LAYTON, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A Layton brother and sister are dead and their mother is behind bars. We’re learning more about what led to their killings Wednesday night.
The mother of the two kids, 44 year old Sun Cha Warhola, was formally charged Thursday with two counts of aggravated murder, both first degree felonies.
Police have surrounded the Warhola house for over 24 hours as they continue to collect evidence in the murder of two young children, seven year old Jean and her eight year old brother James.
The children’s father, Kenneth Warhola, had returned home from work Wednesday night and realized something was wrong when he didn’t hear his kids or wife. After realizing his son’s room was barricaded from the inside, the probable cause statement reads:
“His wife was inside and she asked him to not look at the children who were lying on the bed covered with a blanket.”
“He felt his son’s face and found it was cold to the touch and he then called the police.”
“Both had multiple injuries including what appeared to be defensive wounds on their arms and legs.”
“They also had distinct ligature marks on their necks.”
This news was difficult to process for Chris Englen, a friend of the family. He says, “I don’t see him hurting his children. Honestly I never saw it within her but if it were to happen instantly I would know it would be her than him.”
Englen says the family has been dealing with the mother’s mental illness for years, “She had some psychological problems for awhile. No one’s really addressed it because, you know, people try to fix those problems on their own. But we’ve known, and we’ve known about other incidents that have happened within the past two to four years.”
Neighbors say the two kids often played outside unsupervised but seemed like happy, healthy kids. ABC 4 spoke with the children’s grandfather in New York. He would say only that “We feel in denial.”
