A woman connected to a group labeled as cult-like, named Zizian, was charged on Wednesday with murdering her parents. Prosecutors allege that Michelle Zayko, who is 33, planned the murder on her 30th birthday and was not acting alone.
Her parents, Rita and Richard Zayko, were found shot to death in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year’s Eve 2022. Zayko is facing multiple charges, including murder, robbery, and conspiracy, related to their deaths.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse stated that while investigators believe Zayko was involved in the plot, they have yet to identify who exactly fired the fatal shot. He emphasized, “At this point, we don’t know who her co-conspirators are, but we do know that Michelle Zayko was in the house and arranged the deaths of her parents.”
Prosecutors noted that the case is based on extensive investigative work, which included analyzing cell phone data, ballistics, and video from doorbell cameras in the neighborhood. It appears one video captured two individuals arriving at the home shortly before the shooting, with someone heard calling out, “Mom!” just before the gunfire erupted.
Authorities also discovered shell casings matching ammunition found at Mr. Zayko’s property in Vermont as well as at a shooting range in his backyard. Rouse added, “Even if she wasn’t the one who actually pulled the trigger, she certainly would have been in sync with the people who did.”
Zayko denies any involvement. In an “open letter to the world” published in April 2025, she stated, “I did not kill my parents.”
Prosecutors mentioned that Zayko had become estranged from her parents the year prior to their deaths. Just hours before they were killed, Rita texted her daughter, apologizing for their rift and wishing her a happy birthday. “There was no response to that message,” Rouse noted.
Authorities have long seen Zayko as a person of interest. Additionally, she is thought to have supplied the firearm used in the January 2025 killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Marando, a case linked to several deaths associated with alleged members of Zizian.
Attempts to reach an attorney who previously represented Zayko in Maryland and Delaware County have so far gone unanswered.
