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A woman was fatally shot while sleeping in bed next to her 7-year-old child and husband during a home invasion, and her suspected killer is expected to enter a guilty plea.
Irah Sok was killed on August 19, 2022, when her home in Washington state was allegedly targeted by Christopher Johnson.
Johnson, 24, and two of his alleged cohorts entered the home around 3 a.m., and he shot Sok in the head while she was fast asleep next to her son and husband, according to the Herald of Everett. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said that at the time of the attack, Sok’s husband was forced to the ground by the alleged intruders and was zip-tied.
The intruders “ransacked the victim’s belongings and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury possessions” before they fled the scene. Sok’s husband then escaped and found help. Meanwhile, the young boy was uninjured amid the incident.
Johnson has already pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges in connection with several armed robberies that targeted Asian households in Washington that took place in the spring and summer of 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington.
The office said in a Monday, February 2, news release that Johnson is expected to plead guilty to a state charge of second-degree murder in Snohomish County Superior Court in connection to Sok’s death.
U.S. attorneys said they believe that Johnson was one of the leaders of a criminal organization that committed “acts of violence, robbery, kidnapping and burglary” across Washington state, Arizona and other places, according to an indictment viewed by Law & Crime. The indictment also claimed that the group targeted Asian households because they believed they were “weaker.”
It was also alleged that Johnson and his co-defendants would research potential marks on social media when determining which homes to target. Most of the home invasions took place in the middle of the night, and the intruders falsely claimed that they were members of law enforcement when they entered the homes.
“They wore masks and used zip ties to restrain the victims — including children as young as [9 years old]. They would steal any valuables they could ransack from these homes,” prosecutors said, according to the outlet.
Johnson already pleaded guilty to federal RICO charges during a hearing on February 2, according to the office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6.
Meanwhile, federal records indicate that he is expected to plead guilty to murder in state court regarding Sok’s death during a hearing set for February 17.
Sok was based in the Everett, Washington, area and worked as a photographer, specializing in maternity and newborn photography. “Her photography has impacted so many throughout our community and we will forever cherish the memories she has given us,” a GoFundMe page set up after her death read.
“This is a devastating and horrific incident, and we are completely shattered that our beautiful Irah is gone. We are grieving and deeply hurting with [her husband] Mak, who now has to care for his son without his lifelong partner,” the caption in the post added.
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