A 33-year-old woman, Michelle Zajko, has been charged with murdering her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, who were shot dead at their Pennsylvania home on New Year's Eve 2022. The bodies of the couple were found in Zajko's childhood playroom, surrounded by her old dolls and toys. Prosecutors believe Zajko was in the home and arranged for the death of her parents, but do not think she acted alone.
Zajko denies charges of murder, burglary, and conspiracy, and has suggested that her father may have killed her mother and then himself. In a note written in April 2025, Zajko stated that she did not murder her parents. The deaths of the couple are among six linked to a group known as Zizians, a collective of young, highly intelligent computer scientists who share radical beliefs about veganism, animal rights, gender identity, and artificial intelligence.
The Zizians group is suspected of being involved in several deaths across the US, including the killing of one of their own, a California landlord, and a highway shootout in Vermont that left a border agent and another Zizian dead. Zajko is also charged with providing the gun used to kill US Border Patrol Agent David Maland in January 2025.
Zajko was arrested in Maryland in February 2025, along with Daniel Blank and Jack 'Ziz' LaSota, who authorities describe as the group's leader. All three have pleaded not guilty to charges of trespassing and illegal gun and drug possession. LaSota has also pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of illegal gun possession by a fugitive.
A judge has granted a defense request for a competency evaluation in the federal case. Zajko has claimed that authorities arrested the group in Maryland to prevent them from exonerating Teresa Youngblut, who has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Vermont shooting and could face the death penalty if convicted.
The investigation into the Zajkos' deaths revealed that Michelle had been estranged from her parents in the year leading up to their deaths. In a text message to her father in January 2022, she expressed her frustration with her mother's behavior towards her. Hours before her death, Rita Zajko apologized to her daughter and wished her a happy birthday, but the message went unanswered.
The family of Richard and Rita Zajko has thanked police and prosecutors for their work in achieving justice. The district attorney described their deaths as a crime that "goes beyond comprehension" and expressed his inability to understand what led to the tragic event.
