JAMES and JEAN MARIE WARHOLA - 8 and 7 yo (2010) - Layton UT

The attorney for a Layton woman accused of killing her two children asked Monday for a review of her competency to face charges.



Sun Cha Warhola, 44, appeared dazed and uninterested in the proceedings Monday in 2nd District Court as her attorney, Ed Brass, told Judge David Connors he intends to file a petition to ask for a competency review. She looked around the courtroom but did not smile or wave to a group of Korean women in attendance, as she has during previous hearings.Police believe Warhola strangled her son James, 8, and daughter Jean Marie, 7, on Sept. 8 in a bedroom at their home. She is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, but prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty. Prosecutor Bill McGuire said the competency review should take about 60 days. Warhola's next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19. The Davis County Attorney's Office gave Brass police reports and videos of witness interviews Monday. He said Warhola is "somewhat disoriented" and "not doing very well" in the Davis County Jail. The Utah State Hospital may be a better place for her to be held, Brass said. Her husband, Kenneth Warhola, answered the door at the couple's home Monday but declined to answer questions or say if he had visited his wife in jail. Reports released by Layton police shed light on what appears to have been a deteriorating relationship between the couple in the weeks leading up to the children's deaths.
 On Aug. 14, their son saw the couple fighting over home title papers and ran to a neighbor's house to call 911, according to one report. The neighbor saw Sun Cha Warhola chasing her husband into a nearby park.
 Eight days later, she went to police and accused Kenneth Warhola of sexually abusing the children. Police notified the state Division of Child and Family Services, and Sun Cha Warhola took the kids to stay in a hotel. When the children then missed school, Kenneth Warhola told police he was worried about them. Officers checked with his wife, who said she held them out for fear her husband would take them from the school. Prosecutors declined to file charges against Kenneth Warhola after the children reported no abuse in interviews.
 On Aug. 26, police were called to the home again because Sun Cha Warhola wanted to see what her husband had in a duffel bag. It contained family videos that he said he wanted to prevent her from taking. She also accused her husband of having child pornography on his computer, but police found none. In an Aug. 31 phone interview, Kenneth Warhola told police his wife had mental problems.
 The last documented spat took place Sept. 2 at the Delta terminal of Salt Lake City International Airport. Kenneth Warhola did not want his wife to take the children on a trip, but a police officer said he could not legally stop her. Older police reports detail several domestic disputes in which Sun Cha Warhola accused her husband of affairs. On another occasion, they argued over arrangements for their son's birthday party. On Sept. 8, Kenneth Warhola came home from work to find the children dead.

Police in Utah have released a 911 tape of a father seeking help after finding his two children dead at home.

Kenneth Warhola told Layton emergency dispatchers on Sept. 8 that he came home about 5:45 p.m. to find his wife locked in a bedroom with their son and daughter, ages 8 and 7.

He told the dispatcher the children felt cold to the touch.

When police arrived, they found the children dead.

Their mother, 44-year-old Sun Cha (Soon-cha) Warhola, is accused of strangling the children. She faces a Nov. 19 court date on two aggravated murder charges.

Kenneth Warhola told dispatchers said he had to go use a
neighbor's phone to call for help because the phone inside his home was disconnected.

Here are two photos of the children:



Jean Marie and James Warhola (December 2006)




Jean Marie and James Warhola (July 2010)

LibertySquare wrote:Here are two photos of the children:



Jean Marie and James Warhola (December 2006)




Jean Marie and James Warhola (July 2010)

Such beautiful children!!! Gone too soon. RIP Jean Marie and James.

Thanks Liberty Square and Welcome to J4C!'
It is so tragic to see these tragedies occur day in and day out.
I appreciate the pics of the kiddos as it helps to bring focus on the case.
They were adorable... and innocent... why?

She showed how vindictive and mean she was, by accusing their father of abuse etc and other things she did to try to make his life a misery. I think she killed these beautiful children to spite him. She's not mad, she's just a nasty person IMO.

Police: Utah murder suspect filed false complaints
Published: 11:51 a.m., Tuesday, October 19, 2010

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — Police say a Utah mother charged with strangling her two children lodged a number of false accusations against her husband in the month before the Sept. 8 killings.

The Deseret News says reports filed by Layton police show 44-year-old Sun Cha (Soon-cha) Warhola accused her husband of having affairs and abusing their 8-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors declined to file charges after the children disputed the allegations of abuse.

