EVERETT, Wash. — A fourth person has now been arrested in connection with a home break-in that resulted in the death of an Everett woman four years ago.
On Aug. 19, 2022, several people kicked down the door of 36-year-old Irah Sok’s home and forced their way inside.
According to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Sok was shot by one of the suspects as she lay in bed next to her 7-year-old child.
The child was not hurt, but Sok was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband was forced to the floor and zip-tied by the suspects while they raided the home and took thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury items.
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When the suspects left, the husband ran to a neighbor’s home for help.
After several months into the investigation, detectives finally got a break in the case and made an arrest at the end of 2022.
Earlier this month, 24-year-old Christopher Johnson pleaded guilty to his involvement in Sok’s murder and home burglary.
According to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson, 29-year-old Kevin Thissel, and several others spent that summer targeting a series of homes, particularly Asian families.
“The crew would break into homes in the middle of the night dressed in black and sometimes claimed to be police officers while pointing guns at the families inside. The robbers wore masks and used zip ties to restrain victims, including children as young as nine, before ransacking homes for valuables,” the sheriff’s office said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, each member of the robbery crew had a certain job: identifying potential victims based on social media posts about their wealth or collections; surveilling the target homes; serving as a driver; kicking in the door; corralling the family; holding the victims at gunpoint; and ransacking the homes for valuables.
One of those robberies included Sok’s home.
Johnson was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Another person arrested and charged was 29-year-old Kevin Thissel. He remains in custody, pending trial.
According to court documents, Thissel and Johnson are named in several incidents, including:
- A home invasion and robbery of four people on May 24, 2022, in Mount Vernon.
- Only Johnson is named in the robbery of two people on July 14, 2022, in Burien.
- A home invasion and robbery in Kent on July 28, 2022.
- A home invasion and the murder of Irah Sok in Everett on August 19, 2022.
Keilani Songcuan, 25, was recently arrested in connection to the break-in. It was initially believed that just three men were involved in Sok’s case. She is being held in Snohomish County Jail on $1 million bail.
The fourth suspect was arrested in Seattle on March 24. He was booked into Snohomish County Jail on $5 million bail.
He is scheduled to make a first appearance on Friday.