Pennsylvania charges woman in 2022 killings of her parents
What's new: Prosecutors said Michelle Zajko did not act alone and tied the case to years of phone, video and ballistics evidence.
Pennsylvania prosecutors charged Michelle Zajko with murder, burglary and conspiracy in the 2022 shooting deaths of her parents at their home in Chester Heights, saying she was among the people responsible even if investigators cannot yet identify who fired the fatal shots. Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said authorities believe Zajko arranged the killings of Rita and Richard Zajko on New Year's Eve, her 30th birthday. Investigators cited cellphone analysis, shell casings and a neighbor's doorbell video that captured a car arriving and someone shouting, "Mom!" before gunfire. Zajko, 33, has denied involvement. She has been jailed in Maryland since February 2025 on other charges and is also accused of supplying the gun used in the January 2025 killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont.