A Los Angeles County judge has denied a request to drop murder charges against Fraser Bohm, 24, who is accused of killing four female students while driving at high speed on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Bohm will face trial for four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson set Bohm's trial for September 8. The denial came after Bohm's attorneys made a last-minute bid to have the charges dismissed, citing new evidence.

Prosecutors allege that on October 17, 2023, Bohm was driving his BMW at 104 mph in a 45 mph zone near a section of the highway known as "Deadman's Curve." He is accused of striking three parked vehicles near where the four students were walking. The victims were Niamh Rolston, 20, Asha Weir, 21, Peyton Stewart, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21. All four were seniors at Pepperdine University's Seaver College and members of the Alpha Phi Sorority.

Evidence presented by the prosecution includes data from the vehicle's black box, which reportedly shows Bohm accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph in the two and a half seconds before the crash. Prosecutors contend that Bohm acted with "wanton disregard for the high probability of death" and that he understood the dangers of his excessive speed.

Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos argued that Bohm was driving "over 100mph… he had to negotiate around other vehicles that were going slower." He added that Bohm "understood that what he was doing was dangerous" and that "excessive speed can result in death."

Bohm's defense attorneys have argued that he was attempting to flee a road rage incident at the time of the collision, claiming a "guy in a white car" swerved into his lane and hit his driver's side mirror. Defense lawyer Alan Jackson stated that the incident was "tragic" and "devastating" but not murder, and that Bohm "did not intentionally disregard the possibility of causing death."

Attorneys for Bohm also claimed that eyewitness accounts were contradictory, evidence regarding his speed was conflicting, and surveillance video from near the scene was unreliable. They argued that implied malice murder requires more than just a dangerous act; it requires proof that death was the natural and probable consequence of that act alone.

However, Judge Rubinson noted that Bohm had previously acknowledged the dangers of high-speed driving. Bohm reportedly told the court that two friends had died in a high-speed crash and that he was familiar with Pacific Coast Highway, including the "Deadman's Curve" section. The judge also pointed to testimony from another driver who had reportedly told Bohm to "slow down before you hurt somebody" at a traffic light earlier that night due to his erratic driving.

The judge stated there was "no evidence of a road rage incident before the crash" and that Bohm knew "his actions had a high degree of probability of causing death."

In addition to the criminal charges, Bohm is facing civil lawsuits from the parents of the four students. The victims were posthumously awarded their degrees from Pepperdine in 2024.