Prosecutors say the 24-year-old man charged in the deaths of four Pepperdine University sorority sisters had a “giant canister of nitrous oxide” — commonly known as laughing gas — sitting on his lap in the moments before he allegedly struck the women while driving 104 mph.
The dramatic new claim surfaced during a court hearing on Wednesday, leading the judge to delay the case just days before Fraser Bohm was expected to stand trial over the deadly 2023 Malibu crash on the Pacific Coast Highway, a roadway long criticized for its dangers.
Bohm has entered not guilty pleas to four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the deaths of Niamh Rolston, 20, Asha Weir, 21, Peyton Stewart, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21.
The four women were killed on October 17, 2023, after authorities say Bohm was speeding in a BMW along PCH and crashed into three parked vehicles in the shoulder lane near where they were walking.
Although the posted speed limit on that section of the Pacific Coast Highway is 45 mph, prosecutors pursued murder charges after data recovered from the BMW’s “black box” allegedly showed Bohm accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph in the final two and a half seconds before impact.
Now, nearly three years on, prosecutors say a 10 to 12-lb canister of nitrous oxide found inside Bohm’s wrecked car could become key evidence in the case.
Fraser’s lead attorney, Alan Jackson, pleaded that he needed more time to mount a defense against the prosecution’s explosive ‘new theory’ that the gas, which can produce a short, intense high when inhaled, could have been a factor in the deadly 2023 pile-up on Malibu’s notorious stretch of PCH known as ‘Dead Man’s Curve.’
Judge Thomas Rubinson, at Van Nuys court near Los Angeles, agreed, granting Jackson’s motion to delay the trial and setting a new trial date of December 1.
Fraser Bohm arrived at Van Nuys Courthouse with his parents, father Christopher Bohm and mother Brooke Bohm for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday morning
The crash killed four Pepperdine University students, including Deslyn Williams (left) and Niamh Rolston who were sorority sisters and close friends
‘When the prosecution seeks to change its theory of its case, the defense is entitled to a continuance to give them time to investigate that theory,’ the judge told the court.
Bohm, wearing a light gray check suit, light blue tie and pale blue shirt, showed no emotion or reaction as he sat in court Wednesday with family members and friends in support.
Bohm’s defense team has tried twice unsuccessfully to have the murder charges dismissed, saying that prosecutors cannot prove ‘malice’ – that he knew his reckless driving could have caused death – which is the law’s standard for a murder charge to stick.
Jackson has consistently maintained that the deaths were the result of a tragic accident which happened when his client was being chased in a ‘road rage’ incident, a scenario the District Attorney (DA) insists there is no evidence to support.
Instead, the LA DA’s case is that the four victims were killed ‘because of the defendant’s wanton disregard for the high probability of death caused by driving at over 100mph’…which would constitute malice.
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Attorney Jackson complained in court documents filed earlier that the prosecutors’ announcement ‘on the eve of trial’ that they would use the 10-12 pound canister of nitrous oxide, with nozzle, found inside Bohm’s car as a major part of their case, ‘implied’ that Bohm was inhaling the gas at the time of the crash.
But on Wednesday, Deputy DA Nathan Bartos told the court that he did not intend to argue that Bohm actually inhaled the nitrous, only that he ‘possessed’ the canister ‘and that possession distracted his driving.’
Judge Rubinson told the court he would ‘hold prosecutors to that’ and he would not allow any suggestion to the jury at trial that Bohm was actually inhaling nitrous at the time of the accident, ‘not even a nod, nod, wink wink.’
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
Lead defense attorney Alan Jackson asked for more time to mount a defense against the prosecution’s explosive ‘new theory’
Jackson, who pointed out that the tank of nitrous oxide was never mentioned at Bohm’s preliminary hearing in April last year, told the court that he needed time to ‘inspect the car and the chain of custody of evidence’ and investigate prosecutors’ claims of ‘a giant canister being on Mr Bohm’s lap.’
The lawyer said he also wanted his own experts to examine smears of Bohm’s blood found on the top of the nitrous tank and presumed to be from the facial injuries he suffered in the crash.
Jackson asked for the trial to be postponed until January because he has two other upcoming trials between now and the end of the year.
In response, Judge Rubinson protested: ‘Why do those other trials take priority over this one?’
He then held a lengthy meeting in his chambers with attorneys from both sides and reached a compromise date of December 1 for the start of jury selection.
Bohm remains free on $4 million bail until another pre-trial motion hearing Judge Rubinson scheduled for September 9.
The grieving parents of the four victims have all brought wrongful death civil 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.
All four victims had been 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 later were awarded their Pepperdine degrees posthumously.