Prince George's County police appear to be focusing on Quan Lewayne Davis, 23, of Anne Arundel County as the principal suspect in the fatal stabbing of a University of Maryland sophomore.

Police declined yesterday to conclusively state that Davis stabbed the victim, Brandon J. Malstrom, early Sunday. But police charging documents describing the early-morning scuffle say that witnesses saw Davis pull an "unknown object from his waistband and striking the victim in the torso."

The charging document for John Ryan Schlamp, 24, the second suspect in the slaying, makes no reference to him striking the victim with an object.

"The documents speak for themselves," Sgt. Tora Coates, a department spokeswoman, said yesterday.

In interviews yesterday, Schlamp's father and lawyer argued that it was Davis who stabbed the victim. Schlamp, of Columbia, and Davis have been indicted on charges of first-degree murder in the case.

Davis did not have legal representation until late yesterday and has not publicly offered his version of events. He is expected to appear at a preliminary bail hearing this afternoon.

Shawn Larson, a Glen Burnie attorney who will be representing Davis today, said yesterday that his client, a former student-athlete with "strong family ties," maintains that he is innocent.

Schlamp, of the 8500 block of Winter Pasture Way, acknowledges being at the party on Dickinson Avenue in College Park and scuffling with Malstrom, his lawyer, Henry L. McRobie, said yesterday.

But Schlamp denies he had anything to do with the young man's death, McRobie said.

At the party to celebrate a football victory by the Maryland Terrapins, Schlamp, whose cellular phone was missing, saw Malstrom holding a similar phone and confronted him, McRobie said.

The two fought over the phone and one of Schlamp's friends put Malstrom in a headlock while Malstrom's friends tried to restrain Schlamp, the lawyer said. Schlamp and at least one other partygoer allege that Davis stabbed Malstrom, McRobie said.

Schlamp's "comment to me was, he had no knife, he stabbed no one," McRobie said.

Schlamp's father, John Randolph Schlamp, said in an interview that his son was not close friends with Davis and that his son had not gone to College Park with Davis. He expressed sympathy for the Malstrom family. "What I'm going through is hard, but it can't compare to what [they] are going through," he said. "My heart goes out to them."