Chester Heights, Pennsylvania — A mother’s last attempt to make peace with her estranged daughter may have unknowingly set a deadly plan into motion, according to authorities investigating one of the most disturbing family murder cases Delaware County prosecutors say they have ever handled.
Rita Zajko, 69, and her husband Richard Zajko, 72, were found shot dead inside their Chester Heights home — killed in the very room where their daughter Michelle once played as a child, surrounded by toys and dolls.
Michelle Zajko, 33, now faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the deaths of both parents.
On New Year’s Eve 2022 — also Michelle’s birthday — Rita reportedly sent her estranged daughter a heartfelt text message, expressing regret over the rift that had grown between them over the past year and asking to move forward. The message went unanswered. Within hours, a car pulled up to the family’s home. At least two individuals stepped out. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the moment — one voice said “Mom” at the front door. Moments later, another voice cried out in what appeared to be panic.
The couple was killed inside the home. Authorities believe Michelle was present during the shooting, though investigators have not confirmed who fired the weapon.
What followed shocked even seasoned prosecutors. After the killings, Michelle allegedly wrote a list documenting the mistakes made during the incident — including leaving shell casings at the scene, failing to discard matching ammunition later recovered from her Vermont home, and not arranging fake text messages to create a false alibi.
Michelle Zajko is also linked to a group called the Zizians, connected to at least six deaths across the United States.
She has been held in Maryland since February 2025 on separate gun charges and additionally faces gun trafficking charges in Vermont. She has publicly denied involvement, stating she did not murder her parents.
Prosecutors describe this investigation as among the most exhaustive in 16 years.
