Michelle Zajko, the daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are part of a complex investigation into a cultlike group, has issued a public denial regarding accusations that she was involved in her parents’ killings.
Zajko’s defense comes through a 20-page handwritten letter, titled “Open Letter to the World,” which her attorney provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The letter is dated March 9 and seeks to clarify the narrative surrounding her and the group, known as the Zizians, led by Jack LaSota, described by authorities as the apparent head of this so-called extremist group.
In her letter, Zajko asserts, “You, the public, are being lied to,” urging readers to consider her perspective instead of the media portrayals she claims are misleading.
Zajko has been accused of providing the gun used in the Vermont shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, an incident that exposed a broader investigation into the Zizians. The investigation escalated after a series of events, including the death of a group member and the arrest of another in connection with the shooting.
On the day prior to Zajko’s letter release, she, LaSota, and another associate were arrested in Maryland for trespassing, obstructing law enforcement, and illegal gun possession. They were found parked on private property in box trucks, leading to law enforcement’s involvement.
While Zajko was questioned in relation to her parents’ deaths, Rita and Richard Zajko were fatally shot in their Chester Heights home on New Year’s Eve 2022. Authorities have not charged her in this case, although LaSota faced charges for disorderly conduct when he allegedly refused to cooperate with officers investigating these deaths.
Zajko maintains that LaSota was merely “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” and she accused police of misleading her, claiming they told her she had confessed to a crime she did not commit.
In what appears to be a desperate attempt to reshape public opinion, Zajko writes, “My friends and I are being described as like Satan’s lapdogs, the devil & the Manson family all rolled into one. These papers are flagrantly lying. For instance, there were no truck-fulls of guns, no machine gun, & I didn’t murder my parents.”
The Zizian group has also been implicated in several other violent incidents, including the deaths of a landlord in California during an assault and retaliation. Reports identify Maximilian Snyder as the person charged with killing the landlord, Curtis Lind, after tensions between him and the Zizians escalated. Snyder applied for a marriage license with Teresa Youngblut, who is accused of shooting at Border Patrol Agent Maland during a traffic stop.
Youngblut has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges in connection with the incident, while Felix Bauckholt, who was in the vehicle during the shootout that led to Maland’s death, also died in the encounter.
Bauckholt and LaSota were living in North Carolina as of earlier this winter, according to their landlord, who noted that Youngblut rented a duplex in the same vicinity. Zajko’s lawyer confirmed that she too had lived in North Carolina before the group migrated north to Frostburg, Maryland.
As the investigation unfolds, Zajko’s appeal for understanding raises questions about the involvement of her and her associates in these ongoing violent incidents linked to the Zizian group.
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