Judge refuses to dismiss murder charges involving 4 Pepperdine students killed at PCH

A judge declined to issue charges Monday for killing a suspect accused of hitting Pepperdine University sisters while driving along Pacific Coast Highway in his speeding car two years ago.

• • Fraser Bohm, 24, is charged with four counts of first degree murder and aggravated vehicular homicide from Oct. 17, 2023, they crashed wearing pchs in Malibu and said they were “dead missing man, killing women. He is charged with murder based on the concept of malice aforethought, suggesting reckless disregard for human life, after allegedly reaching 104 mph before the crash.
• Alan Jackson, a new high-profile lawyer – who received decorated titles as a defense lawyer for the massachusetts murder of Karen Reed – argued that “speed alone does not mean that” based on the decisions of the Supreme Court of California, therefore the murder charges should be dismissed. He said there was insufficient evidence asked at Bohm’s initial hearing to show that he knew there was a high probability of death, and that speeding on PCH did not meet that threshold.

He also recounted Bohm’s crash while being chased by a road rage driver.

• Jackson told the judge, “Jackson told the judge, adding this case was an example of” why someone runs away from there. “

The crash happened shortly before 9 PM at a 45-mph zone where Bohm allegedly swerved northbound on the westbound Pch and struck three parked cars. The force of the impact sent parked cars crashing into four Pepperdine students, who were walking on the shoulder after getting out of the car.

The victims were Niamh Rolston, 20; Peyton Stewart, 21; Asha Weir, 21; And Deslyn Williams, 21. Prepdedine seniors and Alpha Phi Sorority members later received their joint degrees.

Bohm was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and had no previous driving convictions before the fatal crash in his BMW, his lawyer told a judge Monday in seeking to dismiss the manslaughter charges.

However, Los Angeles County Superior Court Thomas Rubinson rejected those arguments, saying that given the evidence, it was enough to put Bohm on trial for murder. According to prosecutors, airbag-related data from Bohm’s car showed that even though the cruise control system was kicking in at 93 mph, as he began to skid, he continued to accelerate, and continued to accelerate before reaching 104 mph.

In court filings, prosecutors said there was no reason for Bohm to act so quickly and there was no evidence there was a road rage incident. A judge agreed Monday.

“There is no doubt that this man was driving very fast on Pch … close to or over 100 mph,” Rubinson said. “There was no evidence of road rage prior to the accident. The defendant knew how dangerous it was to drive at 100 mph, and his actions had a high probability of causing death.”

Explaining his decision, the judge said that Bohm knew that speed kills just like an ad on a bus bench or on the side of a bus, as he asked his two senior investigators who were involved in a high-speed collision.

Rubinson said the beach road, with pedestrians, parked cars and garbage cans, is not a wide, open highway. Bohm told Sheriff’s deputies that he knew ‘the road like the back of his hand’ and “He knows the dead man’s curve,” the judge said.

Rubinson said his decision to uphold the manslaughter charges was not based on a reasonable doubt, but rather based on circumstantial evidence from the other driver and sufficient evidence to continue the investigation.