A bail-review hearing is scheduled Thursday for the 22-year-old man facing murder and other charges for allegedly speeding on Pacific Coast Highway and causing a crash that killed four Pepperdine University students.
Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, of Malibu, was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. The charges stem from the Oct. 17 crash in the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway that killed Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21, all seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts.
Bohm’s bail was initially set at $8 million following his arrest Tuesday, but during his arraignment Wednesday, his bail was reduced to $4 million.
His attorney, who contends Bohm was the victim in a road rage incident and was being chased and then forced off the road, leading to the fatal crash, will ask Thursday that his bail be further reduced.
District Attorney George Gascón said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that Bohm was “allegedly speeding at speeds of 104 miles an hour in a 45-mile-per hour zone when he lost control of his BMW,” explaining that the murder charges were filed because of “the speed, the reckless disregard for the safety of others.”
Sheriff’s officials said Bohm swerved onto the north shoulder of westbound PCH and slammed into at least three vehicles parked alongside on the roadway. Those parked vehicles struck the four Pepperdine students who were standing or walking nearby, leaving them dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s department.
Bohm’s attorney, Michael Kraut, said there was no evidence to support Gascón’s claim that Bohm was driving at 104 mph, saying records provided to the defense show the vehicle was traveling at 70 mph at the time of impact.
Bohm’s attorney said his client had “zero alcohol in his system” and suffered a “major concussion,” but has fully cooperated with authorities.
“I believe that my client is a victim of road rage. … He told the police and they’re ignoring him,” Kraut said.
Kraut called the crash “exceptionally tragic.”
“The issue here is whether it’s murder or manslaughter or not a crime,” Kraut told reporters outside court Wednesday. “That’s really what we’re here to look at. We have evidence that the sheriff’s department did not want to take that clearly shows that there was a road rage incident.”
Bohm was initially taken into custody following the 8:30 p.m. Oct. 17 crash on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Jail records show he was released from custody around 7:20 a.m. the next day while sheriff’s officials continued their investigation into the cause of the crash.
Sheriff’s officials said in a statement Tuesday that Bohm was initially released “to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction.”
“When a case is presented to the District Attorney’s Office, you need to present supporting evidence for the specific charges being requested for filing within 48 hours,” the statement said. “In this specific case, the evidence including toxicology, speed analysis, execution of search warrants, etc. was still pending and took additional time to collect.”
Investigators presented their case Monday to the District Attorney’s Office, which filed the charges against Bohm a day later.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Arens told reporters Wednesday that he had “no evidence” that the crash stemmed from an alleged road rage incident, and he urged anyone with information to contact detectives at the sheriff’s Lost Hills station.
John Harlan, head deputy for the District Attorney’s Charge Evaluation Division, told reporters that Bohm’s attorney emailed the District Attorney’s Office after an arrest warrant had already been issued for the young man.
“It was not with any names of witnesses. It was just a claim,” Harlan said. “That’s been forwarded to the assigned D.A. in the case to follow up on so investigators will then have to go out and interview anyone Mr. Kraut is identifying as additional witnesses.”
Gascón said the defense attorney is alleging that there were “some other intervening causes.”
“We look forward to any additional information. … Clearly, this is an ongoing investigation,” Gascón added. “If there are other witnesses, other information, we will look at it to make sure the case is properly charged.”
Bohm could face potential multiple life prison sentences if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The crash has renewed calls for safety improvements on PCH, particularly in the area of the crash, which some call “Dead Man’s Curve.” The Malibu City Council on Monday heard from dozens of residents calling for action to improve safety and force drivers to slow down on the stretch.
The council called on its staff to prepare a report on conditions on PCH and a possible declaration of a local emergency, which would allow the use of local resources to implement safety measures.
Officials at Pepperdine University have announced that the four students killed in the crash will be posthumously awarded their diplomas.