‘Extensive crime scene’: Man charged with murder in stabbing of two recent Chapman University graduates

A 26-year-old Irvine man has been charged with ambushing two Chapman University alumni who were stabbed to death in their apartment near Angel Stadium.

Ramy Fahim, 26, of Irvine, was charged with murder Thursday, April 21, in connection with the stabbings of Griffin Cuomo and Jonathan Bahm, both 23-year-old Anaheim residents. The two Anaheim men were found dead in their home, along with the defendant, on April 19. (Photo courtesy of the Anaheim Police Department) 

Ramy Fahim, the defendant, worked at the office of a wealth management firm in Newport Beach with one of the victims, 23-year-old Griffin Robert Cuomo, Anaheim police said. The other man who was killed, Jonathan Andrew Bahm, also 23, had no prior connection to Fahim, Sgt. Shane Carringer said.

Fahim was allegedly “lying in wait” for at least one of the victims before they were stabbed on Tuesday, April 19, according to court documents. Officers who responded to reports of an assault-in-progress that day encountered an “extensive crime scene” inside the residence, Carringer said.

The defendant was in the apartment and had a minor injury when police arrived. Authorities declined to specify how he got into the residence, which is in a secured building, or what his motive might have been.

“I am heartbroken to share that two recent graduates of Chapman University were tragically killed this week while at their home in Anaheim,”  the school’s Executive Vice President, Matt Parlow, wrote in a statement sent to students and staff. “On behalf of the university, I want to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and recent classmates of Griffin Cuomo and Jonathan Bahm, who both graduated from Chapman just this past May.”

Bahm was a computer science major, Parlow said. He was also an active member of the Cybersmart Panthers GCI team, a student-led group aimed at combatting hacking, phishing and other cybercrimes. He later worked as an intern for a couple of game design studios, and wrote in his LinkedIn profile that he was “eager to start my career.”

His roommate, Cuomo, was described by students and teachers as a thoughtful and appreciative student with an uplifting personality that stood out, even via webcam. He was remembered for frequent words of encouragement amidst online classes and the pandemic, and went on to become a marketing and media assistant at Pence Wealth Management, where Fahim also worked.

Cuomo, who graduated Chapman’s School of Communication, was “so incredibly likable,” said assistant dean and associate professor Dr. Andi Weber. “I remember thinking, on multiple occasions, that I hope my own kids turn out half as kind, humble, appreciative, and enthusiastic as Griffin.”

A woman who answered the phone at Pence said his colleagues were “devastated” but declined to comment further. Police did not say what, if any, dispute might have existed between and Fahim and Cuomo prior to the homicides.

Fahim had no previous record of violent crime in Orange County, according to court records. He now faces two counts of murder. He may be eligible for the death penalty or life without parole if convicted as charged, considering the alleged special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple homicides. Prosecutors would decide on whether to pursue the death penalty.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as it becomes available.