Alan Jackson (center) and Fraser Bohm (right) exit the Van Nuys Courthouse for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 14. The next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10. Photo by Amanda Monahan
Editor’s Note: This reporting is part of the Graphic’s ongoing coverage of the Oct. 2023 PCH crash that killed four Pepperdine seniors: Asha Weir, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Rolston and Peyton Stewart. For more information on the crash and the events that followed and a better understanding of ‘Our Girls,’ please see the following:
From 2023: Couch Time and Sunshine: Reminiscing on Moments of Friendship and Sisterhood
From 2024: A Year Later: How Best Friends Honor and Remember their Sisters
From 2025: Two Years Later: Malibu Honors ‘Our Four Girls’
Fraser Michael Bohm and his defense attorney Alan Jackson appeared at the Van Nuys Courthouse for another pre-trial hearing Jan. 14. Both Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos and Judge Thomas Rubinson expressed urgency to decide a date for the trial to start at the next hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 10.
Rubinson recommended both the prosecution and defense make their final preparations in order to get the trial started as soon as possible.
Bohm is charged with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the Oct. 17, 2023 crash that killed four Pepperdine seniors: Asha Weir, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Rolston and Peyton Stewart.
At the Nov. 15 hearing, Rubinson denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the murder charges. Jackson said he made an application to the Supreme Court of California to dismiss these charges and expects an answer within 30 days.
“We’ve made an application to the Supreme Court [of California] to deal with a ruling at the lower court level based on a 995 that we filed, which is, basically, think about it like an appeal of the holding order at the preliminary hearing level,” Jackson said. “So that’s all the way up to the Supreme Court [of California], and they’ve got another 30 days or so to make a determination or a decision on that appeal that we’ve filed.”
The Supreme Court of California denied this petition later the same day, according to Appellate Courts Case Information.
Bohm’s defense team also requested items from the prosecution, which the prosecution declined to hand over. Jackson declined to further comment on what specific items he has requested.
“That’s discovery that I can’t really talk about right now,” Jackson said.
Fraser Bohm (left) and Alan Jackson (right) stand in the Van Nuys Courthouse for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 14. This was Bohm and Jackson’s first appearance in court of 2026. Photo courtesy of David Bucher of the New York Post
Jackson said the defense doesn’t want to set a trial date until he gets the items from the prosecution and hears back from the Supreme Court of California. Bohm’s defense is expected to receive the data they requested from witness Victor Calandra’s phone at the Nov. 14 hearing this week.
A representative from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was also present in the Van Nuys Courthouse on Jan. 14. The representative stated he was there in response to a request to unseal documents in relation to the Oct. 2023 crash, including photos, videos and extracted data.
Rubinson said the files were under a protection order placed by Judge Diego Edber in former hearings. The defense argued the release of the Caltrans files would make it harder to find an unbiased jury and would further violate Bohm’s right to a fair trial.
Rubinson said with the case already being widely publicized, it will be hard enough to find a jury. Since the request for releasing the documents was in regards to civil cases surrounding the crash, Rubinson said he was not going to lift the protection order as they move forward with the criminal case of the crash.
Bohm was ordered to reappear in court for the Feb. 10 hearing.
Melissa Houston contributed to this reporting.
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