The newspaper says Warhola appeared dazed and disinterested in 2nd District Court Monday, where her defense attorney, Ed Brass, told Judge David Connors he planned to seek a mental competency review for his client.

Warhola is due back in court Nov. 19.

From a Google cache of the Connecticut Post:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:m_GPizdYlzwJ:www.ctpost.com/default/article/Police-Utah-murder-suspect-filed-false-complaints-712984.php+sun+cha+warhola+utah&cd=226&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Sun Cha Warhola

Warhola divorce under way;
husband of woman accused of
murder wants file sealed

By Loretta Park
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
Last updated Friday, December 3, 2010 - 9:56pm

FARMINGTON -- The husband of a woman accused of killing her two children has filed for divorce, according to court records.

Kenneth C. Warhola filed for divorce from Sun Cha Warhola on Nov. 24 in 2nd District Court in Farmington.

His attorney, Christina L. Micken, also filed a motion to have the file sealed.

Sun Cha Warhola, 45, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder in connection with the strangulation deaths of the Warhola children, James, 8, and Jean Marie, 7. Kenneth Warhola found his children's bodies in a bedroom with his wife on Sept. 8 in Layton.

Sun Cha Warhola is being held in the Davis County Jail on no bail. Her next hearing concerning the murder charges is set for Jan. 14.

If convicted of the murder charges, Sun Cha Warhola could receive the death penalty.

Court officials said Judge David Connors will not rule on the motion to seal the Warhola divorce proceedings until after hearing arguments concerning the pending divorce of Nathanael and Stephanie Sloop.

Source: http://www.standard.net/topics/utah/2010/12/03/husband-layton-woman-accused-killing-children-files-divorce

Trial Update:

"Clerks @ Farmington [Utah] courthouse say the
Sun Cha Warhola case has been continued to March 18 [2011] for
more time needed in competency hearing"
11:10 AM Jan 14th [2011] via TweetDeck

Posted on Twitter by LanaGrovesKUTV: http://twitter.com/LanaGrovesKUTV

Thanks a lot for the updates LibertySquare. I hope they find her competent.

Today, February 7, 2011, would have been Jean Marie Warhola's 8th birthday.

Photos of James and Jean Marie Warhola are on a Facebook page:

"In Memory of James & Jean Marie Warhola"

https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Memory-of-James-Jean-Marie-Warhola/167024609999545?v=wall

LibertySquare wrote:Today, February 7, 2011, would have been Jean Marie Warhola's 8th birthday.

Photos of James and Jean Marie Warhola are on a Facebook page:

"In Memory of James & Jean Marie Warhola"

https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Memory-of-James-Jean-Marie-Warhola/167024609999545?v=wall

Thanks for the update, Liberty. Such beautiful children...such a tragedy. Happy Birthday Little Jean Marie ::::

Trial update:

Competency hearing for Sun Cha Warhola of Layton [, Utah] charged with killing 2 children continued to April 15 [, 2011.]

From twitter.com:

standardex: RT @TheChalkOutline: Competency hearing for Sun
Cha Warhola of Layton charged with killing 2 children continued to
April 15 #utah #murder
11:46 AM March 18, 2011 via TweetDeck

Competency Hearing update:

Sun Cha Warhola's competency hearing, which was scheduled for April 15, 2011, at 1:00 P.M., has been continued again.

The new date for the competency hearing has not been determined.

James and Jean Marie Warhola's Dad made a video.

It's three and a half minutes long, and it's done to the song Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) by Billy Joel.

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VasW32xHpQc

And here is the embedded link for the video:



In Memory of James & Jean Marie Warhola.

James and Jean attended East Layton Elementary School in Layton, Utah.
James was born on October 26, 2001, and Jean Marie was born on February 7, 2003.
They both died on September 8, 2010.

Song: Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) by Billy Joel.

Sun Cha Warhola appears at a competency hearing with an interpreter and her attorney Ed Brass before Judge David M.
Connors in 2nd District Court in Farmington Friday, May 27, 2011. Warhola was found incompetent to stand trial and will
likely be sent to the State Hospital. She is charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of her children 8-
year-old James Warhola and 7-year-old Jean Warhola. (Erin Hooley/Standard-Examiner)

Layton woman, accused of killing her kids, incompetent to stand trial

BY AARON FALK
The Salt Lake Tribune

First published May 27 2011 01:26PM
Updated May 28, 2011 12:09AM

Farmington [,Utah] • Sun Cha Warhola, accused of strangling her two children last year, is incompetent to stand trial for now.

