FILICIDE (multiple): Utah: Sun Cha Warhola charged with killing 2 children found mentally incompetent

May 27th, 2011  Emiley Morgan

FARMINGTON — A woman accused of killing her two young children was deemed incompetent to stand trial Friday.

Sun Cha Warhola, 45, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, a capital offense, for allegedly killing her children, 8-year-old James and 7-year-old Jean, in the family's home on Sept. 8, 2010.

"Two competency evaluations are in, have been filed with the court and both indicate Ms. Warhola is not competent to proceed toward trial," defense attorney Ed Brass said.

The children were found by their father, Kenneth Warhola, who arrived home from work that day and couldn't immediately find his family, according to charging documents. Eventually, he went to the children's bedroom and found the doors closed and barricaded from the inside.

Sun Cha Warhola told the man to wait 10 more minutes before coming in, the charges state. When he returned and pushed the door open, "his wife was inside, and she asked him not to look at the children who were lying on the bed covered with a blanket," the charges state.

Kenneth Warhola ran across the street to call 911. "Distinct ligature marks" consistent with strangulation were discovered on the children's necks.

An inquiry into the woman's competency was initially requested in November. Three separate review hearings were held before the determination of incompetency was made.

Prosecutors said Warhola will be sent to the Utah State Hospital for treatment in an effort to restore the woman to competency.

Brass said his client is "not well and is "severely mentally ill." But, he said, she has not received any threats or hate mail in connection with the accused crime.

"I think people realize that what happened is directly related to the fact that she is profoundly disturbed," Brass said. "(Treating Warhola's illness) is the humane thing to do."

He firmly believes his client wasn't competent when the alleged crime occurred. Even if she is restored to mental competency, he said she could "be ultimately punished for something she can't even remember took place."

A review hearing to re-evaluate Warhola's competency has been set for Nov. 4.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=15723620

FETICIDE: more on Bei Bei Shuai

Woman who attempted suicide while pregnant is accused of murder. Prosecution would be a 'significant step' towards abortion being outlawed, says lawyer for pregnant women's group

Ewen MacAskill in Washington : guardian.co.uk,  15 April 2011

Bei Bei Shuai is being held in jail in Indianapolis. Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP

 

A woman accused of murdering her four-day-old baby girl by trying to kill herself with rat poison while pregnant has become a cause célèbre for US women's groups and civil liberties organisations.
Bei Bei Shuai, 34, a restaurant owner who moved to the US from China 10 years ago, was pregnant and planning to marry her boyfriend until she learned late last year that he was already married and he would be abandoning her.
A few days later, on 23 December, she went to a hardware store, bought rat poison pellets, went back to her flat in Indianapolis and swallowed some. But she did not die immediately and was persuaded by friends to go to hospital.
She was given treatment to counteract the poison and gave birth on New Year's Eve, but her daughter, Angel, suffered seizures and died after four days.
Shuai then had a second breakdown and spent a month in a psychiatric ward, after which she left to stay with friends and began rebuilding her life.
But in March she was arrested and charged with murder and attempted foeticide. She now faces life imprisonment.

"This case has huge implications for pregnant women, not only in Indiana but across the country," said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union.

"If we allowed the state to put a woman in jail for anything that could pose a risk to her pregnancy, there would be nothing to stop the police putting in jail a woman who has a drink of wine or who smokes. So where do you draw the line?"

Kolbi-Molinas said there had been an alarming rise in the number of such cases across the US. Some women's groups put the rise down to pressure on prosecutors from anti-abortion groups.

Shuai has been held in Marion County jail, Indianapolis, where she is segregated from other prisoners. She was last in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday but the judge, Sheila Carlisle, has not yet ruled whether she will be kept in custody. Carlisle is expected to begin hearing a motion for the case's dismissal next month.
Linda Pence, Shuai's lawyer, described the decision to prosecute her as "horrible" and "outrageous". She disputes the prosecution's claim that the baby died from rat poison, saying that Shuai received a host of medicines at the hospital, many of which could have caused the death.
The National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) group is helping to mount the defence.
Kathrine Jack, a lawyer with the NAPW, who meets Shuai about once a week, said that after the initial suicide attempt, she had regained hope. "She has been on a rollercoaster," said the lawyer, who argued that women such as Shuai should, rather than being locked up, receive medical and psychiatric help.
Jack, who has been involved in dozens of similar cases where women were charged as a result of incidents while pregnant, said: "Prosecutions like this are increasing in the US and are a result of anti-abortion rhetoric and movements that seek to give the foetus rights above and beyond those of women.
"If it was allowed to stand, it would not outlaw abortion right away but it would be a significant step along the way."
Dave Rimstidt, part of the prosecution team, said careful consideration had gone into the decision to charge Shuai.
"This is a very unique case. Every charging decision is very difficult and goes through a process where we consider all the facts, all the circumstances, and under this situation, we believe we've charged the two charges we can prove," he said.
Utah, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and South Carolina are among states to have pressed ahead with cases involving pregnant women and their foetuses, most of which have related to women taking illegal drugs during pregnancy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/woman-attempted-suicide-pregnant-accused