The border patrol agent killing timeline spanning from 2016 to 2025 reveals a complex web of events involving a cultlike group whose activities culminated in a violent shootout on a Vermont highway that left a federal officer dead. What began as philosophical writings on a personal blog evolved into years of escalating incidents across multiple states, ultimately resulting in charges against several individuals tied to acts of violence, obstruction, and firearms offenses. This comprehensive timeline draws on Associated Press interviews, police reports, court records, and online postings to trace the series of events that led investigators from California to Pennsylvania to Vermont.
The Origins: A Blog, a Movement, and a Fracture (2016-2018)
The story begins on the West Coast, where a computer programmer and transgender woman named Jack LaSota, who uses feminine pronouns, launched a blog under the online persona “Ziz.” Her writing explored intricate and sometimes sprawling theories about technology, gender identity, and human cognition. Through her online presence, LaSota became embedded in the rationalist movement,a loose community of thinkers focused on understanding human cognition and the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
By 2018, LaSota was attending gatherings and programs organized by rationalist groups across the San Francisco Bay area. However, her involvement was short-lived. The community distanced itself from her after she promoted the theory that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders. The rejection marked a turning point, pushing LaSota toward a more insular worldview and a tighter-knit circle of followers.
Confrontation and Disappearance (November 2019 – August 2022)
The Rationalist Protest and Arrest
In November 2019, tensions came to a head when LaSota and three associates,Emma Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, and Alexander Leatham,were arrested during what they described as a protest against alleged sexual misconduct within rationalist organizations. The arrest marked the group’s first significant public confrontation with authorities and signaled their growing willingness to take direct action outside conventional channels.
The Disappearance in San Francisco Bay
Then came a pivotal and mysterious event. In August 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report that LaSota had fallen from a boat in San Francisco Bay. Despite an extensive search, no body was recovered. Her family eventually had her legally declared dead, and an obituary was published. Yet, as later events would reveal, LaSota had not actually perished,she had simply vanished, setting the stage for years of clandestine activity.
Violence in Vallejo (November 2022)
While LaSota was officially “dead,” her associates continued living communally. Curtis Lind, a property owner in Vallejo, California, took the matter to court in November 2022, seeking to evict LaSota, Borhanian, Leatham, and others who had been residing in vans and box trucks on his land for failing to pay rent. With an eviction deadline looming on November 15, the situation escalated violently.
Two days before the deadline, Lind was impaled with a sword during an attack at his property. In the chaos, Lind shot and killed Borhanian. Authorities ultimately concluded that Lind had acted in self-defense. In the aftermath, Leatham and another individual named Suri Dao were charged with murder. LaSota was not charged in connection with the incident, though police reported having contact with her at the scene.
The Zajko Killings (December 2022 – January 2023)
The violence did not stop with the Vallejo incident. On New Year’s Eve 2022, Rita and Richard Zajko were shot and killed inside their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured chilling audio and video of a car pulling into the driveway, a voice shouting “Mom!” and another exclaiming, “Oh my God! Oh, God, God!”,a haunting record of the moments before the fatal shooting.
By January 2023, investigators turned their attention to the Zajkos’ daughter, Michelle. Police questioned her at her Vermont residence. A few weeks later, officers briefly took her into custody at a Pennsylvania hotel but released her without charges. LaSota, who was staying at the same hotel, was arrested and charged with obstructing the homicide investigation and disorderly conduct.
Establishing New Bases (July 2023 – November 2024)
North Carolina Operations
In July 2023, Felix Bauckholt,also referenced in court documents as Ophelia,began renting half of a duplex in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This address would later become significant to the federal investigation.
Teresa Youngblut’s Disappearance
May 2024 brought another report of a missing person when Teresa Youngblut’s parents in Seattle alerted authorities that she had vanished. Youngblut had sent her mother emails stating that she had moved in with a friend and changed her phone number. Her whereabouts remained unknown to her family for months.
By November 2024, Youngblut and Maximilian Snyder applied for a marriage license in Washington state. That same month, Youngblut began renting a condo near Bauckholt’s North Carolina residence, suggesting the group was consolidating its presence in the area.
The Vermont Shootout (January 2025)
The events of January 2025 would prove to be the most violent and consequential in the entire border patrol agent killing timeline. On January 14, Youngblut and Bauckholt checked into a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont. Their behavior quickly raised red flags,a hotel worker reported concerns about their all-black tactical clothing and the firearm Youngblut was openly carrying. Investigators placed the pair under surveillance.
Then, on January 17, came another wave of violence. Curtis Lind,the very landlord from the 2022 Vallejo confrontation,was killed. Snyder was charged with murder, and prosecutors alleged the killing was an attempt to prevent Lind from testifying against the earlier attackers.
Just three days later, on January 20, the situation escalated to its tragic climax. U.S. Border Patrol officers pulled Youngblut and Bauckholt over on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont. What followed was a shootout that killed Agent David Maland and Bauckholt. Youngblut, who was wounded in the exchange, was charged with multiple firearms offenses. The death of Agent Maland made this the deadliest moment in the entire timeline.
Arrests and Federal Searches (February 2025)
Following the deadly shootout, the FBI descended on the Chapel Hill, North Carolina property where a landlord confirmed that Youngblut, Bauckholt, and LaSota had all been living earlier that winter. The search was part of a broader federal effort to untangle the network’s activities.
On February 16, LaSota was finally arrested, alongside Michelle Zajko, age 33, of Media, Pennsylvania. Both faced multiple charges, including trespassing, obstructing and hindering, and possession of a handgun in a vehicle. The arrests signaled that authorities were closing in on the remaining members of the group.
Broader Implications and Continuing Investigation
The case has raised serious questions about how a loose collective rooted in online philosophical discourse could evolve into a network linked to multiple homicides, firearms violations, and obstruction charges across at least four states. Law enforcement officials have pointed to the group’s use of alternative identities, encrypted communications, and transient lifestyles as key factors that allowed the network to operate under the radar for years.
Court records indicate that prosecutors are pursuing charges not only for the immediate acts of violence but also for the conspiracy and obstruction that allegedly enabled them. The investigation continues to focus on understanding the full scope of the group’s activities, including potential connections that have not yet been publicly disclosed.
Conclusion
The border patrol agent killing timeline from 2016 to 2025 traces a chilling arc,from a blog exploring philosophy and technology to a series of violent confrontations that culminated in the death of a federal officer on a snowy Vermont highway. The deaths of Agent David Maland, Felix Bauckholt, Emma Borhanian, Curtis Lind, and Rita and Richard Zajko underscore the human cost of the group’s escalating actions. With multiple suspects in custody and federal charges pending, the case stands as a sobering reminder of how ideological isolation, online radicalization, and deliberate evasion of law enforcement can converge into real-world tragedy. As the investigation continues, more details are likely to emerge, offering a fuller picture of how this network operated,and what lessons can be drawn to prevent similar tragedies in the future.