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Member of cultlike Zizians group charged in the killings of her parents in suburban Philadelphia
ABC7 Los Angeles • • nation
Key Points:
- Michelle Zajko, a member of the cultlike group Zizians, has been charged with murder, burglary, and conspiracy in the shooting deaths of her parents in Pennsylvania on her 30th birthday, with prosecutors asserting she was not acting alone.
- Evidence including a neighbor’s doorbell camera, ballistics matching ammunition from Zajko’s home and firing range, and cellphone records link her to the crime scene, though the murder weapon has not been found.
- The Zizians, a group of young computer scientists with radical beliefs, have been connected to multiple violent incidents across several states, including the deaths of Zajko’s parents, a California landlord, and a Vermont border agent.
- Zajko has denied involvement in her parents’ deaths and suggested in court filings that her father might have killed her mother and himself; she also faces unrelated charges for allegedly providing the gun used to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
- Family members expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their efforts and hope the upcoming trial will bring justice, while prosecutors described the killings as a deeply incomprehensible crime.
