PA- Richard Zajko, 72, and wife Rita Zajko, 69, victims of double homicide, Chester Heights, 2 January 2023

[Katwalk2022]

Deaths of Delco couple found inside home ruled double homicide

Richard Zajko, 72, and Rita Zajko, 69, were both found dead inside their home on the Highland Drive on Monday.

www.google.com

 

[Eli9]

Well the investigation appears quiet right now. I'm hoping LE has some leads or forensic evidence that is leading them to whomever harmed this couple. Odd that we haven't had interviews with any family members yet JMO.

 

[Katwalk2022]

Redirect Notice

First update but still not many new details being released. Possibly keeping things quiet as they narrow in.

 

[Katwalk2022]

*adding not random as well from the above article to maybe explain the silence on details and interviews.

 

[Eli9]

Redirect Notice

First update but still not many new details being released. Possibly keeping things quiet as they narrow in.

Thanks for the update and article. They aren't releasing anything but it appears that there is no reason for the public to be worried with respect to a gunman on the loose.
What we don't know is how long had the couple been deceased, who called in the welfare check and how the couple died.

The only new information from the article is that the couple owned several apartments which they rented and LE did some searching around there.

 

[Eli9]

1/6/2023
Action News has learned the couple owned several apartments on Aston Court and Thomas Road and rented them out to tenants.
"They were like, 'Do you know this man?" said Danielle Kipple, who lives in on Aston Court. The detectives were referring to Richard Zajko. "They came in and were like, 'Unfortunately he passed, he got murdered.'"
...
"He was a great guy, great landlord, great person all around. The wife was an amazing person as well," said a tenant who did not want to be identified out of fear that the killer was still at large.
...
At least six detectives were spotted canvassing the neighborhood in Aston Township. Some carried manilla envelopes and others checked out cars. Neighbors said they were even asked to provide DNA samples.

Police canvass Aston Twp. neighborhood after couple found dead in Chester Heights home

Action News has learned the couple owned several apartments on Aston Court and Thomas Road and rented them out to tenants.

6abc.com

 

[Eli9]

Nothing really new in this article from February. Still believe this was not random and the investigation is ongoing.

Pa. State Police say murder of Delco couple was not 'random act of violence'

Police believe the murder of a couple in Delaware County, Pennsylvania is not considered to be a random act of violence.

6abc.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

One of the cases featured on the site is the murders of Richard and Rita Zajko. The couple were found dead in their home on Highland Drive in Chester Heights on Jan. 2, 2023. A $10,000 reward is being offered for help finding the murderer.

“Assistance from the public is often vital to solving crimes or locating missing or wanted individuals,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens, deputy commissioner of Operations. “The social media platforms, the toll-free number, and the online tip form are all easy ways to send us information that may solve a case or get a dangerous individual off the streets.”

The social media sites are on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

Pennsylvania State Police unveil social media sites to solve active and cold cases, missing persons and other crimes

The January 2023 murder of a Delaware County couple is one of 100 cold case homicides, missing persons, and other unsolved crimes

www.delcotimes.com

 

[Eli9]

It's early, for me, and I haven't finished my coffee but I hate it when LE gives almost zero information and then is like maybe the public can send tips via an online form or phone number.
No press conference.
Who discovered the couple deceased?
Who called in the welfare check?
Do we even know how they were killed?
Their Christmas lights were on outside.

 

[Eli9]

Also, where are the outcries from friends, ex co-workers, relatives, children? Two people were murdered and no one wants to make a public plea? Makes me suspicious.

 

[asmi106082]

Also, where are the outcries from friends, ex co-workers, relatives, children? Two people were murdered and no one wants to make a public plea? Makes me suspicious.

Could be the cops requested the family not make any public statements. MOO

 

[Katwalk2022]

Also, where are the outcries from friends, ex co-workers, relatives, children? Two people were murdered and no one wants to make a public plea? Makes me suspicious.

It does seem odd for things to have been this quiet for so long, especially after the early articles mention it not being a random attack and not thought to be a danger to the public. Manner of death might be privileged info if LE thinks it's specific to tying a suspect to the crime? MOO

 

[Eli9]

Could be the cops requested the family not make any public statements. MOO

It does seem odd for things to have been this quiet for so long, especially after the early articles mention it not being a random attack and not thought to be a danger to the public. Manner of death might be privileged info if LE thinks it's specific to tying a suspect to the crime? MOO

Hence why the case is now cold IMO.

