Latest news with #Zizian
USA Today
08-05-2025
- USA Today
Feds signal new charges may be coming in 'Zizian' case that killed Border Patrol agent
Feds signal new charges may be coming in 'Zizian' case that killed Border Patrol agent Show Caption Hide Caption Two arrested connected to US Border Agent death Two people have been arrested in connection to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Maland, with authorities believing it might be tied to a larger group. Fox - Fox 9 Federal prosecutors have signaled they're planning to bring additional charges against a woman detained in Vermont following the shooting death of a Border Patrol agent. Theresa Youngblut has been jailed since the Jan. 20 death of agent David Maland, and already faces charges of using a firearm during the confrontation in which Maland and Youngblut's companion Ophelia Bauckholt were killed near the Canadian border. The current charges don't directly accuse Youngblut of firing the shots that killed Maland. Federal investigators have declined to discuss details of the case. A USA TODAY investigation earlier this year indicated that the violent confrontation is connected to multiple other homicides around the country that some legal experts have tied to the influence of a California-based cultlike group known as the Zizians. In a May 8 court filing, Youngblut's public defenders asked a judge to give them more preparation time before her next court appearance because they expect new charges and "voluminous" new evidence disclosures from prosecutors. "Additional time is also needed to conduct any necessary investigation and discuss with the government any potential non-trial resolutions in this case," federal public defender Steven Barth said. "Time is needed to determine whether additional charges will be filed and whether such charges, if filed, will materially alter the trajectory of the case." Named after their purported leader, Jack "Ziz" LaSota, 34, the group is connected to at least six deaths nationwide, according to police, interviews with people who know group members, the FBI and court records. LaSota was assigned male at birth but uses female pronouns. Federal and state court records refer to LaSota as a man. Experts and people who know them say the group is led by LaSota, who in online postings discussed the nature of consciousness and rational decision making. Many of the group members are vegan, and either have degrees in computer science or have studied related fields. Some members of the group are transgender, or have rejected binary sexuality. LaSota and two other people were arrested in February in Maryland, and remain in custody there on trespassing and firearms charges. One of the people arrested alongside LaSota was Michelle Zajko, who faces separate federal charges alleging that she bought the guns Youngblut and Bauckholt were carrying during the shootout with Maland, the Border Patrol agent. Zajko is also a "person of interest" in the Pennsylvania homicides of her parents in late 2022, according to court filings. Youngblut was due to marry a Washington state man who is currently jailed on charges that he ambushed and murdered a California landlord on Jan. 17, following a violent confrontation between the landlord, LaSota and several other people. Federal investigators say they confronted Youngblut and Bauckholt in Vermont after receiving reports the two were walking around a rural area with handguns and wearing tactical clothing. Investigators said they also mistakenly believed Bauckholt's visa to visit from Germany had expired.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Yahoo
Transgender vegan murder cult member freaks out in court
A member of a radical transgender vegan cult suspected in several murders was dragged out of a California courtroom, claiming jail guards were trying to detransition them. And they wanted to kill them. Alexander Leatham, 29, who identifies as a transgender woman, is reportedly part of the Zizian cult. However, according to Courthouse News, they were attending a hearing in Solano County, Calif., when they freaked out and began ranting in court. Leatham exploded: 'I am not suicidal. I have never been suicidal. If I am killed in police custody, it was murder!' They are in the hot seat for allegedly attempting to murder her landlord in 2022. The landlord was later murdered, allegedly by Zizian members. Leatham claimed she was being forcibly detransitioned with hormone therapy. They added that it was all part of a 25-year conspiracy against transgender people. At a hearing in March, Leatham screamed again and again: 'This is a show trial to coordinate the genocide of transgender people!' Leatham was then locked in what cops call a 'quiet room' similar to what's found in many daycares for unruly toddlers. Courthouse News wrote: 'Her muffled shouting could be heard in the next room for the rest of the hearing.' Zizians were an unknown quantity before Jan. 20, when two suspected members were involved in a shootout with Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border. Authorities said that Teresa 'Milo' Consuelo Youngblut and former Waterloo University student and German national Felix 'Ophelia' Bauckholt were pulled over by Maland. Youngblut allegedly started shooting, and the border agent returned fire, killing Bauckholt, but