Wealthy student charged with killing four sorority sisters hires top lawyer
Dressed in a dark gray suit and tie, he did not speak as his new lawyer, Alan Jackson, entered the not-guilty pleas to four counts each of charge on his behalf at a courthouse in Van Nuys, California. The hearing lasted only a few minutes, during which Judge Thomas Rubinson granted the defense's request for a postponement to September 5.
Wednesday's arraignment follows a delay granted last month, when newly-hired Jackson, who represented recently-acquitted murder suspect Karen Read, requested a continuance. Outside the courtroom, Jackson explained that he plans to raise 'several issues' at the next hearing, including filing a motion to reduce Bohm's $4million bail package that was granted after his arrest in 2023.
Asked when he expects Bohm's jury trial to start, the renowned lawyer told Daily Mail: 'The prosecution has a head start on us and we have a lot of work to do to catch up. So I can't see trial starting before the end of 2025.' The prominent criminal defense attorney, who replaces Bohm's original lawyer Michael Kraut, is a former LA County Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted several high-profile cases, including the murder conviction of music producer Phil Spector.
Since going into private practice, he's made a name for himself as a top defense attorney. Most recently, he successfully got Karen Read acquitted of murder charges in the widely-covered trial related to the death of her Boston Police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe. All four of the young women killed in the Malibu crash were seniors at Pepperdine's Seaver College of Liberal Arts where they were members of the Alpha Phi Sorority.
They were due to graduate with the class of 2024 and later were awarded their Pepperdine degrees posthumously. They died when Bohm – driving allegedly at 104mph – crashed into three parked vehicles in the parking lane next to where the girls were walking after getting out of a car on Pacific Coast Highway where the speed limit is 45mph. 'They were killed because of the driving of the defendant,' Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos told an April preliminary hearing where Bohm was ordered to stand trial.
Bartos pointed out that data retrieved from the 'black box' in the BMW showed that the vehicle accelerated from 93mph to 104mph just two and a half seconds before the crash. 'He consciously decided to get that vehicle up to the speed of 104 miles an hour,' the prosecutor added. 'And he lost control of his vehicle….. This was not an accident.' Bohm – who lives in Malibu – has maintained that the deadly crash was an accident that happened when 'some guy' in a white car swerved into his lane, hitting his driver's side mirror, causing him to slam into the three parked cars.
The deadly crash sparked outrage from Malibu residents who have for years been calling for safety improvements to this stretch of PCH between Carbon Canyon and Las Flores Canyon where 53 deaths and 92 serious injuries between 2013 and 2023 earned it the nickname 'Dead Man's Curve.' On the one-year anniversary of the girls' deaths, Malibu officials met to discuss ways to improve safety and creating a California Highway Patrol Task Force to crack down on speeders and traffic offenders on the famous coastal highway. And recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill authorizing the installation of speed cameras on the 21-mile strip all the way through the ritzy, celebrity-filled enclave.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Brit family-of-four and two others killed in horror rental car crash on holiday in Portugal
A BRIT family of four have all sadly died in a horror car crash after they arrived for a holiday in Portugal. They died in a head-on collision with another vehicle shortly after picking up their hire car at Faro Airport. 5 5 5 The victims include two 20-year-old twins, their 55-year-old father and their 51-year-old mum. The 19-year-old girlfriend of one of the siblings also died in the tragic accident. It also claimed the life of a Portuguese man travelling alone in the other car they collided with head-on. The family had been travelling north from the Algarve towards Mourao in the district of Evora near the Spanish border. The tragedy happened around 1.40am this morning on the IP2 main road in Castro Verde around halfway to their final destination. Well-placed police sources said all four members of the same family killed were British passport holders. The twins' parents hailed from Mourao and were returning to the municipality for holidays. The man in the other car has been named locally as Ruben Goncalves, from a town in Portugal called Almodovar. He was travelling south on the IP2. The circumstances surrounding the fatal accident are being investigated by the GNR police force. Town hall officials in Mourao have declared two days of mourning starting from tomorrow. A spokesman said: 'The Municipal Council of Mourao has decreed two days of municipal mourning, effective from tomorrow, Sunday, following the death of five family members involved in a traffic accident last night on the IP2, near Castro Verde. 'The Municipality, in coordination with the family and law enforcement authorities, namely the local GNR Post in Castro Verde, obtained the number plate of the vehicle they were travelling in and confirmed the identity of the passengers at 3:35 p.m today. 'There were four occupants in the car, all from Mourao, and a young woman with ties to the family. 'Residents of England, they were traveling from Faro to Mourao for their usual and well-deserved vacation. 'It is with great sadness that the Municipality announces this information, offering its condolences to the families and friends of the victims. 'We inform you that all activities and events promoted by the Municipality are canceled for the entire weekend.' is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun. 5 5
