COVENTRY — Two years before being linked to a Border Patrol agent’s death, Michelle Zajko allowed Pennsylvania investigators to examine her handgun and later had her Webster Road home searched in connection with her parents’ deaths, NBC5 reports.
Pennsylvania State Police found Rita and Richard Zajko dead in their home from gunshot wounds during a January 2, 2023, welfare check at their residence. Ballistic testing showed an M&P model gun could have produced markings found on a recovered bullet, according to the documents.
Three days later, Pennsylvania investigators traveled to Vermont to interview Zajko, who confirmed owning a Smith & Wesson M&P handgun purchased in February 2022.
According to the NBC5 report, a subsequent January 12 search of her Coventry residence recovered three cartridges that could match bullets used in the Pennsylvania killings. Investigators also searched an undeveloped Derby property owned by Zajko.
She is now sought by federal authorities who believe she purchased weapons used in the January 20, 2025, shooting death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland.
According to court records, Zajko bought the guns from a Mount Tabor store in February 2024 before allegedly transferring them to Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt. Youngblut is in custody facing federal charges in Maland’s death, while Bauckholt was killed in the exchange of gunfire.