Good article that brings together all the people involved with the murders across the country and their involvement in the Lasota cult.NBC reports on the cult. A little more information on Felix Bauckholt, aka Ophelia, who suddenly disappeared in 2023 after having a great job, great friends and seemingly great life in NYC.
There's also a gloriously creepy mug shot of Jack Lasota playing dead after his arrest at a hotel where he also played dead.
How did a German math genius get drawn into a 'cult' accused in coast-to-coast killings?
Ophelia Bauckholt was killed in a shootout with U.S. Border Patrol agents in northern Vermont — an unlikely end to a life that held so much promise.www.nbcnews.com
Zizians linked to four murders in three states, January 2025
- Thread starter Parsnip
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The case of the radical ‘Zizian’ vegan trans cult and the shooting death of a Border Patrol agent
The murder of a US Border Patrol agent near the Canadian border appears to be linked to a radical leftist trans militant cult accused of killings across the country.
nypost.com
It's reported that some cult members came from wealthy families and/or they made a lot of money in the tech field before they left and joined the cult. And one of them is suspected of killing her parents for an inheritance. Now we know how they were funding their cultist lifestyle.
Washington couple's murder charges linked to 'vegan trans cult' - The Boston Times
A Washington couple, Maximilian Snyder, 22, and Teresa Youngblut, 21, planned to marry but were instead booked in separate murder cases in the same week, with their alleged crimes seemingly linked to a violent California ‘vegan trans cult’. The duo filed for a marriage license in King County...
bostontimes.org
Parsnip
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Another gifted SFC article:
…
In a series of phone calls last week, Snyder would neither say if he killed Lind nor if he knew why Lind was killed.
…
Instead, Snyder said he wanted to dictate a message to Yudkowsky, an influential internet philosopher who has called for guardrails on the development of AI and a co-founder of the Berkeley-based Machine Intelligence Research Institute. The 45-year-old, who coined the term “friendly artificial intelligence” and founded the popular rationalist blog LessWrong, carries immense influence among AI researchers and thinkers.
“Eliezer,” Snyder said. “You need to have a crisis of faith about whether animals are people. It is critical to saving the world.”
…
Snyder opened his statement by distancing himself from LaSota, saying, “I am not one of Ziz’s friends. Neither she nor her friends endorse me or my words, so far as I know. I speak only for myself, as myself, for the sake of everyone.”
…
…
In a series of phone calls last week, Snyder would neither say if he killed Lind nor if he knew why Lind was killed.
…
Instead, Snyder said he wanted to dictate a message to Yudkowsky, an influential internet philosopher who has called for guardrails on the development of AI and a co-founder of the Berkeley-based Machine Intelligence Research Institute. The 45-year-old, who coined the term “friendly artificial intelligence” and founded the popular rationalist blog LessWrong, carries immense influence among AI researchers and thinkers.
“Eliezer,” Snyder said. “You need to have a crisis of faith about whether animals are people. It is critical to saving the world.”
…
Snyder opened his statement by distancing himself from LaSota, saying, “I am not one of Ziz’s friends. Neither she nor her friends endorse me or my words, so far as I know. I speak only for myself, as myself, for the sake of everyone.”
…
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Lalalacasbah
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Great point, I totally agree.
Hal: "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that."
Did this theoretical "thought experiment" come from watching 2001: A Space Oddysey?
Parsnip
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Imo, Hal and the basilisk are modern iterations of Pascal’s wager.
Pascal's wager - Wikipedia
D
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Boston Globe reports on the cult. Just a bit of new info including:
As a child, Jack LaSota was precocious but struggled socially. In middle school, the teen was among a group of students who managed to infiltrate the school district’s payroll system and award huge paychecks to teachers they admired while slashing the salaries of those they despised, according to one teacher. LaSota, the teacher said, struggled to regulate strong emotions, often erupting in tantrums.
www.bostonglobe.com
As a child, Jack LaSota was precocious but struggled socially. In middle school, the teen was among a group of students who managed to infiltrate the school district’s payroll system and award huge paychecks to teachers they admired while slashing the salaries of those they despised, according to one teacher. LaSota, the teacher said, struggled to regulate strong emotions, often erupting in tantrums.
