The L.A. County Superior Court will continue the preliminary hearing process Nov. 13 in the case of the October 2023 PCH crash that killed four Pepperdine students — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.
Fraser Michael Bohm, the driver who struck and killed the four students Oct. 17, 2023, appeared in court Wednesday morning, along with an entourage of about 20 people — including his parents and sister. Niamh’s parents, Tracy and David Rolston, also sat inside the courtroom for the proceeding.
Bohm faces four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Bohm pleaded not guilty on all charges after being released on $4 million bail Oct. 27, 2023.
Wednesday’s proceeding comes after Bohm did not appear in court for the Aug. 28 preliminary hearing. Judge Diego Edber required Bohm to appear in-person Wednesday.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Edber said he received a letter from Bohm’s defense attorney, Michael Kraut, earlier in the week. In the letter, Kraut asked for the court to be recused, with concerns of fairness to a preliminary hearing.
Kraut responded, saying he did not ask Edber to be recused from the case, but rather is concerned about discriminatory action and made a motion to request discovery of evidence.
The cause for discrimination was members of news media in the courtroom, Kraut said. He claimed the court did not properly notify him about press being present in the courtroom during previous appearances.
Edber said there is no evidence of discriminatory action and denied the discovery request.
At the Aug. 28 preliminary hearing, Kraut motioned for the discovery of additional evidence — crashes where the driver was charged with murder with no foreign substances in their system as well as the fatality reports on PCH from the past 10 years in areas patrolled by the Los Hills Sheriff’s Department.
Kraut said Bohm has never received a traffic citation and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.
The Court will reconvene Nov. 13 for a preliminary hearing at the Van Nuys Courthouse.
The trial is expected to begin in January 2025. Kraut said he may not be able to commit to any January date due to accident reconstruction experts analyzing Bohm’s vehicle.
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Contact Gabrielle Salgado via email: gabrielle.salgado@pepperdine.edu