During a short hearing in 2nd District Court on Friday, Warhola’s attorney, Ed Brass, said two psychologists had evaluated the 45-year-old woman and determined she needs to undergo “significant treatment” before she could be tried.

Warhola, 45, will likely be sent to the State Hospital in an attempt to restore her competency.

Warhola is charged with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder for allegedly strangling 7-year-old Jean and 8-year-old James last September in their Layton home.

Warhola’s husband arrived home Sept. 8 to find his wife had used a bed to barricade herself inside their son’s room. After forcing his way inside, the man found his children dead, lying on a bed and covered by a blanket, according to police.

Prosecutors on Friday did not attempt to challenge the evaluations of Warhola’s competency.

Outside the courtroom, Brass told news reporters, “I think people realize she’s profoundly disturbed, and whatever happened is related to [that] fact.”

He added that she could “ultimately be punished for something she might not even remember.”

Another review of Warhola’s mental state is scheduled for November.

afalk@sltrib.com

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51899630-78/warhola-incompetent-layton-stand.html.csp

LibertySquare wrote:James and Jean Marie Warhola's Dad made a video.

It's three and a half minutes long, and it's done to the song Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) by Billy Joel.

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VasW32xHpQc

James and Jean Marie Warhola's Dad made another video.

The song for the video is I'll Be Seeing You, sung by Billie Holiday.

The video is three and a half minutes long.

September 8, 2011, is the sad one-year anniversary of James and Jean Marie Warhola's deaths.

Their Dad made this video. The music is from On Golden Pond.

Layton woman remains mentally unfit to face charges of murdering her children
By AARON FALK

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Nov 03 2011 03:56PM
Updated Nov 4, 2011 11:35PM

A Layton woman accused of strangling her two children remains unfit to face the aggravated murder charges against her.

After being ordered to the Utah State Hospital in May for treatment, Sun Cha Warhola had been expected to appear in Farmington’s 2nd District Court on Friday for a review hearing.

But a new report suggests the 45-year-old Warhola remains legally incompetent to stand trial and will continue receiving treatment, according to a court docket.

Warhola is charged with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder for allegedly strangling 7-year-old Jean and 8-year-old James in their Layton home in September 2010.

Warhola’s husband arrived home Sept. 8 to find his wife had used a bed to barricade herself inside their son’s room. After forcing his way inside, the man found his children dead, lying on a bed and covered by a blanket, according to police.

Warhola is slated to next appear in court on May 25, 2012.

afalk@sltrib.com

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52844229-78/warhola-court-layton-murder.html.csp

James and Jean Marie Warhola's Dad made a Christmas video.

The song for the video is Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)."

Such a sad and tragic loss for this father and his family. I can't imagine the pain he is going through. I hope that justice is served one day for these two precious beautiful children.

Sun Cha Warhola appears in Second District Court in Farmington on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. NICHOLAS DRANEY/Standard-
Examiner NO MAGS, NO SALES, ARCHIVE OUT, TV OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, INTERNET OUT

Layton mother accused of killing kids
still not mentally competent to stand trial

Courts » Sun Cha Warhola allegedly strangled her young son
and daughter.

By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Dec 10 2012 11:41 am • Last Updated Dec 11 2012 12:24 am

A Layton mother charged with killing her two children two years ago is still not competent
to stand trial, according to mental health evaluators.

A new competency review date has not been set, but Brass requested that a June court
date be scheduled. That will be the eighth time a competency review has been scheduled
for Warhola, according to court records.

Warhola has been receiving treatment at the Utah State Hospital since May 2011.

She is charged with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder for allegedly
strangling 8-year-old James and his 7-year-old sister, Jean, in their Layton home in
September 2010.

Warhola’s husband arrived home Sept. 8 to find his wife had used a bed to barricade
herself inside their son’s room.

After forcing his way inside, the man found his children dead, lying on a bed and
covered by a blanket, according to police.

jmiller@sltrib.com

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55437451-78/warhola-according-competency-court.html.csp (December 10, 2012)