Boy, Girl Tell How Mother Held Them Under Water

Glancing nervously at their weeping mother, the son and daughter of Narinder Virk described for a judge Thursday how she led them to a darkened harbor channel last month and pushed them off a boat dock.

Both said their mother then held them under water until they couldn’t breathe.

“My mom was drowning us,” testified 9-year-old Sonny Virk, who recalled how he fought to get his head above water. “She was pushing us down.”

Sonny and his 6-year-old sister, Harpreet, were the first witnesses at their mother’s preliminary hearing.

Their testimony provided sufficient evidence for Ventura County Superior Court Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. to order Virk to stand trial on two counts of attempted murder.

The judge also rejected a defense request to reduce bail, saying the evidence strongly suggests that the 39-year-old Port Hueneme woman intentionally tried to drown her children in a residential area near Channel Islands Harbor.

The children are living in Port Hueneme with their father, Santokh Virk, who owns a liquor store and works as a part-time delivery driver for The Times.

Virk remains in county jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. A trial-setting hearing and arraignment on the charges are set for March 2.