Layton mother who plead guilty to killing her children in 2010 sentenced to at least 15 years in prison

LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) — The Layton mother who pleaded guilty to killing her two children in 2010 was sentenced to at least 15 years of prison on Monday.

Sun Cha Warhola, 60, pleaded guilty in 2024 to the murder of her two children, ages 7 and 8. In September of 2010, her husband Kenneth Warhola returned home from work and found his son’s bedroom door barricaded from the inside.

Kenneth called the police, and police found Sun Cha Warhola and the bodies of the 7-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy in the bedroom. Police found evidence that the children had been strangled.

Warhola was found incompetent to stand trial in 2011, but her competency was restored in November 2019, which meant that she was able to be held accountable for her actions. Since 2011, she has lived in the Utah State Hospital.

In 2024, Warhola plead guilty to two counts of murder, a first degree felony. Monday was her sentencing hearing. She was sentenced to 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison for each count of murder, to be served concurrently, which means that the two sentences will be served at the same time.

Once she serves out her sentence, the court recommended she be readmitted to the Utah State Hospital. She has already served nearly 15 years in custody of the state, and the court said that that the Board of Pardons will make a decision on whether to give her credit for that time served (subtract it from her sentence) or have her serve out the full time as sentenced.