 

[Parsnip]

Cause of death confirmed to local reporter Joe Holden by the ME to be shooting:

https://www.facebook.com/ReporterJoeHolden/posts/pfbid0KNER5fJSvx6vPnhnbC9jHouyxaZJyh9yxtD1VHN7a3CG1Qd8tRrpGPt6zSVNY1Fel

 

[Parsnip]

Moo, but if this is believed to be a targeted killing, I would think any heirs to this couple’s estate would be worth considering.

 

[Parsnip]

On Jan. 2, 2023, 72-year-old Richard Zajko and 69-year-old Rita Zajko were found shot to death in their home in Chester Heights, Pa.., a suburb of Philadelphia. Detectives described the double murder as “not random.”

Investigators say the weapon used in the border shootout was purchased from a “person of interest” in the Pennsylvania murders who now resides in Vermont.

HUNTER: Border agent shooting linked to three other homicides

The gun allegedly used by Teresa Youngblut in a shootout that left a Border Patrol agent and her accomplice dead is tied to another murder

torontosun.com

A day after last week’s fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont, federal authorities issued an alert to firearms dealers seeking information about gun purchases from a person they described as a “person of interest” in the agent’s death.

The alert, obtained by VTDigger, identified that person of interest as Michelle Jacqueline Zajko.
…
According to a public records database, a Michelle Zajko was registered to vote in 2016 at 18 Highland Drive in Media, Pennsylvania. That appears to be the address of the home where Richard and Rita Zajko were found dead, according to local news reports.

Federal officials link 3rd 'person of interest' to Vermont border patrol agent’s shooting - VTDigger

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent an alert to federally licensed firearms dealers a day after the shooting seeking information related to any gun purchases by Michelle Jacqueline Zajko.

vtdigger.org

Zajko re4

Clipping found in The Philadelphia Inquirer published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 2/14/1988. Zajko re4

www.newspapers.com

Eta: The Zajko double homicide has a POI: daughter, Michelle Zajko

 

[kemo]

This case is about to get very big. It is connected to the Vermont Border shooting and two separate (but related) killings in Vallejo California. X-refer VT - David Maland, 44YO Border Patrol Agent shot and killed during a traffic stop

 

[Parsnip]

Jack LaSota is currently facing charges of obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania. Authorities won’t say whether those charges are related to the Zajko deaths, but court records show that police were searching for a gun used in two murders when they arrested LaSota 12 days later at a hotel about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the scene of the killings.

Prosecutors are seeking to detain the woman charged in a Vermont border patrol officer's death

Prosecutors are arguing why a Washington state woman should remain jailed in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent

abcnews.go.com

 

[Parsnip]

The fourth criterion refers to the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the defendant’s release. 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g)(4). The defendant’s escalation of a peaceful law enforcement interaction into a deadly confrontation
alone underscores the danger to the community. Her associations with other individuals suspected of violent acts also warrants caution. The individual who purchased the firearms the defendant and Bauckholt possessed on January 20, 2025, is a person of interest in a dual-homicide investigation in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Bauckholt flew into the United States in the hours preceding that Pennsylvania homicide. Both the defendant and the person who purchased the firearms in Vermont that the defendant and her companion possessed on January 20, 2025, are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with an individual who was detained by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during that homicide investigation; that individual is also a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California.

Bbm

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69573795/united-states-v-youngblut/

 

[Parsnip]

Around the time a Pennsylvania couple was shot dead in their home on New Year’s Eve of 2022 — an attack now linked to a series of killings and a fringe group in the Bay Area — a neighbor’s doorbell camera captured a high-pitched scream.
“Mom!” a voice shouted at 11:31 p.m. “Oh, my God! Oh, God, God!”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/vallejo-vermont-pennsylvania-killings-20114339.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2JheWFyZWEvYXJ0aWNsZS92YWxsZWpvLXZlcm1vbnQtcGVubnN5bHZhbmlhLWtpbGxpbmdzLTIwMTE0MzM5LnBocA%3D%3D&time=MTczODQyMTQxMTA2OQ%3D%3D&rid=NzZiZjM4ZDItZmRlMC00MjQ2LWJhYjEtMjRiOTVmZDk3OTM1&sharecount=MA%3D%3D