(TheProudRepublic.com) – Four young women have been murdered in Malibu, California, in a gruesome car crash last week when a former high school baseball star plowed his 2016 BMW into a group of sorority sisters.
On October 18, 22-year-old Fraser Bohm – described in a Fox News report as a “Malibu rich kid” – was allegedly exceeding 100 mph on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when he crashed, killing four sorority sisters from Pepperdine University.
On Wednesday, Bohm pleaded not guilty to four counts of malice murder and vehicular manslaughter.
These charges stem from the fatalities of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams.
The prosecution asserts that Bohm was traveling at 104 mph in a 45 mph zone along a portion of the highway notoriously referred to as “Dead Man’s Curve,” renowned for its numerous fatal incidents.
The prosecutor relaid this detail to Judge Diego Edber, Fox reports.
During an interrogation by detectives, Bohm reportedly conceded that he might have been texting at the time of the crash.
Nathan Bartos, the prosecuting attorney, stated in Los Angeles Superior Court that Bohm was aware of the high density of residences and businesses in the area and consciously chose to ignore the risks, speeding at over double the posted limit.
Michael Kraut, Bohm’s defense attorney, offered a different account, claiming that Bohm was texting at a stop sign and accelerated in response to an aggressive driver, who allegedly provoked his client to veer off the road.
Kraut mentioned that they had identified this other driver but alleged that investigators showed no interest. Kraut contended,
“This case was rushed without getting all the facts,” Kraut said.
Kraut also argued that Bohm was traveling at 70 mph at the collision’s point and was neither under the influence of drugs nor alcohol, noting his client’s clean driving record without any traffic violations. The attorney advocated for a lower bail amount.
Judge Edber, however, citing the “extremely egregious” nature of the case, set bail at $4 million.
Bohm, who played baseball for Oaks Christian School, resides with his mother in an $8.7 million Malibu estate. The family also owns a $700,000 vacation home in the Coachella Valley.
The 2016 BMW involved in the incident was a gift for Bohm’s 18th birthday, as noted in a 2018 divorce agreement between his parents.