Inside the Zizians, a radical California-based vegan cult now linked to 6 violent deaths - The Boston Globe
After a Border Patrol agent was killed in a shootout in Vermont in January, the apparent outlines of a grander conspiracy started to reveal themselves to the public and also, seemingly, law enforcement.
www.bostonglobe.com
Parsnip
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I can’t read the article, as it is behind a paywall for me. But I appreciate your quotes. I continue to believe that, as many cult leaders do: Ziz had dark impulses for a long time. S/he rationalized (pun intended) those impulses, and we now have multiple deaths linked to him/her. It’s a very sad state of affairs, and imo, given the warnings issued from within the group (also: I would think that Ziz’s parents would have had concerns): we have something to learn about this group and how to avoid these situations in the future. Ironically, we could use game and probability theory to predict future outcomes and subvert them.Boston Globe reports on the cult. Just a bit of new info including:
As a child, Jack LaSota was precocious but struggled socially. In middle school, the teen was among a group of students who managed to infiltrate the school district’s payroll system and award huge paychecks to teachers they admired while slashing the salaries of those they despised, according to one teacher. LaSota, the teacher said, struggled to regulate strong emotions, often erupting in tantrums.
Inside the Zizians, a radical California-based vegan cult now linked to 6 violent deaths - The Boston Globe
After a Border Patrol agent was killed in a shootout in Vermont in January, the apparent outlines of a grander conspiracy started to reveal themselves to the public and also, seemingly, law enforcement.
imstilla.grandma
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In a case that has confounded law enforcement across the nation, Jack Amadeus LaSota, a transgender man-to-woman former Alaskan who was once declared dead, has re-emerged at the center of a sprawling and violent saga, with murders from California to Vermont linked to a cult LaSota is said to be part of under his pseudonym, “Ziz.”
Alaska's Charles Manson? Mysterious transgender wanted in nationwide search, linked to 'cult' murders
In a case that has confounded law enforcement across the nation, Jack Amadeus LaSota, a transgender man-to-woman former Alaskan who was once declared dead, has re-emerged at the center of a sprawling and violent saga, with murders from California to Vermont linked to a cult LaSota is said to be...
mustreadalaska.com
In a case that has confounded law enforcement across the nation, Jack Amadeus LaSota, a transgender man-to-woman former Alaskan who was once declared dead, has re-emerged at the center of a sprawling and violent saga, with murders from California to Vermont linked to a cult LaSota is said to be part of under his pseudonym, “Ziz.”
Alaska's Charles Manson? Mysterious transgender wanted in nationwide search, linked to 'cult' murders
In a case that has confounded law enforcement across the nation, Jack Amadeus LaSota, a transgender man-to-woman former Alaskan who was once declared dead, has re-emerged at the center of a sprawling and violent saga, with murders from California to Vermont linked to a cult LaSota is said to be...
They need to find this guy, the leader, and lock him up. He's dangerous and it looks like there are people on social media urging the Zizians to take out some prominent U.S. leaders (according to the posts by Andy Ngo on this Twitter account posted). They all need to be locked up quickly for the protection of society. What a deranged group of people who are dangerous to everyone, including their own family members.
imstilla.grandma
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Lalalacasbah
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Who paid his $10K bail? Either his family who also claim he is dead or did his fellow cult followers come up with that kind of cash? I'm doubting this group has cash like that.
*ETA: Oops! in the video it seems the group bailed him out and they apparently have tons of money (half the members manking half a million a year??!!) SCARY.
sds71
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Authorities in Western Maryland arrested two members of the Zizians, a violent, cultlike group tied to at least six deaths, including a Border Patrol agent who was killed in a shootout in Vermont last month.
