Charged with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after an Oct. 17, 2023 crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu that killed four Pepperdine University students, Bohm has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin Dec. 1, 2026.
On July 27, 2026, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson denied a second defense motion to dismiss the murder counts, clearing the way for trial.67 At a Sept. 2 hearing, prosecutors raised a new theory involving a nitrous oxide canister found in Bohm's car, and Rubinson moved the trial from Sept. 8 to Dec. 1, 2026.45 Pretrial evidence hearings followed in September and on Oct. 1, at which Rubinson ruled on Bohm's statements to deputies, crash statistics and medical evidence.32
Bohm has not been tried. Everything in this section is an allegation by prosecutors or police, testimony at a preliminary hearing, where the state needed to show only enough evidence to hold him for trial, or argument at pretrial hearings. None of it has been tested before a jury.1612
Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21, were seniors at Pepperdine University’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts and members of the Alpha Phi sorority.716 At about 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2023, they were walking on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, a few miles from campus.20 Prosecutors say they had just gotten out of a vehicle, in a 45 mph zone.16
According to sheriff’s officials, a BMW driven by Bohm swerved onto the north shoulder of westbound PCH and struck three parked vehicles, which then struck the four women.710 The district attorney’s office says witnesses saw him lose control before hitting the parked cars.1 All four women died at the scene.16 Two other people were taken to a hospital with injuries, the AP reported.20 Pepperdine later awarded the four women their degrees posthumously.16
Bohm was 22; he had turned 22 the day before.20 He was arrested that night on suspicion of manslaughter and released the next day; the sheriff’s department said toxicology, speed analysis and search warrants were still pending.2019
Bohm was arrested again on Oct. 24, 2023, and on Oct. 25 District Attorney George Gascón announced four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.201 Gascón said the murder charges were filed because of “the speed, the reckless disregard for the safety of others,” and said Bohm was “allegedly speeding at speeds of 104 miles an hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.”14 Bohm pleaded not guilty in Department 100 of the Van Nuys Courthouse, where bail was reduced from $8 million to $4 million.1 He posted bail on Oct. 27, 2023.18
The murder counts rest on a theory of implied malice: that Bohm understood the danger of driving at extreme speed on that road and did it anyway.4 The defense contends the facts support at most vehicular manslaughter.8
The preliminary hearing began in Van Nuys in late April 2025.18 Prosecutors presented data from a device in Bohm’s BMW showing it accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph about 2.5 seconds before the first of three impacts.1617 Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos said witnesses who put Bohm’s speed at about 70 mph had “lost sight of him” as he “continued to accelerate,” and argued that Bohm “consciously decided” to reach 104 mph.16 “This was not an accident,” Bartos said.16
A motorist testified that he saw a driver weaving between lanes, and, according to KNX, holding a phone; he said he told the driver at a red light to be careful and identified the driver as Bohm.1716 The driver of a white Honda Civic testified that she saw a car “going really fast,” and prosecutors noted her car never touched the BMW and showed no apparent damage.16 A man who ran to the scene testified that Bohm’s door was open and that Bohm kept saying, “I’m sorry.”1718
In a videotaped interview with sheriff’s investigators played in court, Bohm said “it was an accident” and that he felt “awful,” and said he swerved after a driver in a white car sideswiped his driver’s-side mirror, sending him into the first parked vehicle.16
Bohm’s lawyer at the time, Michael Kraut, said the black-box data was “not accurate,” pointing to warnings that such data can be wrong, and argued Bohm had been “chased in a road-rage incident” before the crash.1716 He called Bohm “a kid” with no record of driving or parking violations.16 Sheriff’s officials had said earlier that there was “no evidence” of road rage.17 On April 30, 2025, Superior Court Judge Diego H. Edber ordered Bohm to stand trial on all eight counts.16
Bohm’s family hired Alan Jackson to lead the defense in June 2025, and Bohm pleaded not guilty to the murder counts again in August 2025, after he was held to answer.15 On Sept. 5, 2025, Judge Thomas Rubinson denied a request to cut bail to $2 million; Jackson had said the family sold their home to pay for the defense, and Rubinson said, “That’s not the way it works.”15
On Nov. 10, 2025, Rubinson denied a defense motion to dismiss the murder counts for insufficient evidence.1214 Jackson argued that “speed alone does not equate to murder” under California law, and told the judge, “He didn’t know how fast he was going.”1310 Rubinson replied, “How could someone driving a car at 95 mph (not know they were driving at a high rate of speed)?”1011 According to Fox News, prosecutors allege Bohm told police he knew the road “like the back of his hand” and knew “speed kills” after two friends died in an earlier crash.13 The 2nd District Court of Appeal denied a defense petition on Dec. 4, 2025, citing “failure to demonstrate entitlement to extraordinary relief,” and the California Supreme Court declined to review it in January 2026.1011
The defense brought a second motion to dismiss, arguing in part that the preliminary hearing had been compromised and that prosecutors had withheld crash data.79 Jackson presented ten years of collision data for that stretch of PCH: “Repeated speeding, repeated collisions and not a single other fatal collision in 10 years on that stretch of road.”9 Bartos answered, “It is not speed alone, it is not speed itself, it is not speed in isolation, it’s not speed in a vacuum,” citing witness accounts of erratic driving, distraction and veering.9 Rubinson denied the motion on July 27, 2026; Court TV reported that he cited airbag deployment at 99 mph as suggesting “little attempt” to brake.69
The defense says Bohm was being chased and harassed by another driver and was trying to get away when he lost control.1412 It says a moving white car struck his car first, and that a prosecution witness’s account was contradicted by another witness.13 In November 2025, Rubinson allowed the defense to extract GPS and other data from that witness’s phone.12 Prosecutors say there is no evidence of a road-rage chase and that Bohm did not mention one to deputies.1115 No charges against any other driver were reported in the sources reviewed.
