Key Takeaways:
- A Border Patrol agent’s death is connected to a group involved in multiple homicides across three states.
- The group’s origins trace back to a transgender woman and computer programmer with unusual theories about technology and cognition.
- The timeline reveals a series of escalating events, from petty crimes to brutal killings.
- Key figures include Jack LaSota, Teresa Youngblut, and Maximilian Snyder, each playing a disturbing role in the unfolding saga.
The Genesis: A Transgender Programmer’s Vision
The story begins with Jack LaSota, a transgender woman and computer programmer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2016, LaSota created the online persona “Ziz,” using it to express complex theories about technology, gender identity, and how the human mind works. She became involved in the rationalist movement, a community focused on understanding human cognition and the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. However, LaSota’s fringe theories, particularly her belief that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders, led to a split within the community.
2019: Protests and Arrests
In November 2019, LaSota and three associates – Emma Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, and Alexander Leatham – were arrested during what they claimed was a protest against sexual misconduct within rationalist organizations. This event marked an early sign of the group’s descent into more extreme actions.
2022: Disappearance and Eviction
August 2022 brought further strangeness. The U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report that LaSota had fallen out of a boat in San Francisco Bay. No body was ever found, and an obituary was published, adding to the mystery surrounding her. Later that year, in November, Curtis Lind, a landlord in Vallejo, California, sought to evict LaSota, Borhanian, Leatham, and others who had been living on his property in vans and box trucks due to unpaid rent.
The Vallejo Killing: A Turning Point
On November 15, 2022, just two days before the eviction deadline, Lind was attacked. He was impaled with a sword and partially blinded, but managed to shoot and kill Borhanian in self-defense. Authorities charged Leatham and Suri Dao with murder, concluding that Lind had acted in self-defense. LaSota was present at the scene, according to police reports, but was not charged.
The Pennsylvania Double Murder: A Chilling Escalation
On New Year’s Eve 2022, Rita and Richard Zajko were shot and killed in their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured unsettling audio – a car pulling up, a voice shouting “Mom!”, followed by cries of “Oh my God!” While seemingly unrelated at the time, this event would later be linked to the Zizian group.
2023: Arrest and Obstructing Justice
In January 2023, police questioned the Zajkos’ daughter, Michelle, at her home in Vermont. A few weeks later, officers briefly detained her at a Pennsylvania hotel but released her without charges. LaSota, also staying at the same hotel, was arrested and charged with obstructing the homicide investigation and disorderly conduct, further connecting her to the unfolding series of crimes.
The Trail to Vermont: A Border Agent’s Fate
The timeline jumps to January 2025, when Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt checked into a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont. A hotel worker, noticing their all-black tactical clothing and Youngblut’s firearm, alerted investigators, placing the pair under surveillance. On January 17, Lind, the Vallejo landlord from the 2022 incident, was murdered. Maximilian Snyder was charged with the crime, with prosecutors alleging he was trying to prevent Lind from testifying against his earlier attackers.
The Deadly Confrontation
On January 20, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol officers stopped Youngblut and Bauckholt on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont. A shootout ensued, resulting in the deaths of Agent David Maland and Bauckholt. Youngblut, wounded in the exchange, was charged with firearms offenses.
Unraveling the Connections: The FBI Investigates
In February 2025, the FBI searched a property in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where a landlord claimed Youngblut, Bauckholt, and LaSota had been living earlier that winter. This search aimed to piece together the connections between the individuals and the various crimes, seeking to understand the full scope of the Zizian group’s activities.
The Aftermath: Questions Remain
The events surrounding the Zizian group raise many questions. What was the group’s ultimate goal? How did seemingly disparate individuals become entangled in such a violent web? And what does this say about the dangers of unchecked ideologies and online communities?
As investigations continue, the search for answers will hopefully bring closure to the families of the victims and shed light on the dark corners of the internet where such groups can take root.
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