BMW driver arrested on suspicion of murder in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students
Los Angeles deputies on Tuesday arrested the driver suspected of killing four Pepperdine students in a Malibu crash last week, setting his bail at $8 million.
Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, was booked on suspicion of four counts of murder. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, he'd been arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.
The crash occurred the night of Oct. 17 as Bohm was driving along the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, sheriff's officials said. Shortly after 9 p.m., officials said, Bohm's vehicle hit three parked cars and four women, all of whom died that night. Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Deslyn Williams and Asha Weir were seniors at Pepperdine, located just a few miles from the site of the crash.
KTLA reported Bohm was driving a BMW sedan at the time of the crash.
Bohm was a student athlete during high school, playing baseball at Chaminade Prep before transferring to Oaks Christian. A spokesperson for Oaks Christian, a private high school in the Conejo Valley, told the Acorn that Bohm had attended the school for one year but did not graduate. An online MaxPreps profile showed he played on the school's varsity baseball team. A 2017 Times story said the infielder-pitcher at Chaminade Prep was "highly regarded."
Bohm was booked, then released just hours after the crash. In a news release Tuesday, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said the suspect was "released to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction."
In the intervening days between arrests, investigators collected additional evidence — including toxicology results, search warrants and speed analyses — before submitting the case to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office on Monday.
The crash investigation remains ongoing; anyone with information for detectives can reach the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station at (818) 878-1808.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