At a Sept. 2, 2026 hearing, prosecutors said a 10- to 12-pound nitrous oxide canister was found in Bohm’s car and contended it was on his lap at the time of the crash and may have distracted him.4 They said they do not intend to allege he inhaled the gas; Jackson said he worried the evidence would turn the case into a DUI case.45 Jackson asked for time to inspect the canister, its chain of custody and blood reportedly found on it.4 The defense had sought a January 2027 trial date; Rubinson noted the case was “three years old” and moved the trial from Sept. 8 to Dec. 1.45
In a series of evidence hearings that began in September 2026, Rubinson denied defense motions to exclude statements Bohm made to deputies before he was read his Miranda rights and statements the defense said were coerced.3 He allowed general statistics from state, CHP and sheriff’s crash reports for that stretch of road, but excluded speed-camera evidence and the speed of the earlier crash that killed Bohm’s friends.3 On Oct. 1, he granted a defense motion to exclude three prosecution studies on pedestrians’ chances of surviving such a crash, and limited the defense’s use of Bohm’s medical records.2
Bohm was born on Oct. 16, 2001, according to the district attorney’s office.1 He is from the Malibu area.1316 He was a high school baseball player; the AP cited a 2017 Los Angeles Times story calling him a “highly regarded” infielder-pitcher.20 Two of his friends died in an earlier crash, according to Fox News.13
At an Oct. 1, 2026 hearing, the defense sought to introduce records from doctors who saw Bohm after the crash, and Rubinson remarked that no one disputed that Bohm had been concussed.2 Rubinson ruled in September 2026 that a doctor who treated Bohm in 2019 may testify about the examination and symptoms but not about what Bohm told doctors after the crash.3 No court finding about Bohm’s mental health was found in the sources reviewed.
His mother attended a pretrial hearing in November 2025, according to Fox News.13
His earlier lawyer told the court Bohm had no record of driving or parking violations.16 He has been free on bail since Oct. 27, 2023.1815 Bohm has made no public statement about the case in the sources reviewed beyond his recorded interview with investigators.
Prosecutors allege Bohm's BMW accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph in about 2.5 seconds before the first impact, in a 45 mph zone, and that he "lost control of his vehicle"; Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos told the preliminary hearing, "This was not an accident."16 The murder counts rest on implied malice: prosecutors allege he understood the danger of driving at extreme speed on that road.4 Bartos has said the case is "not speed alone," citing witness accounts of erratic driving, distraction and veering.98 Prosecutors say there is no evidence for the defense's road-rage claim.1115
Bohm's lawyers say the case is "wildly overcharged" and belongs under vehicular manslaughter, not murder; attorney Alan Jackson argues that under California law "speed alone does not equate to murder," and notes there was no alcohol, drugs, texting or street racing.1413 The defense says Bohm was being chased and harassed by another driver and was trying to get away, and that a moving white car struck his car before he lost control.1413 His earlier lawyer disputed the black-box speed data and said the evidence showed a speed no higher than 70 mph at impact.1816 The defense also argues the stretch of road has a long record of speeding and collisions.9
Four Pepperdine students are killed on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu; Bohm is arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later released.2019
A day after his re-arrest, the district attorney charges Bohm with four counts of murder and four of vehicular manslaughter; he pleads not guilty and bail is reduced to $4 million.120
After a preliminary hearing, Judge Diego H. Edber orders Bohm to stand trial on all counts.1617
Judge Thomas Rubinson denies a defense request to lower bail to $2 million.15
Rubinson denies a defense motion to dismiss the murder counts.1214
The 2nd District Court of Appeal denies a defense petition; the California Supreme Court declines review in January 2026.1011
Rubinson denies a second motion to dismiss the murder counts.67
Prosecutors raise a nitrous oxide canister found in the car; the trial is moved from Sept. 8 to Dec. 1.45
At the third of a series of evidence hearings, Rubinson excludes three prosecution studies on pedestrian survival and limits medical records.2
The next pretrial hearing is set for Nov. 4, 2026, at the Van Nuys Courthouse.2 Rubinson deferred the dispute over the nitrous oxide canister to a defense motion, known as a Trombetta motion, that seeks dismissal over evidence said to be compromised.2 Trial is set to begin Dec. 1, 2026.45 If convicted as charged, Bohm faces possible multiple life sentences, according to the district attorney.1