Mom shot dead as she slept next to her 7-year-old and husband during home invasion

Background: News coverage of the August 2022 murder of Irah Sok (KCPQ). Inset: Irah Sok (Instagram).

A Washington state man will plead guilty to murdering a woman while she slept next to her husband and child during a home invasion.

Christopher Johnson, 24, has already pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges in connection with a rash of armed robberies in Washington that took place in the spring and summer of 2022. The string of robberies, which targeted Asian households, culminated in the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Irah Sok on Aug. 19, 2022. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Washington, under the terms of the agreement, Johnson is expected to plead guilty to a state charge of second-degree murder in Snohomish County Superior Court.

In the indictment, which was reviewed by Law&Crime, U.S. attorneys said Johnson was one of the leaders of a criminal organization that committed "acts of violence, robbery, kidnapping, and burglary" in several counties across Washington state, Arizona, and "elsewhere." According to the indictment, the group targeted Asian households because they perceived them to be "weaker."

Johnson, along with his co-defendants, would research targets on social media and case their homes before striking. A typical operation, according to the indictment, would take place between 2 and 5 a.m., and participants would falsely announce themselves as law enforcement as they made entry.

Prosecutors said, "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."

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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.