Cult Member Charged In Killings Of Her Parents At Their Delco Home: Officials

Her parents were shot in her childhood playroom on her 30th birthday. Investigators believe she didn't act alone.

By June Bakan, Patch Staff

Jun 25, 2026 9:43 am EDT

FILE - In this image from video, Michelle Zajko, who is associated with a cultlike group known as Zizians that is linked to several deaths across the U.S., is escorted into court for a pretrial hearing on trespassing, gun and drug charges in Maryland. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo, File)

CHESTER HEIGHTS, PA — A member of a cult-like group known as the Zizians was charged with murder Wednesday in the shootings of her parents at their Delaware County home on her 30th birthday, authorities said.

Michelle Zajko shot her parents, Rita and Richard, in her childhood bedroom on New Year's Eve 2022, surrounded by her old dolls and toys at their Chester Heights home, according to investigators.

Evidence from a neighbor's doorbell camera, ballistics and cell phone records led investigators to believe that Zajko is at least partially responsible for her parents' deaths. Delaware County's district attorney believes she wasn't acting alone.

"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," said District Attorney Tanner Rouse.

Zajko, 33, has been jailed on other charges in Maryland since February 2025.

She was previously questioned in the investigation of her parents' deaths. Last year, Zajko denied killing her parents in a letter her attorney sent to The Associated Press.

In the letter, she also tried to defend Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz, who authorities have described as the apparent leader of 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."

Widely described as a cult, people associated with the Zizians are persons of interests in two murders in Vermont and California, including the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent last year, according to federal prosecutors.

Zajko was charged with first- and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, burglary and weapons offenses.

An attorney contact for Zajko in the case wasn't immediately available in online court records.

This article includes Associated Press reporting.

FILE - In this combination of undated photos provided by the Pennsylvania State Police, Richard Zajko, left, and his wife Rita Zajko, who police say were shot to death in their home in suburban Philadelphia on Dec. 31, 2022, are shown. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP, File)

FILE - This Jan. 29, 2025 photo shows a Chester Heights, Pa., home, the scene of the 2022 killing of Richard and Rita Zajko. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)