Alleged leader of cult-like ‘Zizian’ group linked to six deaths arrested in Maryland

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery 'Ziz', known in court documents by her legal name as Jack LaSota, after her arrest in Maryland in February 2025 Ziz is a key member — and the namesake — of a mysterious group of mostly transgender and non-binary young people known as the “Zizians”, whose members have been tied to murder cases in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Also arrested in Maryland was Michelle “Jamie” Zajko, 32, who is a person of interest in the Vermont shooting and the Pennsylvania shooting, and Daniel Blank, 26. open image in gallery A mugshot of Michelle Zajko from her arrest in February 2025 The charges listed for Ziz were trespass, obstruction, and possession of a firearm; for Zajko, trespass, obstruction, and resisting or interfering with an arrest; and for Blank, trespass and obstruction. open image in gallery Richard Zajko, 72, and his wife and Rita Zajko, 69, who were found dead at their home in suburban Philadelphia in January 2023 But when they checked another room in the same hotel, whose occupants Zajko had asked them to alert to her custody, they found Ziz — alive and well, albeit uncooperative — along with Daniel Blank. open image in gallery Milo Youngblut, who is charged by the FBI in connection to the shooting of US Border Patrol Agent David Maland, is seen in surveillance footage at a Vermont hotel on Jan 14, 2025 Zajko, meanwhile, was named a person of interest in the case, reportedly because investigators suspect that one of the guns carried by Bauckholt and Youngblut was bought by her.