In a significant legal decision, a California judge ruled on Monday to uphold charges against a man accused of the tragic deaths of four Pepperdine University students, declining to dismiss the case as requested by the defense.
Fraser Michael Bohm, 24, faces four counts of murder related to the 2023 incident that claimed the lives of Alpha Phi Sorority members Niamh Rolston, 20; Peyton Stewart, 21; Asha Weir, 21; and Deslyn Williams, 21. These charges stem from an incident that has resonated deeply within the community.
Despite arguments from Bohm’s defense team that he was not impaired by drugs or alcohol during the fatal crash, Judge Thomas Rubinson rejected their plea to drop the charges. The defense also contended that insufficient evidence existed to justify murder charges, further asserting that Bohm was fleeing a road-rage incident at the time of the crash.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, Bohm allegedly lost control of his vehicle, crashing into three parked cars along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on October 17, 2023. Reports indicate that he was driving his BMW at speeds exceeding 100 mph in an area restricted to 45 mph.
The devastating collision sent the parked vehicles careening into the four victims, who were walking along the highway shoulder after exiting their own car, leading to the tragic loss of their lives.
The crash caused parked vehicles to strike the four victims, who were walking along the shoulder of the highway after exiting their own vehicle.
“Speed cannot be treated as malice, according to California law. And the prosecution must have proof of implied malice for a murder charge and the prosecution does not have that,” Bohm’s attorney, Alan Jackson, argued.
The prosecution argued that “the defendant clearly drove in a reckless and dangerous manner.”
“Here, the defendant drove 59 miles per hour over the speed limit on what is essentially a residential street,” Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos wrote.
“There is no excuse which can justify the danger he posed at those speeds, certainly not trying to flee possible road rage, a contention for which there was no evidence, nor did the defendant ever mention it to deputies.”
The judge agreed.
“There is no doubt that this man (Bohm) was driving extremely fast on PCH…close to, even above 100mph,” Rubinson said.
“There is no evidence of a road rage incident before the crash. The defendant knew how dangerous it was to drive at 100mph…that his actions had a high degree of probability of causing death.”
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Shortly after the crash, attorneys for the victims’ parents, who filed a lawsuit against the state, said there wasn’t protection in place for the crash site, notoriously known as “dead man’s curve.”
The attorneys said that the state has known about the dangers of the curve for decades.
The site is not the same location as the famous 1963 song, “Dead Man’s Curve” by Jan and Dean, which focused on a curve off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Bohm remains free on a $4 million bond.
Weir, Williams, Stewart, and Rolston were seniors at Pepperdine University. All four received their degrees posthumously.
Check back for updates.
[[Feature Photo via Pepperdine University]
