Sonia Loja death: Connecticut mom strangles three children to death before taking her own life

On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, Sonia Loja was found dead in a backyard shed of her Danbury residence. The bodies of her three young children were found inside the house by their father. Following a preliminary investigation, police believe Loja had strangled her children before taking her own life. Further investigations are still ongoing regarding the Sonia Loja case.

According to the Danbury Police Department, the bodies were found when they responded to a request for a welfare check by a "distraught" male at around 6:15 pm. While official autopsy reports are still awaited, Detective Captain Mark Williams of the Danbury Police Department wrote in a Facebook post that it is suspected that the children died by strangulation.

"The children all appear to have died by strangulation, and the mother’s suspected cause of death is asphyxia by hanging. Pending an official autopsy, preliminary findings indicate that Ms. Loja strangled her three children before killing herself. However, this is still an active investigation."

Williams also identified the victims residing on 10 Whaley Street as 36-year-old Sonia Loja, 12-year-old Junior Panjon, 10-year-old Joselyn Panjon, and 5-year-old Jonael Panjon. At the time of the murder of the children, the two other adult residents of the house were not present.

Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour told CBS New York:

"When officers arrived, they found three deceased juveniles inside the home and they found a deceased female in the backyard at the residence."

The deaths of the children and their mother have shocked the residents of Danbury, who remember Sonia Loja and her children as a happy family. Neighbor Erna Grenier told CBS New York:

"Every day those kids were outside, but she was always with them. It's unbelievable. They were happy, those kids. If anybody was walking by, they would say hi. Didn't hear anything, no yelling. Never heard yelling or anything over there. It's sad. Why do people have to involve kids?"

Mayor Dean Esposito expressed his grief at the sudden tragedy. He reached out to the community and encouraged everyone to care for their mental health.

"In the coming days, mental health and counseling services will be provided through collaboration with the Danbury Public Schools and the City of Danbury. Our community grieves for the innocent lives taken from us. We will get through this together."

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Neighbors remember Sonia Loja as "quiet"

The 10 Whaley Street resident had "never really even raised her voice," said a neighbor. The 36-year-old mother-of-three ran an illegal daycare in the same house where she killed her young children on Wednesday. Nobody had ever heard any quarreling from the house. Additionally, they knew Sonia Loja to be quiet and caring; thus, the murder-suicide case is a brutal blow to the entire community.

Ralph Baugher, a neighbor of the family, told WTNH:

"The kids were really good kids. They were really friendly kids. When you drive by, they would wave and say, ‘How are you doing?'...They were always happy kids. Always playing in the yard, having fun, laughing all the time.”

On Wednesday, Loja informed the parents that she would not be able to watch their children on that day. Nube Sucuzhanay, a Danbury parent who had trusted Sonia Loja with her children for almost a decade, refused to believe that she would do something as heinous as killing her own children. She told The Post:

"I can’t believe Sonia did this. I don’t believe what’s happened. Sonia was a good person. She loved and looked after her kids and was good with the kids she looked after.”

Police have determined that there is no threat to the community.