Cheng Yuan James Hong was a 20-year-old male from Taipei studying computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara when he was killed on May 23, 2014. He had been living in an Isla Vista apartment with two roommates. That evening he was fatally stabbed in the shared apartment by Elliot Rodger; authorities found he had sustained 25 stab wounds and 12 additional incision wounds, with several wounds inflicted after death. The coroner’s report recorded multiple stab wounds, underscoring the brutality of the killing.

Cheng was identified as one of the first victims, along with a roommate and a visiting friend, before the attacker continued a wider killing spree in Isla Vista that included shootings and vehicle assaults. The attacker ultimately died by suicide after a confrontation with law enforcement; no third party was arrested in connection with Cheng’s death. Was anyone in Isla Vista at the time aware of James Hong’s routines or who might have been with him that night?