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Layton Police reported that Ken Warhola returned to his home at 2184 N. Snowqualmie Circle about 5:45 in the evening Wednesday, and when he went inside the house he couldn’t find his wife, Sun Cha, or the couple’s two children, 8-year-old James and 7-year-old Jean Marie. Police say Ken found the door to the bedroom where the three were barricaded by a bed. Sun Cha allegedly said to “give her 10 minutes” before coming into the room.
After waiting as requested by his wife, Ken Warhola reportedly pushed open the barricaded door. Sun Cha allegedly asked Ken not to look at James and Jean Marie, who were lying on their bed, covered by a blanket.
Police said Ken immediately felt James’ face, which was cold to the touch.
Ken searched the house for a phone but could not find one, so he ran to a neighbor’s house where he contacted police.
When police arrived at the home they forced their way into the barricaded room where reports indicated they found Jean first and then James. Both children appeared dead.
“It was obvious when the police checked on the children that they were deceased,” said Lt. Quinn Moyes with the Layton Police Department.
Police reports indicate that not only were James and Jean Marie dead, but they had probably died in a violent struggle with their mother. The medical examiner will determine the official cause of death, but police report that James and Jean Marie had “multiple injuries, including what appeared to be defensive wounds on their arms and legs. They also had ligature marks on their necks.”
Ligature marks are often due to strangulation.
The mother of the children was examined by police, and she had multiple injuries on her arms and legs consistent with a struggle. In addition, Sun Cha told police the only people in the house had been her and her children.
“The children had injuries and marks around their necks that are consistent with serious trauma,” Moyes said. “There are also marks on their bodies and the mother that would indicate that the children fought.”
Police, still investigating the case, were unable to guarantee exactly what had occurred in the children’s room a week ago, but there was enough evidence that Sun Cha Warhola was taken into custody after a short stay at Davis Hospital and Medical Center.
Warhola has been charged with criminal homicide and aggravated murder, and Ed Brass has been appointed as her public defender by Judge Michael O. Allphin. Brass is an attorney qualified to handle death penalty cases, although it is not yet known if Sun Cha Warhola will face that possibility.
Warhola made her first court appearance on Friday, where she was informed of the charges against her. She was very quiet, used an interpreter and appeared to understand the charges levied against her.
After court, some suggested she had wanted help to protect the children from their father. Police said there is no indication whatsoever that Ken Warhola ever harmed his children.
“We have no complaints about child abuse against Mr. Warhola,” Moyes said. “We have had several calls to the residence where the family lived, but I am not really at this point able to discuss those calls.”
One neighbor who knew the children well also said she never had any reason to believe the children were in harm’s way.
Karra Porter is one of the neighbors to the Warholas and interacted on a regular basis with James and Jean Marie.
“I never had any reason to believe these children were in an abusive situation,” Porter said. “They were just regular happy kids, and I never saw the kind of bruises or anything at all that would suggest they were in danger.
“No one could have seen this coming.”
Members of the Korean community also offered support to the Warhola family. The children and their mother were well known in that community.
“We are all heartbroken and our community is severely devastated for the family and especially the children,” said Sung Kang. “This is a tragedy for everyone involved.”
Courtesy photo: The Warhola family on a recent vacation.
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