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Zizian Member Charged With First‑Degree Murder in Parents' 2022 Killings

Evidence from ballistics, enhanced doorbell audio and cellphone records prompted prosecutors to charge Michelle Zajko in her parents’ deaths.

Overview

  • Delaware County prosecutors announced Wednesday that Michelle Zajko faces first‑degree murder, conspiracy and related counts in the December 31, 2022, shootings of her parents in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania.
  • Investigators say the case was built over years using multiple lines of inquiry, including a neighbor’s doorbell video with enhanced audio, ballistics tying shell casings to Zajko’s Vermont property, and cellphone records and texts.
  • Prosecutors told reporters they believe Zajko did not act alone but have not yet identified or charged the other person or persons seen entering the home on the surveillance footage.
  • Zajko, who has been jailed in Maryland on separate trespass and weapons charges since February 2025, has denied killing her parents and previously published an open letter asserting her innocence.
  • The charges are the latest development in a multi‑state probe of the loosely organized Bay Area group known as the Zizians, a network linked by authorities and reporting to several violent incidents and ongoing state and federal investigations.