Prosecutors: Bohm had nitrous tank in lap during fatal PCH crash
The new theory in the delayed murder trial focuses on distraction, not intoxication, as Fraser Bohm remains free on bail.
By Hans Laetz
Fraser Michael Bohm had a heavy tank full of nitrous oxide in his lap as he was speeding down Pacific Coast Highway at 104 miles an hour and killed four women. That is the new theory being advanced by prosecutors as his trial has been delayed once again, into December.
The 24-year-old Malibu resident remains out of jail on bail.
Nitrous oxide is a gas commonly known as laughing gas. It can cause hallucinations and bizarre behavior, but it's difficult to detect after a traffic crash. Prosecutors are not alleging that Bohm was high on nitrous oxide when he plowed into four Pepperdine students on the side of PCH. Rather, they intend to prove that he was distracted by holding a big, heavy gas tank in his lap.
Proving he was high was medically impossible, but proving that the tank was in his lap is easier. The tank has blood on the outside consistent with cuts he suffered in the crash.
Bohm faces murder and vehicular manslaughter charges for mowing down Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams. The Pepperdine students were all 20 or 21 years old when they were killed.
Bohm's car was clocked at 104 miles per hour by its own recording devices just before the impact. He claims he was fleeing for his life from a road rage incident, and there's evidence that a witness was indeed chasing Bohm after Bohm had exhibited crazy driving, speeding, and swerving on PCH that night, Oct. 17, 2023.