the case she's going to by by the action that she's taking she's actually acquitting her of second deegree murder with no trial every time we've gone to court they've asked for a continuance every time every time we want 60 more days 60 more days 60 more days if if you just do the simple math on it divide 5 and A2 years by 60 days it'll tell you how many continuances they've asked for let the people of Ventura County hear the evidence and make a decision you know and at least at that point they're giving Chad a chance they're giving our family a chance they're giving his friends a chance and you know the commun the people here in the community community that that actually know him right now they're not giving us a chance just prosecute the crime for what it is it's a murder the state's medical expert Dr Chris Mandy testified that spacers marijuana used that night triggered a psychotic episode that led her to kill because of her use of cannabis she was having delusions and hallucinations she lost touch with reality said Dr Mandi the defense's medical expert Dr William woring said he is essentially 100% confident in his diagnosis of spacer as suffering from Cannabis induced psychosis I don't think I can be 100% certain about anything but this is as certain as I can be about anything ultimately according to the prosecutor based on the fact that both sides expert Witnesses came to the same conclusion the evidence no longer supported a charge of murder in that the evidence establishes that the defendant acted with criminal negligence but not with malice in killing the victim in their opening statements attorneys for both the defense and prosecution agreed on most of the facts of the case therefore the main question for the jury to decide would be whether spacer met the legal definition of involuntary intoxication according to the prosecution spacer's intoxication was voluntary because she chose to Smoke From The Bong that was offered to her senior prosecutor Audrey nafziger contended the law says when someone voluntarily ingests an intoxicant and bad things happen like a DUI the person responsible is the person who voluntarily ingests the intoxicant and does the bad thing we don't get to blame other people when we do something bad because we want it to get high defense attorney Robert Schwarz responded that his client did not actually want to get high he conceited Chad did not intend for her to have such an extreme reaction but the evidence will show he knew what the potentially devastating effects could be to a novice user and he didn't tell her that Schwarz was alluding to the testimony of one of Chad's roommates who had also had a negative experience with marijuana smoked from Chad's bong this roommate recounted that approximately 2 months prior to the stabbing incident he experienced a distressing reaction the first time he smoked marijuana with Chad and another friend he described his experience saying I started to see the walls and people's faces moving like the ocean and I felt my heart beating really fast I told him I felt like I was dying he noted that these symptoms eventually subsided without intervention spacer chose to testify in her defense and was the last witness called by her attorneys she claimed that on the night of May 27th 2018 Chad had asked her to go to his apartment the initially watched TV and talked a little just after midnight he asked her whether she would like to try marijuana using his bong Chad is said to have been a habitual cannabis user smoking or using a bong on most days spacer took a few Puffs but told Chad she didn't feel anything this allegedly led him to respond with a promise of getting something more intense the court heard that moments after her second hit from the bong spacer grabbed three knives from a kitchen block and hurled them at Chad before stabbing him on every part of his body leaving fatal wounds on his heart lungs and neck while spacer initially told officers she asked to smoke her lawyer refuted that notion attorney Schwarz stated that in fact Chad pressured her and insisted that she inhale from the bong before that night she had no history of mental illness and no way of knowing that smoking pot would trigger a psychotic episode after a thorough review of all of the evidence listening to witness accounts considering expert testimony and weighing the closing arguments the jury withdrew to their chamber for deliberation this pivotal moment marked the culmination of a long and complex trial with the jurors now tasked with reaching a verdict that could finally bring a resolution to this intense and emotionally charged case on Friday December 1st 2023 after last than 4 hours of deliberation a Ventura County Superior Court jury found Brinn spacer guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the 2018 killing of Chad Amelia this verdict represented a mutual agreement between the prosecution and defense that spacer's conduct was the result of a cannabis induced psychotic episode following the verdict the prosecution submitted a motion for spacer's immediate incarceration however this motion was overruled by the honorable Judge Anthony Sabo of the Ventura County Superior Court as a result spacer was permitted to depart from the court with her Council and family pending her sentencing hearing scheduled for January 23rd 2024 4 a separate hearing addressing the charged special allegations and sentence enhancements convened on December 4th the jury affirmed the special allegation of serious felony against spacer along with the sentence enhancements for a crime involving great violence and armed with and use of a weapon these additional charges could slightly lengthen her prison term what is your take on this case do you believe the jury got it right as usual feel free to share your thoughts [Music] below