- The baseball star posted $4 million bond on Friday evening after pleading not guilty
- Fraser Bohm, 22, said he was chased during a road rage incident
- He is accused of killing four Pepperdine students on Pacific Coast Highway
The California baseball player accused of shooting four Pepperdine University students has been released on $4 million bond after pleading not guilty to murder.
Fraser Bohm, 22, is free after posting bond Friday at 8:21 p.m. CBS News.
Bohm was charged with four counts of murder after allegedly losing control of his red BMW along the Pacific Coast Highway on October 17.
He is accused of murdering Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, all 21.
He pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday and had his bail lowered from $8 million to $4 million.
Bohm’s family was present at the hearing, some of whom live with him in a lavish $8 million Malibu beach house.
Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of four students and posted $4 million bail
(L-R) Asha Weir, Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart and Deslyn Williams are pictured having dinner with friends just weeks before the women were mowed down and murdered
Scenes from the crash show the 6-foot-4, 190-pound former standout high school athlete’s mangled red 2016 BMW.
He received the luxury car as a gift for his 18th birthday as part of his wealthy parents’ divorce settlement.
A bail hearing is scheduled for Monday morning and a preliminary hearing will be held on December 15.
Bohm’s attorney, Michael Kraut, claimed in court that the former baseball star was involved in the crash because of a road rage incident that occurred about three miles from the scene of the collision.
“We have evidence that the Sheriff’s Department did not want to take, which clearly shows that there was a road rage incident that started at Duke’s, that this individual chased him and tried to push him off the side of the road,” Kraut told KTLA.
“When (Bohm) accelerated to get away from him, the accident happened,” he added.
Bohm is shown at the scene of the accident being subjected to a sobriety test by police
Witnesses claimed that Bohm attempted to flee the scene immediately after the collision before being apprehended by stunned onlookers.
Footage obtained by KTLA from the night of the crash showed a grim-faced Bohm being given a field sobriety test by police as the mangled remains of his red BMW were towed away.
Kraut claimed that security footage from the scene was collected to support his allegations about a traffic incident.
He also claimed that the driver of the other car had been identified, adding: “The individual admitted to a family member that they ran him off the road.”
Early reports claimed Bohm was traveling at more than 100 mph (160 km/h) moments before the crash, but Kraut refuted these claims, saying his BMW’s ‘black box’ would show he was traveling at about 70 mph (110 km/h).
Deslyn Williams (left) and Niamh Rolston (right) were sorority sisters and close friends
Peyton Stewart (left) and Asha Weir (right) were also part of Alpha Phi at Pepperdine University – and were pronounced dead alongside Deslyn and Niamh on October 17.
The athlete, who has no previous criminal record, was initially charged with manslaughter by gross negligence after the four students were mowed down and killed – but he was released.
All four victims were seniors studying at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts in Malibu, and they were sisters in the Alpha Phi sorority.
The women were walking near a group of parked cars in the area of the Pacific Coast Highway known as “Dead Man’s Curve.”
The students vacationed together, spent time together in their dorms, and often posed together for formal occasions.
Video shows the group laughing while eating and drinking just weeks before their deaths.