The attorneys representing the BMW driver accused of taking the lives of four Pepperdine University students are now appealing to a judge in California for the dismissal of the murder charges, claiming the case against the 23-year-old is significantly exaggerated.
Fraser Bohm’s legal representative, Jacqueline Sparanga, submitted a detailed 55-page motion on September 30, disputing elements from an April hearing and seeking to have the four murder charges against her client dismissed, as stated in court documents obtained by The Post.
Bohm faces murder and vehicular manslaughter allegations for tragically crashing into Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21, while exceeding speeds of 100 mph in Malibu on October 17, 2023.
Sparanga expressed in a phone interview on Wednesday, âWe firmly believe the evidence presented during the preliminary hearing doesnât justify murder charges, so weâre asking the court to review these facts and the applicable law to determine the case’s validity.â
âWe strongly feel that he has been charged excessively. This case does not reflect murder in our view. This motion is our initial effort to have these murder charges dismissed.â
Bohm was present at the Van Nuys Courthouse on Wednesday, where Sparanga informed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson about the motion.
The submitted motion asserts that prosecutors lack sufficient legal evidence to uphold the second-degree murder allegations.
The filing criticizes the prosecution for a âconfused presentation,â arguing that their stance on âimplied maliceâ lacks backing from facts and legal standards.
According to prosecutors, Bohm was allegedly accelerating at 104 mph on a notoriously hazardous 45 mph stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway when he lost control of his vehicle, crashing into three parked cars that then struck the four Alpha Phi Sorority sisters walking nearby.
The victims, who were seniors at the college, tragically lost their lives at the scene.
Two additional individuals sustained injuries in the incident, from which Bohm emerged unharmed.
Initially, he was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, but these charges were escalated to four counts of murder a week later.
In August, he pled not guiltyârepresented by renowned defense attorney Alan Jackson, who had just secured an acquittal for Karen Read, accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, while driving drunk in 2022.
Last month, Jacksonâknown for defending high-profile clients like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spaceyâasked Judge Rubinson to reduce Bohm’s bail from $4 million to $2 million, only to be denied.
Jackson noted that Bohm’s family had to sell their home and exhaust their retirement savings to fund his defense.
Should he be convicted, Bohm faces the possibility of multiple life sentences.
A hearing has been scheduled for November 10.
