A member of the cultlike Zizians group is charged in the killings of her parents in Pennsylvania

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 Cumberland, Md., Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo, File) 2026-06-24T17:23:37Z A member of the cultlike group known as Zizians has been charged with murder in the shooting of her parents at their Pennsylvania home on her 30th birthday, and a prosecutor said Wednesday that authorities don’t believe she was acting alone. Michelle Zajko, who has been jailed in Maryland on other charges since February 2025, has been charged with murder, burglary and conspiracy charges in the deaths of Rita and Richard Zajko, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said at a news conference. The prosecutor said she did not act alone. In this combination of undated photos provided by the Pennsylvania-state-police" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="152027" data-entity-type="organization">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" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="152027" data-entity-type="organization">Pennsylvania State Police via AP, File) In this combination of undated photos provided by the Pennsylvania-state-police" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="152027" data-entity-type="organization">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" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="152027" data-entity-type="organization">Pennsylvania State Police via AP, File) --> Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. --> Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Rouse said that Zajko is known to have been among those who killed her parents “to the extent that if she wasn’t the one who actually pulled the trigger, she was certainly aligned with those who did.” Online court records didn’t immediately indicate whether Zajko had an attorney in the Pennsylvania case as of Wednesday. An attorney representing her in Maryland did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, and the Delaware County Public Defender’s office declined to comment. The couple was shot to death in their home on New Year’s Eve after police say a neighbor’s doorbell camera captured video of a car pulling up to their home in Chester Heights, a voice shouting “Mom!” and another voice exclaiming, “Oh my God! Oh, God, God!” Michelle Zajko has denied any involvement, and in court filings suggested her father might have killed her mother and then himself. (