Pennsylvania authorities have charged Michelle Zajko, 33, with the 2022 murders of her parents, Richard and Rita Zajko, in Chester Heights. Prosecutors allege she arranged the killings on her 30th birthday and did not act alone. The couple was found shot to death in their home on New Year’s Eve 2022, with Rita suffering a gunshot wound to the back of her head and Richard shot in the hand and temple.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse stated investigators assembled substantial evidence, including incriminating text messages, ballistics analysis, and enhanced audio from surveillance footage. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured two individuals arriving at the home before the murders, with one voice shouting “Mom!” and another exclaiming, “Oh my God! Oh, God, God!” Shell casings recovered at the scene matched ammunition linked to Zajko’s Vermont property.
Zajko, who has ties to the so-called Zizians—a cultlike group of highly educated, AI-obsessed vegans—has denied involvement. In an April 2025 open letter, she wrote, “I didn’t murder my parents.” Her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Authorities continue to investigate the identity of a second person captured on surveillance footage entering the Zajkos’ home before the murders.