Attorneys for Fraser Bohm, who is accused of causing a crash that killed four Pepperdine University sorority sisters, are seeking to suppress statements he made to police in the hours following the fatal collision. Bohm's defense team filed a motion arguing that these statements, made before he was read his Miranda rights, should be ruled inadmissible for his upcoming quadruple murder trial.
Bohm, now 24, faces four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the October 17, 2023, incident. The prosecution alleges that Bohm lost control of his BMW and collided with three stationary vehicles on the Pacific Coast Highway, where the four young women were walking. The car's "black box" data indicated Bohm accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph in the two and a half seconds before the crash, according to court documents.
Defense attorneys contend that Bohm was effectively in police custody for approximately six hours between the crash and when he was formally arrested and Mirandized. During this period, he made statements to responding officers and hospital staff, expressing fear, asking to call his mother, and stating he wanted to go home. Court documents reveal that beginning at 8:37 p.m. on the night of the crash, Bohm identified himself to deputies, and by 8:38 p.m., he was repeatedly asking to call his mother. After learning that four fatalities may have occurred around 8:54 p.m., he again requested to call his mother.
Throughout the hours that followed, according to the defense's motion, deputies questioned Bohm about the crash, his speed, and the potential involvement of alcohol, Xanax, vaping, or texting. Bohm admitted to taking Xanax, for which he had a prescription, and that he had not consumed alcohol, as confirmed by two breathalyzer tests. A witness, Victor Calandra, estimated Bohm's speed to be between 70-80 mph prior to the crash, while Bohm himself told an arriving deputy he was traveling at 55-60 mph.
Legal Arguments and Court Proceedings
Judge Thomas Rubinson is set to decide whether to grant the defense's motion to suppress these pre-Miranda statements. The defense argues that statements made while detained but not yet formally arrested and read their rights cannot be used against the defendant.
In addition to the statements, the trial was recently postponed from its original Wednesday start date to December 1. This delay was granted after Bohm's attorney raised concerns about a new prosecution theory involving a "giant canister of nitrous oxide" found in Bohm's car. While the defense suggested this implied Bohm was inhaling the gas, the prosecution clarified they intend to argue that the possession of the canister, not its use, served as a distraction. Judge Rubinson stated he would not permit any suggestion that Bohm was inhaling the nitrous oxide during the accident.
Bohm remains free on $4 million bail. The families of the four victims, Niamh Rolston, Asha Weir, Peyton Stewart, and Deslyn Williams, have filed wrongful death civil lawsuits against Bohm and various government entities, citing dangerous road design and inadequate safety standards on PCH.
