A woman associated with the cultlike group known as the Zizians was charged Wednesday in connection with the deaths of her parents, as prosecutors alleged she orchestrated the killings on her 30th birthday and had help carrying them out.
Michelle Zajko, 33, is facing charges of murder, burglary and conspiracy in the fatal shootings of Rita and Richard Zajko, who were discovered dead inside their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said investigators believe Zajko played a role in planning the attack, though authorities have not determined who pulled the trigger.
“At this time we do not know who her co-conspirators were, but we are very certain that Michelle Zajko was in the home and arranged for the death of her parents,” Rouse said.
Michelle Zajko is escorted into court for a pretrial hearing on trespassing, gun and drug charges in Cumberland, Maryland, on Jan. 16, 2026. Zajko was charged Wednesday in Pennsylvania with murder, burglary and conspiracy in the killings of her parents. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo)
Prosecutors said the charges follow years of investigative work that included cellphone data, ballistics testing and video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera. Investigators said the footage showed two people arriving at the residence shortly before the killings and captured someone calling out “Mom!” just before gunfire erupted.
Authorities said shell casings found in the investigation were tied to ammunition connected to Zajko’s property in Vermont, including a backyard firing range.
“If she wasn’t the one who actually pulled the trigger, she was certainly aligned with those who did,” Rouse said.
The Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home where Richard and Rita Zajko were found shot to death on Dec. 31, 2022. Their daughter, Michelle Zajko, was charged Wednesday with murder, burglary and conspiracy in the killings. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Zajko has denied involvement in the killings.
“I didn’t murder my parents,” she wrote in an April 2025 “Open Letter to the World.”
Prosecutors said Zajko had become estranged from her parents in the year before their deaths. Hours before she was killed, Rita Zajko texted her daughter to apologize for the rift between them and wish her a happy birthday.
“That text went unanswered,” Rouse said.
Richard Zajko, left, and his wife, Rita Zajko, were found shot to death in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on Dec. 31, 2022. Their daughter, Michelle Zajko, was charged Wednesday with murder, burglary and conspiracy in the killings. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Authorities have long identified Zajko as a person of interest in the case. She is also accused of supplying the firearm used in the January 2025 killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, one of several deaths authorities have linked to alleged members of the Zizians.
News Agency reached out to an attorney who has previously represented Zajko in Maryland and the Delaware County Public Defender’s Office. Neither immediately responded to requests for comment.
