Tragic Home Invasion: Mother Fatally Shot While Sleeping Beside Family

A man from Washington state is set to admit guilt in the murder of a woman who was killed during a home invasion as she slept beside her husband and child.

Christopher Johnson, aged 24, has already confessed to several federal offenses linked to a series of armed robberies in Washington that occurred during the spring and summer of 2022. This crime spree, primarily targeting Asian households, reached a tragic peak with the shooting death of 36-year-old Irah Sok on August 19, 2022. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Johnson is poised to plead guilty to a state charge of second-degree murder in Snohomish County Superior Court under the terms of a plea agreement.

The indictment, examined by Law & Crime, reveals that U.S. attorneys identified Johnson as a leader within a criminal group responsible for “acts of violence, robbery, kidnapping, and burglary” across several counties in Washington state, Arizona, and “elsewhere.” The indictment indicates that the group specifically targeted Asian households due to a belief that they were “weaker.”

Together with his accomplices, Johnson allegedly conducted reconnaissance on potential victims through social media and surveilled their homes before executing the break-ins. The indictment describes how these operations typically occurred between 2 and 5 a.m., with the perpetrators falsely identifying themselves as law enforcement officers upon entry.

Prosecutors detailed that the group wore masks and used zip ties to restrain victims, including children as young as nine years old. They would then proceed to loot the homes for valuables.

The Sok household was the target in the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 2022. According to local news outlet Herald Net, Johnson and two of his alleged cohorts entered the Sok home before 3 a.m. Johnson shot Sok in the head while she was in bed with her husband and 7-year-old son. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said Sok’s husband was forced to the ground by the alleged attackers and zip-tied.

After Johnson and the other suspects “ransacked the victim’s belongings and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury possessions,” they fled the scene. Sok’s husband was then able to escape and run for help; the little boy was uninjured.

Sok was a well-known photographer in the Everett, Washington, area who specialized in maternity and newborn photography. She opened up her own studio just months before her death.

Johnson pleaded guilty to federal RICO charges on Monday and is expected to be sentenced on May 6. Federal records indicate he is expected to plead guilty to murder in state court on Feb. 17.