Prosecutors are expected to announce Wednesday a “significant development” in the unsolved murder investigation of Richard and Rita Zajko in Pennsylvania.
Richard, 72, and Rita Zajko, 69, were found dead during a wellness check in Chester Heights on Jan. 2, 2023. The Delaware County medical examiner ruled their deaths a homicide. They were killed in their home on New Year’s Eve in 2022, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Investigators did not consider their death a random act of violence, state police previously said.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse is holding a press conference at 1 p.m. to provide an update on the investigation. Watch live on CBS News Philadelphia or wherever we’re streaming.
The Delaware County couple’s deaths are among six deaths connected to a cultlike group called the Zizians in Pennsylvania, California and Vermont.
Michelle Zajko, the couple’s daughter, was previously questioned but not charged in her parents’ deaths. In April 2025, she released a 20-page handwritten letter through her attorney in which she said she was falsely accused of killing her parents.
Authorities claim Michelle Zajko provided the gun used in the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont in January 2025.
This is a developing story and will be updated.