Zizians Member Charged
Michelle Zajko Charged with Parents' Murder, Conspiracy; Case Linked to Zizians' Interstate Violence
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Michelle Zajko, a 33-year-old member of the cultlike group known as the Zizians, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of her parents on New Year's Eve 2022, Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Rita Zajko, 69, and Richard Zajko, 72, were found shot to death in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania home — a case that had gone unsolved for more than three years.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse announced the charges on June 24, 2026, saying Zajko did not act alone. "She was aligned with those who committed the crime," Rouse said, according to woonsocketcall.com. The charges include murder, burglary, and conspiracy.
A New Year's Eve Killing Three Years in the Making
Rita and Richard Zajko were shot to death inside their Chester Heights home on December 31, 2022, according to SF Chronicle. Neighbors' doorbell cameras captured a vehicle arriving at the house that night. Voices could be heard shouting "Mom!" — suggesting the visitors were known to the family. Investigators found no signs of a struggle inside the home.
Michelle Zajko, the couple's daughter, claimed her father committed a murder-suicide. Forensic evidence rejected that theory, Voice of Alexandria reported. Zajko has been held in custody since February 2025 on separate firearms and trespassing charges. The new murder charges mark the first time she has been formally accused in her parents' deaths.
Who Are the Zizians and What Do They Believe
The Zizians grew out of Silicon Valley's "rationalist" tech culture. Their leader, Jack "Ziz" LaSota, started a blog in 2016 and built a following with ideas about AI, gender, and ethics. The group holds extreme views — including that eating meat is a capital offense — and believes in striking back hard against anyone who crosses them, according to The Guardian.
LaSota staged a fake death in August 2022, reportedly falling off a $600 sailboat in San Francisco Bay. No body was found. Authorities now believe the disappearance was planned. LaSota was arrested in February 2025 in Frostburg, Maryland, living with Zajko and another member in box trucks on private land, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Six Deaths Across Three States Tied to the Group
The Zizians have been linked to six deaths in three states. In November 2022, a California landlord killed group member Emma Borhanian in self-defense during a confrontation. In January 2025, a highway shootout in Vermont left U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland and Zizian member Felix Bauckholt dead, according to AJC. Prosecutors say Zajko bought the guns used in that attack.
Group member Teresa Youngblut, 21, pleaded not guilty to Agent Maland's murder in September 2025. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case, Rutland Herald reported. DA Rouse's statement that Zajko "did not act alone" suggests more charges against other group members may be coming.
Zajko Denies Everything in a 20-Page Jailhouse Letter
In April 2025, Zajko released a 20-page handwritten letter from jail. She denied killing her parents and said police lied about her making a confession. She compared the legal pressure against her group to "a modern-day witch hunt" and claimed the media painted her friends as "Satan's lapdogs," according to the Associated Press.
Criminologist Dr. Elizabeth Gurian of Norwich University says the group's tech background made it more dangerous. She described the Zizians as a "tech-savvy fringe" that moved from online debates to real-world violence. LaSota's lawyers, meanwhile, deny the "cult" label and call the group "neurodivergent tech researchers" who are victims of overzealous policing, My Journal Courier reported.
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