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The 23-year-old man charged with the deaths of four sorority sisters in a high-speed collision appeared in court on Wednesday, seeking to have the charges against him dismissed.
Fraser Bohm has entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the deaths of Niamh Rolston, 20, Asha Weir, 21, Peyton Stewart, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21.
The Pepperdine University students lost their lives on October 17, 2023, when Bohm—reportedly driving his BMW at 104mph in a 45mph zone—collided with three parked cars along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
Bohm – wearing a dark suit and tie – arrived at Van Nuys court, near Los Angeles, flanked by his mother Brooke, father Chris, and his defense team.
The gangly 6’3′ suspect sat stiff and unsmiling in court, at times whispering to his mother beside him and greeting family and friends who came to support him.
His attorney Jacqueline Sparagna informed the judge that the defense had filed a motion to dismiss the charges.
In a 59-page motion obtained by Daily Mail, Bohm’s defense team moved to dismiss the charges, citing ‘conflicting’ evidence and unreliable, ‘glitchy’ video footage from surveillance cameras close to the scene.
‘The People’s theory of implied malice murder is thoroughly lacking in legal support,’ the filing states. ‘Thus, the charges of second degree murder must be dismissed.’
Fraser Bohm appeared in a Van Nuys court Wednesday, seeking to dismiss the murder charges against him
The 23-year-old, dressed in a dark suit and striped tie, was accompanied by his father Chris and mother Brooke
Bohm sat expressionless alongside his attorneys as they told the court they were filing to dismiss the charges
Bohm’s attorneys list several ‘undisputed facts’ about their client, who was 22 at the time of the accident: ‘He had no drugs or alcohol in his system, he was not texting or otherwise distracted, and he has an unblemished driving record with no prior accidents, speeding violations, or traffic infractions.’
But at the April preliminary hearing, the lawyers add: ‘Several key allegations were less clear.
‘The People claimed that Mr. Bohm was speeding but there was conflicting evidence as to his actual speed.
‘Evidence was presented that established Mr. Bohm was attempting to flee a road-rage incident instigated by a driver with a history of road rage, who angrily engaged Mr. Bohm on the roadway.
‘Evidence was also presented that Mr. Bohm’s vehicle was struck by a car immediately preceding the accident.
‘Additionally, the defense presented evidence that the area where Mr. Bohm was driving is prone to accidents and in fact was known by the City of Malibu as “Dead Man’s Curve”.’
Of the six eyewitnesses who have provided testimony about what they saw the evening of October 17, 2023, ‘none could provide a complete and accurate timeline of what occurred on the relevant strip of PCH leading to the accident,’ Bohm’s lawyers state.
‘While videos and images captured from several camera along PCH were introduced as exhibits at the preliminary hearing, the footage was often difficult to see and at times so corrupted – or very glitchy – that the images captured could not be discerned (one witness cannot identify or recognize his own vehicle when initially played the video).’
The 6ft 3in suspect is accused of driving his BMW at 104mph in a 45mph zone on the PCH before losing control and slamming into three parked cars and killing four students who were walking nearby in October 2023
The crash killed four Pepperdine University students, including Deslyn Williams (left) and Niamh Rolston who were sorority sisters and close friends
Peyton Stewart (left) and Asha Weir were members of Alpha Phi at Pepperdine University – and were pronounced dead alongside their two friends at the scene
The attorneys maintain in their motion that ‘the evidence presented by the prosecution at the preliminary hearing was not merely dense, but extremely intricate, layered and at times difficult to follow…
‘That muddled presentation further underscores that the People’s theory of murder is unsupported by fact and by law.’
Judge Thomas Rubenstein scheduled another hearing November 1, when Sparanga and lead attorney Alan Jackson will argue for the case against their client to be dropped.
Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos told the court prosecutors will file a response before next month’s hearing, opposing dismissal.
All four of the young women killed in the Malibu crash were seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts where they were members of the Alpha Phi Sorority.
They were due to graduate with the class of 2024 and were awarded their degrees posthumously.
The victims had just exited another car and were walking along the shoulder when they were struck.
Bartos said at an earlier preliminary hearing: ‘They were killed because of the driving of the defendant.’
The judge scheduled a new hearing for November, when defense attorneys Jacqueline Sparagna and Alan Jackson will argue their case for dismissal
The four young women were struck and killed along the Pacific Coast Highway in an area known locally as ‘Dead Man’s Curve’ on October 17, 2023
Footage obtained by KTLA from the night of the crash show the mangled remains of his red BMW which he received as an 18th birthday present as part of his wealthy parents’ divorce settlement
Bartos pointed out that data retrieved from the ‘black box’ in Bohm’s BMW showed that the vehicle accelerated from 93mph to 104mph in just two-and-a-half seconds before the crash.
‘He consciously decided to get that vehicle up to the speed of 104mph,’ the prosecutor added. ‘And he lost control of his vehicle… This was not an accident.’
Bohm, who lives in Malibu, has maintained that the deadly crash was an accident that occurred when another driver in a white car allegedly swerved into his lane, clipped his side mirror, and caused him to smash into the three parked cars.
His former defense attorney, Michael Kraut, argued that at the time of the crash, Bohm was being ‘chased in a road-rage incident.’
But LA Sheriff’s investigators said they found ‘no evidence of an alleged road-rage incident.’
Kraut during the April hearing described Bohm as ‘a kid’, who was just 20 at the time of the tragedy and had no ‘past history of any driving violations or a parking violation.’
The crash ignited outrage across Malibu, where residents have long been calling for safety improvements along the dangerous stretch of the PCH between Carbon Canyon and Las Flores Canyon.
The section has earned the grim nickname of ‘Dead Man’s Curve’ after seeing 53 deaths and 92 serious injuries between 2013 and 2023.
Bohm previously attended Oaks Christian School, a $31,250-a-year college prep school near Los Angeles, where he played varsity baseball. He is the youngest of three siblings and is pictured right with sister Haiden
On the one-year anniversary of the girls’ deaths, Malibu officials met to discuss new safety measures, and created a California highway patrol task force to crack down on speeders and traffic offenders on PCH.
And recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill authorizing the installation of speed cameras on a 21-mile stretch of PCH all the way through Malibu.
The city has also been considering an even more ambitious plan that would completely redesign PCH, ‘transforming it from a high speed highway into a safer, community-focused corridor, providing safe access for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.’
But such safety measures have come too late for the parents of the victims.
They have all brought wrongful death lawsuits against Bohm and are also suing the State of California, LA County, the City of Malibu, and the California Coastal Commission, alleging dangerous road design on PCH and lack of safety standards.
Bohm, whose father Chris is an executive at a medical equipment manufacturer, had appeared in court for his arraignment hearing in July – his first court date since he was ordered to stand trial after a three-day preliminary trial in late April.
The former high school athlete, however, did not enter an official plea after his lawyer requested more time and the hearing was pushed to August.
The Daily Mail previously revealed that Bohm had received the luxury vehicle in his parents’ divorce settlement on his 18th birthday.
The red 2016 BMW was purchased by Bohm’s mother Brooke using a down payment of $25,000 in 2017 – with the remaining instalments paid by his father Chris.
The divorce settlement also revealed details of his family’s lavish lifestyle – including the secluded $8.7 million Malibu gated estate Bohm’s mother ended up with in the divorce.
