The vegan cult, linked to the murder of a transgender member, Vermont border agents, was also interested in murdering their parents.
During a wellness check on January 3, 2023, the bodies of 72-year-old Richard and 69-year-old Rita Zaico were found dead at their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania. The Delaware County Medical Inspector's office confirmed the death that occurred December 31, 2022, as a murder.
More than a year later, the incident remains a “active investigation” by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP).
According to the PSP, the couple was found inside the house with firearms. The firearms are “linked” to anyone interested in the January 2025 shooting of US Border Patrol agent David Christopher Malland.
Transgender cult leaders linked to border agents remain innocent and seek vegan food in prison
These undated photos provided by the Pennsylvania State Police show Richard and Rita Zaico, who police say were shot dead in their home outside Philadelphia on December 31, 2022. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)
The home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, where Rita and Richard Zaico were murdered in December 2022. (AP Photo – Matt Rourke)
Michelle Zaico, daughter of Richard and Rita, had linked the firearms found in the vehicles of Teresa Youngbrute and Felix “Ophelia” Buckholt during the shooting of Maran.
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“An investigation into the shooting of border agents reveals that the weapon used to kill customs was purchased by someone interested in the murder of Rita and Richard Zaiko,” a PSP spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Transgender vegan “cult” member has been arrested
Michelle Zaico, 32, was also charged with resisting arrest and carrying a handgun. (Aregany County Sheriff's Office)
Courtesy of Joanne Malland, this undated image shows Border Patrol David Malland, who was killed on Monday, January 20, 2025 following a traffic stop in Vermont. (Joan Maland via David Maland/AP)
On January 20, 2025, Maran was killed during a routine traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border. Youngblut and Bauckholt were in a stopped vehicle and fired fire on agents at the border, authorities said.
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Bauckholt, along with a 44-year-old border agent, was killed in a shooting. YoungBlut was taken into custody and faced a weapons charge.
Gigian's leader Jack Lasota: Who is the transgender, vegan cult head?
Maryland State Police said on February 16, three members of the United States Border Patrol Agent David Marand on January 20th, arrested three members shown here, Jack Amadeus Lasota, Michelle Jacqueline Zaico and Daniel Arthur Blanc, on February 16th, in connection with the January 20th murder of US Border Patrol agent David Marand. (Aregany County Sheriff's Office)
The murder of Maran has lit the spotlight on “Gijian,” a group reportedly containing Young Blatt, Buckholt and Zaiko, connecting to at least six murders. The group's goals are unknown, but online writing from members ranges from “radical vegans” to transgenderism and artificial intelligence.
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Jack Lasota, 34, reportedly, and Zaico were recently detained in Maryland. They face multiple fees including trespassing, obstructing, obstructing and possessing handguns inside the vehicle.
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Attorney Daniel McGarrigle, who represents Lasota, introduced Fox News Digital to a company release. The release emphasized that Lasota “is not, and by then, it appears not a guilty thing, unless the government meets the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
