A woman from Washington state was remanded without bail on Thursday regarding the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, an incident linked to multiple homicides across several states.
Teresa Youngblut, aged 21, has been charged with federal firearms offenses following the death of Agent David Maland on January 20. The authorities claim she fired upon agents during a traffic stop in northern Vermont, which led to a gunfight also resulting in the death of her companion, Felix Bauckholt.
Pennsylvania state police revealed on Wednesday that the firearm utilized in the Vermont incident was acquired by an individual of interest in the double homicide of Richard and Rita Zajko, who were found dead in their Chester Heights residence on December 31, 2022. According to U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher, both Youngblut and the gun buyer had been in close contact with a suspect taken into custody during the Pennsylvania investigation, who is also considered a person of interest in a separate murder case in California.
During a brief court hearing on Thursday, which did not include comments from Youngblut or her attorney, prosecutors provided limited details. Youngblut’s legal counsel has not yet provided remarks concerning the allegations. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 7.
In the meantime, investigations have revealed various interconnections among individuals involved. Jack LaSota is facing charges of obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania. Authorities have not confirmed if these charges are connected to the Zajko killings. Notably, records show investigators were looking for a weapon related to two homicides when they apprehended LaSota approximately 12 days after the Zajko incident, around 10 miles from where the murders occurred.
LaSota has ties to significant figures in the California case as well. He, along with three others, was arrested in 2019 for protesting at a Center for Applied Rationality event in Occidental, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2022, two of those three—Emma Borhanian and Jeffrey Leatham—were charged with assaulting their landlord with a sword in Vallejo. Although the landlord survived the initial attack in November, he was later fatally stabbed on January 17.
This week, Maximilian Snyder was charged with the landlord’s murder. In November, a marriage license application was submitted under the name Maximilian Snyder together with a Teresa Youngblut in Kirkland, Washington. Snyder’s lawyer chose not to comment on the case.
LaSota might have been involved in the 2022 attack on the landlord, as suggested by court records, which also indicate that he had been mistakenly reported dead three months earlier. On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard was alerted that LaSota had fallen from a boat in San Francisco Bay, initiating a search that ultimately found no body. Despite an obituary being published and his mother confirming the supposed death, a prosecutor later informed LaSota’s defense attorney that he was found alive at the scene of a crime in Vallejo on or around November 13, coinciding with the landlord’s assault.
Jerold Friedman, LaSota’s attorney in the civil rights lawsuit linked to the 2019 arrest, confirmed verifying the U.S. Coast Guard’s report at that time but couldn’t recall their most recent contact. The previous attorney from LaSota’s 2019 criminal case has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the situation. There has also been outreach to the lawyer currently representing LaSota regarding the ongoing Pennsylvania case.
While authorities have not officially named the individual who purchased the gun used in the Vermont shooting, reports indicate that federal officials contacted firearms dealers to gather information regarding purchases made by Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, identifying her as a person of interest in relation to the incident.
Records show that a Michelle Zajko was registered to vote in 2016 at the same address in Pennsylvania as Richard and Rita Zajko. Moreover, in 2021, a Michelle Zajko acquired a half-acre of land in Derby, Vermont, situated relatively close to the Canadian border. Local records signify that this plot remains undeveloped.
