‘Zizian’ suspect to represent self at trial as other associates derail murder case

Zizian member Michelle Zajko, whose elderly parents were shot to death in their Pennsylvanian home on New Year’s Eve 2022, declared at a Wednesday motion hearing that she wants to fire her attorney, George McKinley, a panel public defender. Zajko was not charged with the murder of her parents.

Zajko, who is facing state-level trespassing, illegal gun possession, and felony drug charges in Cumberland, Maryland, was indicted alongside co-defendants Jack “Ziz” LaSota, the cult’s alleged ringleader, and Daniel Blank, another suspected “Zizian.”

Booking photo of Zajko. (Allegany County Sheriff’s Office)

The trio complained at past court appearances that their respective attorneys are incompetent.

“A lawyer is supposed to defend one’s integrity,” Zajko told Allegany County Circuit Court Judge Michael Twigg, according to the