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Teenage arrested after three shot in New York City's Times Square
A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested after three people were shot in New York City's Times Square in the early hours of rang out at around 01:20 EDT (05:20 GMT) at West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, below the towering billboards in one of the world's busiest tourist teenager has not been named by police, and charges were shooting comes three months before the election for New York mayor, and as President Donald Trump sends federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to crack down on crimes committed by young people. The shooting in Times Square erupted during a fight outside a Raising Cane's chicken restaurant. It stemmed from a dispute, according to the New York Police Department. A handgun was recovered at the say a 19-year-old man was shot in the foot, a 65-year-old man was hit in the left leg and an 18-year old woman was grazed in the were all admitted to hospital in a stable month, a gun attack on an office building left four workers dead in Midtown Manhattan. The suspected gunman, a 27-year-old from Nevada, was believed to be targeting the National Football League (NFL) to New York police, the city has seen historically low levels of gun violence in recent months. The city recorded the fewest shootings and gunshot victims on record in the first seven months of Friday, Trump ordered federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to curb "totally out of control" levels of DC's homicide rate remains relatively high compared to other US cities, with a total of 98 such killings recorded so far this year. Homicides have been trending higher in the US capital compared with a decade ago. But federal data from January shows that Washington DC last year recorded its lowest overall violent crime figures - once car-jacking, assault and robberies are incorporated - in 30 years. The city had the highest per capita murder rate in the US during the 1990s. On Saturday, Trump announced plans on Truth Social to host a news conference at the White House on Monday, "which will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, DC".
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
CEO of AI company gets bloodied pig's head in horror package as he's called a 'Clark Kent knockoff'
The CEO of an AI startup in Las Vegas receives a package containing a severed pig's head and threatening letter - believed to stem from his company's use of artificial intelligence. Blake Owens, founder and CEO of Agrippa, an AI-powered platform to connect commercial real estate investors and developers without traditional brokers, received the bloodied pig's head along with the menacing note on July 29. The gruesome parcel was sent to a relative's home, and the message criticized Owens' use of AI - with personal insults that called him a 'Clark Kent knockoff' and ended ominously with: 'And don't get greedy because pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Owens told KLAS: 'Perhaps this person watched too much of The Godfather. 'Needless to say, I still take it very seriously, but don't feel like I'm being truly threatened. It was a message.' The note was signed only with the initial 'M' and appeared to be motivated by a June TV segment that profiled Owens and Agrippa's AI tool, known as 'Marcus', to automate real estate transactions by matching developers with investors and evaluating property bids. The sinister letter also said: 'AI is not going to replace brokers. Clearly you don't understand real estate wasn't built by developers or investors. And it sure as hell wasn't built by tech guys in Lululemon. It was built by brokers. We did it the hard way. No shortcuts, no tech, just people.' Owens said he believed the sender was fearful of being displaced by automation. The businessman said: 'I understand this person is probably just frustrated that business isn't going well for them, and then they see AI replacement stories on top of that. And I just so happen to be someone they can focus their frustration on.' A photo of the package showed the sender was labeled as 'Marcus Agrippa' - a reference to the company's AI system. Owens joked: 'Is this a message that you know your own AI is turning against you? I wasn't quite sure how to interpret it.' Las Vegas PD confirmed it was investigating the incident and classified it as a harassment case. A suspect was yet to be identified. Owens said he did not feel 'genuinely threatened' and would not press charges should the sender be eventually identified. He told KLAS: 'I don't want to punch down on this person; they may be in a tough spot in life. I do see this as an opportunity to show people you don't become a better person by making another man a lesser person.' Owens also addressed potential anxiety surrounding AI's growing presence in the workforce, particularly in fields such as real estate that had historically relied on personal relationships. He said: 'You know, people are scared. They feel displaced and when disruption moves faster than education, fear just fills the gap.' Owens added that Agrippa was not designed to replace humans but it was created to empower professionals through AI. He said: '[Winston Churchill] said to be perfect is to change often. I think a lot of people are afraid of change and what's coming with AI, because it really is a tsunami of change that people are trying to resist. But the more you embrace it, the better you'll do, the more skills that you'll accumulate, more value you'll bring to the table.' Despite the threatening nature of the package, Owens remained committed to encouraging dialogue and told Inman: 'If I knew who this person was, I'd say, "Hey, feel free to reach out to me - maybe not with a package, just send me an email - I'm happy to share whatever education I can on keeping up with AI."' The investigation into the incident remained ongoing.
