Federal Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty in Fatal Shooting of Border Patrol Agent
The woman, Teresa Youngblut, had previously been charged with assaulting federal law enforcement officers with a deadly weapon. The shooting occurred on Jan. 20, on Interstate 91 about six miles south of the Canadian border, and resulted in the death of David Maland, 44.
The details of the violent encounter between Border Patrol agents and Ms. Youngblut, a former college student from Seattle, have confounded residents of the rural area for months. Ms. Youngblut and a companion, Felix Baukholt, had been under surveillance by law enforcement officials for days before the shooting, after an employee at their hotel reported concerns about their 'tactical-style' gear and weapons, according to an F.B.I. affidavit.
Mr. Baukholt, a German citizen and a former college student in Canada, was also killed in the exchange of gunfire. It began, investigators have said, when Ms. Youngblut drew a gun during a traffic stop and began shooting without warning.
As months passed without murder charges, public speculation grew that Ms. Youngblut had not fired the shot that killed Mr. Maland. But in a court filing in June, lawyers for Ms. Youngblut asked a judge to extend filing deadlines to give them more time to develop arguments against the government's pursuit of the death penalty.
The four-count superseding indictment on Thursday states that Ms. Youngblut 'with malice aforethought, unlawfully killed' the border agent 'by shooting him while he was engaged in and on account of his performance of official duties.' In addition to a murder count, the indictment charges her with assaulting two other agents with a deadly weapon, and other firearms offenses.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed Vermont's acting U.S. attorney, Michael P. Drescher, to pursue the death penalty in the case, according to a statement from Mr. Drescher's office.
'We will not stand for such attacks on the men and women who protect our communities and our borders,' the statement said.
Steven Barth, a federal public defender representing Ms. Youngblut, could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment.
Investigators who searched Ms. Youngblut's Toyota Prius after the shooting found a ballistic helmet; a monocular night-vision goggle; a tactical belt with a holster; a magazine loaded with cartridges; 48 rounds of .380-caliber jacketed hollow-point ammunition; two full-face respirators; and two hand-held, two-way radios, according to the F.B.I. affidavit.
Investigators have also connected Ms. Youngblut and Mr. Baukholt to a fringe group of people who call themselves Zizians, with members linked to the killings of a man stabbed in California and a couple shot in Pennsylvania.
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