Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
FARMINGTON — Sun Cha Warhola has pleaded guilty in the 2010 killings of her two young children as part of a plea agreement, and appeared before the judge Monday as the sides prepare for sentencing.
Warhola took part in the video hearing from the Utah State Hospital, where she is being held, saying little during the 10-minute hearing as attorneys and the judge sorted through the details of the sentencing process. It could take up to a year before she's sentenced, and the woman appears before 2nd District Court Judge Michael Edwards for a review hearing on Oct. 28.
The 58-year-old woman was accused of strangling and killing her two children, James, 8, and Jean Marie, 7, at their home in Layton on Sept. 8, 2010. On June 3, she pleaded guilty "with a mental condition" to two counts of first-degree felony murder, according to minutes from the hearing.
"The court finds the defendant had a mental condition at the time of the offenses and can benefit from treatment under supervision of the (Utah) Department of Health and Human Services," the minutes read.
The guilty plea is part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, who won't seek the death penalty, according to court documents. She had originally been charged with aggravated murder.
"On or about Sept. 8, 2010, in Davis County, Utah, while I had a mental condition, I intentionally and knowingly caused the death of my two children," a statement from Warhola reads. Little more about what actually transpired in the 2010 incident is contained in the statement.
Prosecutors and Warhola agree the woman "qualifies for special mitigation" due to her mental state. But, though her mental state has been a point of debate as the case has winded through court for more than 13 years, Warhola said she was competent to enter the guilty plea.
"I believe myself to be of sound and discerning mind and to be mentally capable of understanding these proceedings and the consequences of my plea," the plea document states. "I have been determined by the court and the Department of Human Services to be competent to enter a plea. I have been found to be free of any mental disease, defect or impairment that would prevent me from understanding what I am doing or from knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily entering my plea."
According to charging documents from 2010, Kenneth Warhola, the children's father, arrived home late in the afternoon of Sept. 8, 2010, and found his wife barricaded in their son James' bedroom. He forced his way in and found his son on the bed, cold to the touch. Both children were dead, with ligature marks on their necks and what appeared to be defensive wounds on their arms and legs, according to charging papers.
At Monday's hearing, Warhola's lawyer, Edward Brass, said state law allows for the sentencing process to continue up to a year in cases like Warhola's, subject to periodic review, when it seems mental health treatment might yield results. The treatment process would end, he went on, if Warhola doesn't participate, if the hospital determines she's reached "maximum benefit," or if a year elapses from her June 3 guilty plea.
Deputy Davis County attorney Brandon Poll, who is prosecuting the case, raised no objection to proceeding with the process as outlined by Brass.
Warhola appeared silent for much of the proceeding, talking only when asked by the court if she had any questions. "I don't have anything to say, your honor," she answered in Korean, speaking through a translator.
Ahead of the plea agreement, Warhola's case had been scheduled for trial in 2nd District Court in Farmington, starting May 28 and going through June 7, if needed. Warhola is to remain at the Utah State Hospital.