Maland was mortally wounded. Cops say the two cult members got their guns from fellow Zizian Michelle Zakjow, 32, who identifies as a trans man. Zakjow had been wanted for the double murder of his parents in Pennsylvania. One month later, detectives traced Zakjow to Delaware, where they were arrested, along with fellow cultie Daniel Blank and the bizarre sect's leader, Jack 'Ziz' LaSota. Ziz, 34, is a trans blogger and computer engineer from Berkeley, California. Police have painted the cult leader as a modern-day Charles Manson. The group has been linked to six murders in three states. Pennsylvania state police sources told the New York Post they have enough evidence to arrest Zakjow for the murders of his parents. As for Leatham, they and fellow cult members Suri Dao and Emma Borhanian are accused of attacking their landlord, Curtis Lind, 82, in 2022. Lind told cops he was inspecting a leak in Dao's trailer when he was clobbered in the back of the head. When he woke up, he had more than 50 stab wounds that detectives believe were inflicted by a samurai sword, which was stuck in his torso and the trio of Zizians standing over him. But the old man wasn't going down without a fight and managed to grab his gun, wounding Leatham and killing Borhanian. Prosecutors said it was self-defence. Another Zizian named Maximilian Snyder later finished off Lind to prevent him from testifying against the cult members. Snyder allegedly stabbed Lind to death in an ambush. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun
Fox News
18-04-2025
- Fox News
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Menendez brothers' move, Alex Murdaugh's accomplice, Luigi Mangione's charges
LAST-MINUTE MOVE: Los Angeles DA asks for delay before high-stakes hearing in Menendez brothers resentencing CRASH COURSE: Karen Read judge sets last-minute deadline on crash reconstruction experts central to her defense 'BLINDSIDED': Menendez brothers' family accuses DA of violating victim protection law after showing graphic photo in court HIRED GUN: Tennessee mom tried to hire hit man to kill former TV anchor ex-husband, put him 'underground': docs INDICTED: Accused CEO assassin Luigi Mangione indicted on federal charges RESIDENT EVIL: New England serial killer: CT River Valley survivor stabbed 27 times warns locals to remain 'vigilant' MEET THE KOHBERGERS: Idaho judge issues order on Kohberger's bid to have his family guaranteed courtroom seating GUILTY PLEA: Alleged accomplice accused of helping disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh enters plea deal FIGHTING WORDS: Wildest moments in court so far for 'Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow's Arizona murder conspiracy trial SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER 'RED FLAGS': 'Slender Man' stabber to be released as state warns of 'red flags' DISARMING THE DEFENSE: Karen Read prosecutor wants to block defense from blaming after-party guests, pet dog in opening statement 'BIGGER PICTURE': Luigi Mangione assassination case signals DOJ shift on death penalty in blue states, expert says SERIAL KILLER FEARS: New England serial killer fears merit 'review and investigation' after remains found across 3 states: expert SEEING THE LIGHT: Amanda Knox says Catholic priest 'saw my humanity' in prison, helped restore faith in herself SEEING EYE-TO-EYE: Idaho judge denies Bryan Kohberger's 'bushy eyebrows' motion SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER NO MORE 'DRAMA': Unfazed Karen Read stares down lingering questions about 'dog bites,' texts with retrial ready for kickoff PRISON PEN PAL: Rosie O'Donnell says convicted killer Lyle Menendez is first 'straight man' she can 'love' and 'trust' CHAOS IN COURT: Trans 'Zizian' cult suspect dragged from court after shouting allegations of de-transition, murder: report LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Member of Zizian group says she did not kill her parents in Pennsylvania home
The Brief The daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are among six connected to a cultlike group says she has been falsely accused of killing her parents. Michelle Zajko's denial was part of a 20-page handwritten "Open Letter to the World." No one has been charged in the deaths of Zajko's parents in late 2022. CHESTER HEIGHTS, Pa. - The daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are among six connected to a cultlike group says she has been falsely accused of killing her parents. What they're saying Michelle Zajko's denial was part of a 20-page handwritten "Open Letter to the World" her attorney provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Dated March 9, the letter also attempts to defend Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz, whom authorities have described as the apparent leader of the "extremist group" called the Zizians. "You, the public, are being lied to," Zajko wrote. "And while I don't promise to answer all your questions, I think the truth about my friends and I will make a lot more sense than what you've been reading about in the papers." The backstory The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont. Authorities say Zajko provided the gun that was used in the Vermont shooting, and in February, she, LaSota and another associate were arrested in Maryland and charged with trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and illegal gun possession after a man told police that three "suspicious" people parked box trucks on his property and asked to camp there. Zajko also was questioned but not charged in connection with the deaths of her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, who were shot and killed in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year's Eve 2022. A few weeks later, LaSota was charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to cooperate with officers investigating the deaths, but Zajko said LaSota was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time." "The police lied to her & told her that I had confessed (to something I didn't do)," she wrote. "My friends and I are being described as like Satan's lapdogs, the devil & the Manson family all rolled into one," she wrote. "These papers are flagrantly lying. For instance, there were no truck-fulls of guns, no machine gun, & I didn't murder my parents." A call and email sent to the Pennsylvania State Police was not immediately answered. Dig deeper Members of the Zizian group also have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in November 2022 and the landlord's subsequent killing in January. Maximilian Snyder, who is charged with killing landlord Curtis Lind, had applied for a marriage license with Teresa Youngblut, who is accused of shooting at the Border Patrol agent in Vermont. "The newspapers do not seem to realize that there are multiple groups, & that my friends & I are not with Snyder," she wrote. Youngblut is accused of firing at Maland during a traffic stop and has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges. Felix Bauckholt, a passenger in the car, also was killed in a shootout. Bauckholt and LaSota were living together in North Carolina as recently as this winter, according to their landlord, who also was renting a duplex to Youngblut in the same neighborhood. Zajko's lawyer said Tuesday that Zajko also had been living in North Carolina before the group moved north to Frostburg, Maryland. The Source Information from this article was provided by the Associated Press.
NBC News
16-04-2025
- NBC News
Member of Zizians, cultlike group of AI-obsessed vegans, says she didn't kill her parents
CONCORD, N.H. — The daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are among six connected to a cultlike group says she has been falsely accused of killing her parents. Michelle Zajko's denial was part of a 20-page handwritten 'Open Letter to the World' her attorney provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Dated March 9, the letter also attempts to defend Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz, whom authorities have described as the apparent leader of the 'extremist group' called the Zizians. 'You, the public, are being lied to,' Zajko wrote. 'And while I don't promise to answer all your questions, I think the truth about my friends and I will make a lot more sense than what you've been reading about in the papers.' The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont. Authorities say Zajko provided the gun that was used in the Vermont shooting, and in February, she, LaSota and another associate were arrested in Maryland and charged with trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and illegal gun possession after a man told police that three 'suspicious' people parked box trucks on his property and asked to camp there. Zajko also was questioned but not charged in connection with the deaths of her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, who were shot and killed in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year's Eve 2022. A few weeks later, LaSota was charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to cooperate with officers investigating the deaths, but Zajko said LaSota was just 'in the wrong place at the wrong time.' 'The police lied to her & told her that I had confessed (to something I didn't do),' she wrote. 'My friends and I are being described as like Satan's lapdogs, the devil & the Manson family all rolled into one,' she wrote. 'These papers are flagrantly lying. For instance, there were no truck-fulls of guns, no machine gun, & I didn't murder my parents.' A call and email sent to the Pennsylvania State Police was not immediately answered. Members of the Zizian group also have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in November 2022 and the landlord's subsequent killing in January. Maximilian Snyder, who is charged with killing landlord Curtis Lind, had applied for a marriage license with Teresa Youngblut, who is accused of shooting at the Border Patrol agent in Vermont. 'The newspapers do not seem to realize that there are multiple groups, & that my friends & I are not with Snyder,' she wrote. Youngblut is accused of firing at Maland during a traffic stop and has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges. Felix Bauckholt, a passenger in the car, also was killed in a shootout. Bauckholt and LaSota were living together in North Carolina as recently as this winter, according to their landlord, who also was renting a duplex to Youngblut in the same neighborhood. Zajko's lawyer said Tuesday that Zajko also had been living in North Carolina before the group moved north to Frostburg, Maryland.
