Malibu to remember four Pepperdine students as third anniversary approaches

By Hayley Mattson · Thu Oct 15 2026

Ollo’s Oct. 17 remembrance will benefit a scholarship in their names as Bohm case moves toward December trial

Three years after the Pacific Coast Highway crash that killed four Pepperdine University seniors, the Malibu community is invited to remember their lives, share their favorite meals and support a scholarship carrying their legacy forward. Ollo Restaurant will host an all-day remembrance, “Our Four Roses,” on Saturday, Oct. 17, honoring Asha Weir, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Rolston, and Peyton Stewart. The four friends and Alpha Phi sorority sisters died in the Oct. 17, 2023, crash.

The gathering comes as the criminal case against Fraser Michael Bohm, the driver accused of causing their deaths, remains unresolved, with jury selection scheduled to begin Dec. 1.

For Bridget Thompson, their close friend, college roommate, and advocate, the anniversary offers an opportunity to bring the community together to honor the four women and keep their memories alive.

“They were my whole entire world,” Thompson shared in a video invitation. “They were my college roommates, and they were honestly, like, sisters to me.”

In an accompanying social media post, Thompson described the lasting grief that returns each October and encouraged the community to help keep her friends’ names alive.

“October is a month that brings an ache to our hearts that words can never fully express,” she wrote. “Every October, the pain stings a little more, and the loss feels a little heavier.”

According to the event announcement, Ollo will donate 10% of all sales that day. Organizers identified the beneficiary as the Our Four Angels Endowed Scholarship at Pepperdine, created in the women’s names.

Thompson said supporting another student’s opportunity to build a life at Pepperdine offers a meaningful way to honor the friendships and experiences the four women cherished.

“Asha, Niamh, Peyton, and Deslyn loved the lives they created at Pepperdine,” she shared. “They found friendships, memories, and a community that meant so much to them.”

Alongside its regular menu, Ollo will offer a special Rose Menu featuring Asha’s Vodka Pasta, Deslyn’s King Salmon, Niamh’s Caesar & Fries, and Peyton’s Chocolate Chip Cookie.

The pasta, salmon, and salad-and-fries dishes are each listed at $20, and the cookie is $5. The remembrance will take place throughout the day at the restaurant, 23750 Pacific Coast Highway.

While friends prepare to honor the women, their families approach another anniversary with the criminal proceedings still in the pretrial stage.

Bohm, 24, faces four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $4 million bail.

Prosecutors allege he reached speeds of 104 mph before losing control of his BMW and striking parked vehicles that then struck the women. Rolston, 20, and Stewart, Weir, and Williams, all 21, died at the scene.

The murder counts rest on a theory of implied malice. Prosecutors argue Bohm understood the danger of driving at extreme speeds on a road he knew well and consciously disregarded the risk to human life. Defense attorney Alan Jackson has challenged that argument, maintaining that excessive speed alone does not establish murder.

Judge Thomas Rubinson rejected a defense effort to dismiss the murder charges in November 2025. Another dismissal motion was denied July 27, 2026. Those rulings allowed the charges to proceed toward trial; they did not determine Bohm’s guilt.

The trial had been scheduled to begin Sept. 8 but was postponed following a Sept. 2 hearing. The defense requested additional time to examine a prosecution theory involving a 10- to 12-pound nitrous oxide canister recovered from Bohm’s BMW.

Prosecutors contend the canister may have been on his lap and distracted him. They are not alleging he inhaled nitrous oxide before the collision. The defense sought time to inspect the tank, review its chain of custody and analyze reported bloodstains. Jackson’s scheduling conflicts also figured in the postponement to Dec. 1.

At the latest reported hearing, Oct. 1, Rubinson continued deciding what evidence could be presented to jurors. According to the Pepperdine Graphic’s Oct. 4 report, he limited medical records and repetitive testimony concerning Bohm’s diagnoses and post-crash concussion, excluded three prosecution studies addressing pedestrian survival in high-speed crashes, and restricted testimony involving Bohm’s friends.

The judge also warned spectators against threats, profanity, and confrontations in courthouse hallways and elevators. Further discussion of the canister was deferred to a hearing concerning potentially compromised evidence. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

If the December schedule holds, jury selection will be followed by opening statements, witness testimony, and the presentation of evidence. Prosecutors will have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, while the defense will have the opportunity to challenge their evidence and present its case.

For Thompson, Saturday’s remembrance centers on the lives of her four friends and the community they loved.

“Come celebrate their lives, honor their memory, and help us continue their legacy,” she wrote.