Jack LaSota, or ‘Ziz,’ the mysterious leader of the Zizians, was arrested on Sunday evening alongside fellow group member Michelle Zajko in Allegany County. The pair are being held in the Allegany County jail on firearm and trespassing offenses and charges of obstructing or hindering authorities, according to online court records.
www.thebaltimorebanner.com
Jack LaSota, or ‘Ziz,’ the mysterious leader of the Zizians, was arrested on Sunday evening alongside fellow group member Michelle Zajko in Allegany County. The pair are being held in the Allegany County jail on firearm and trespassing offenses and charges of obstructing or hindering authorities, according to online court records.
3 members of violent, cultlike Zizian group arrested in Western Maryland
Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota, the apparent leader of the Zizians, a cult-like group tied to at least six deaths, was arrested Sunday evening in western Maryland.
imstilla.grandma
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Ziz is the leader of a fringe group of radical Berkeley pseudo-intellectuals known as the Zizians. Investigators across the country are piecing together connections between the deaths of the Zajkos, a deadly shootout in Vermont and two brutal knife attacks on a landlord in Vallejo. Four other people who are allegedly Zizian cult members are in custody facing homicide charges, despite multiple escape attempts.
imstilla.grandma
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“They rarely came out during the day but would walk around the neighborhood and in the woods at night,” the former neighbor said, who also spoke only on condition of anonymity because of concerns for their safety. “Sometimes all three of them would go for a walk and they all held hands. They seemed to care for each other a great deal.”
chapelboro.com
Members of Group Involved in National Murder Investigation Briefly Lived in Chapel Hill, Chatham County - Chapelboro.com
Former tenants in the outskirts of Chapel Hill are now at the center of a multi-state murder investigation involving a cult-like group.
chapelboro.com
imstilla.grandma
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A bail hearing for the the two is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allegany District Court.
LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
www.al.com
LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
Leader of cultlike Zizians arrested in Maryland linked to murders of Border Patrol agent, 5 others
Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, of Media, Pennsylvania.
imstilla.grandma
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"There's significant evidence that Jack Lasota is the person who is the idea engine for these people," said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow and policy adviser at the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. "There are certainly suspicions that need to be investigated."
3 arrested as probe intensifies into bizarre murders nationwide including at VT border
Authorities are working to untangle connections that one expert says we may never fully understand because the group was so active online.
www.burlingtonfreepress.com
nhmemorymaker
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This case is just so complicated......... so many players, states (CA VT PA NC MD for starters) and weirdness..
Yes, evil deeds, but WHAT were they really doing.
They do not seem very smart. Even though highly intelligent.
One arrested yesterday is Michelle Zajko.... daughter of the Pennsylvania couple murdered.
keystonenewsroom.com
duhhh.
the 2022 murders of Zajko’s parents — 71-year-old Richard Zajko and his wife, 68-year-old Rita Zajko — in Delaware County.
The couple was shot to death inside their Chester Heights home on Dec. 31, 2022. Michelle Zajko was eventually identified by authorities as a person of interest in the killings and was taken into custody along with Lasota in January 2023, but the pair were not charged with their murders at the time.
Yes, evil deeds, but WHAT were they really doing.
They do not seem very smart. Even though highly intelligent.
One arrested yesterday is Michelle Zajko.... daughter of the Pennsylvania couple murdered.
Daughter of slain Pennsylvania couple arrested with leader of cult-like group
Michelle Zajko was a person of interest in the killings of her parents, 71-year-old Richard Zajko and his wife, 68-year-old Rita Zajko, on Dec. 31, 2022 in their Delaware County home.
keystonenewsroom.com
duhhh.
the 2022 murders of Zajko’s parents — 71-year-old Richard Zajko and his wife, 68-year-old Rita Zajko — in Delaware County.
The couple was shot to death inside their Chester Heights home on Dec. 31, 2022. Michelle Zajko was eventually identified by authorities as a person of interest in the killings and was taken into custody along with Lasota in January 2023, but the pair were not charged with their murders at the time.
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