EVERETT — Irah Sok held up the keys to her newly opened photography studio and snapped a photo last January.
“Somebody come and pinch me because this doesn’t feel real,” she wrote in the caption for a photo she took of herself smiling in front of the Mill Creek strip mall.
Gold, black and white balloons adorned the interior at the grand opening for Irah Sok Images. Family and friends drank champagne and ate hors d’oeuvres.
On Friday morning, the photographer was mysteriously shot to death in her south Everett house. No one had been arrested in the apparent home invasion as of this week.
A candlelight vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Sok’s former photo studio, 1700 132nd St SE Suite G in Mill Creek. Attendees are asked to park offsite.
The news of Sok’s death inspired a public outpouring of grief.
“Got news that the most beautiful photographer Irah Sok Images gained her access to heaven,” one former client wrote. “Thank you for these memories. Sending love and light to your family.”
Makara Sok, the slain woman’s husband, also spoke to a KIRO 7 reporter this week.
“Amazing mother, amazing wife,” he said. “I love her to death. I wish she still here with me right now.”
Police were called around 3 a.m. Aug. 19 to reports of the shooting in the 2600 block of 96th Street SE, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after the shooting, three intruders left the home, sheriff’s spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe said. There appeared to be no struggle before or after the gunfire.
The husband and the child in the home were reportedly uninjured.
As of Tuesday, no motive for the killing had been determined. Detectives had not made public any leads in the case.
Irah Sok, 36, died of a single gunshot wound, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tuesday. Her manner of death was homicide.
“Many know Irah as an incredibly talented photographer,” reads an obituary. “She specialized in maternity and newborn photography, capturing the love and joy of motherhood, new life, and family for her clients. In September 2019, Irah converted her garage into her home studio, allowing her to develop her craft even more. In January 2022, Irah accomplished her dream of opening up her studio. … Her photography has impacted so many throughout our community and we will forever cherish the memories she has given us.”
Among the recent clients at the photo studio was Seahawks cornerback Sidney Jones and his partner Cydney. Many of her portrait subjects were women of color and their babies.
The Soks met through the Boeing company, KIRO 7 reported. Makara Sok is Cambodian-American and Irah Sok was from the Philippines.
“She is hilarious, you know,” the slain woman’s cousin, Aileen LaPuz, told the Seattle TV station. “She’s … full of life, full of dreams. She’s very kind. She has no hate in her heart.”
In an online fundraiser, loved ones asked for donations to support her family.
Detectives asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 911. Specifically, the sheriff’s office asked neighbors to check their cameras for any activity around 3 a.m. that morning.
The sheriff’s office declined to release any updates on the case Tuesday, except that it remained an active investigation.
Herald reporter Jake Goldstein-Street contributed to this report.
Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; ellen.dennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.
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