An Irvine, Calif. man has been charged with special circumstances murders after allegedly stabbing his co-worker, Griffin Cuomo, and then Cuomo’s roommate, Jonathan Bahm, to death in their Anaheim apartment early Tuesday morning.
“Ramy Hany Mounir Fahim, 26, of Irvine, has been charged with two counts of murder, and two enhancements each of lying in wait, multiple murders, and the personal use of a deadly weapon,” the Orange County District Attorney’s Office stated Friday.
The special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders make him eligible for the death penalty.
Fahim and Cuomo, 23, worked together at Pence Wealth Management in Orange County, where Cuomo served as a marketing and media assistant, joining the company in 2021, according to his bio.
“A building security guard had encountered Fahim on the apartment complex’s roof at midnight on April 18, 2022, just hours before the murders. Fahim was seen on the same floor of the victims’ apartment the morning of the murders,” according to the DA.
Fahim was still inside the victims’ Katella Avenue apartment when Anaheim police responded to a 911 call, the DA said.
The fatal stabbings happened around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
That morning, officers responding to reports of an assault in progress found the two men dead and Fahim injured inside the apartment. A large knife was recovered at the scene.
Neighbors described seeing blood “everywhere” in the elevator and the hallway.
At first, police didn’t know how Fahim was involved in the killings.
Fahim is currently being held without bail at the Intake Release Center, and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 6 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
It remains unclear what motivated the attack that claimed the lives of the two young men.
“These young men were just starting to live out their dreams and find their places in the world. But an intruder who stalked them and then slashed them to death in their own home interrupted those dreams,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
“The callous way that two young lives were ended cannot be ignored and we will do everything we can to ensure justice is served.”
Cuomo and Bahn, 23, were both alumni of Chapman University. Cuomo was a part of the School of Communication, while Bahn was a member of the Fowler School of Engineering.
In respective blog posts for Cuomo and Bahn on the school’s website, professors, classmates, and friends remembered the two young men for their bright minds, kindness, and positive attitudes throughout their academic careers.