Woman with alleged ties to cult group charged with murder of her parents in Delaware County

MEDIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- A woman with alleged ties to a cult-like group has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the killings of her parents.

The charges against 33-year-old Michelle Zajko were announced by District Attorney Tanner Rouse at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Michelle Zajko had been a person of interest in the murders of Richard and Rita Zajko.

The Zajkos were killed in their home in Chester Heights, Delaware County on New Year's Eve in 2022.

The date also happened to be Michelle Zajko's birthday, Rouse said. Earlier in the day, he said Rita Zajko had sent Michelle a text message explaining she was sorry for the rift that had grown between them.

The text went unanswered, Rouse said.

Several hours later, a car is seen approaching the Zajko home and at least two people get out of the car.

One person can be heard yelling "mom" at the front door, Rouse said, and pointed out that Michelle Zajko was Richard and Rita's only child.

The lights go on in the Zajko home, and the two are then "executed." Their bodies were found following a welfare check on Jan. 2, 2023.

Rouse said during the news conference that investigators do not have a "smoking gun," but they do have multiple pieces of evidence that allegedly show Michelle Zajko was involved in the murders.

That includes two shell casings that were recovered at the scene, which matched a gun that had been used in Michelle's Zajko's home in Vermont, Rouse said. That gun has not been recovered.

"There was a firing range out in the back of the backyard. The same gun that killed Richard and Rita Zeiko had been used in that backyard," Rouse said.

Rouse said investigators also recovered a number of text messages from Michelle Zajko, who allegedly wrote she wished she could have done things differently surrounding the homicide.

The D.A. alleges that this evidence shows that even if Michelle Zajko didn't actually pull the trigger, "she was certainly aligned with those that did."

Officials have said Michelle Zajko is tied to an extremist, cult-like group called the Zizians, who are young, highly trained computer scientists with radical beliefs about artificial intelligence, veganism, and gender identity.

The Zizians have been linked to six killings across the country since 2022, including in California, Pennsylvania and Vermont, where a border patrol agent was killed in 2025.

RELATED: A timeline of activities of cultlike group tied to the killing of a Border Patrol agent

Officials say Michelle Zajko allegedly provided the gun in that shooting.

Authorities say the leader of the group was Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz.

Last year, Michelle Zajko, LaSota, and another associate were arrested in Maryland on trespassing and weapons charges.

LaSota has also been charged for refusing to cooperate with police regarding the double homicide of Michelle Zajko's parents.

Michelle Zajko has maintained both her innocence and the innocence of her group in the killing of her parents.