‘Zizian’ suspect to represent self at trial as other associates derail murder case
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
One member of a transgender death-obsessed cult called the “Zizians” will represent herself at trial, while other associates of the cohort have derailed criminal proceedings in a separate murder case across the country.
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 Cumberland Times-News. “My attorney did not do so.”
Zajko claimed that McKinley was referred by someone she now believes is a confidential informant for the state’s attorney and the FBI.
In response, Twigg said McKinley has served as a criminal defense lawyer for more than three decades, adding that there was “no weight” to Zajko’s collusion claim.
“I find no credibility in that assertion,” Twigg ruled.
IN FOCUS — ‘ZIZIAN’ CULT CASE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDEST, LEAST-REPORTED STORY OF THE YEAR
With the judge refusing to reappoint counsel, Zajko subsequently waived her right to legal representation for next month’s joint trial. Twigg accordingly excused McKinley.
Blank and LaSota will retain their attorneys, for now.
LaSota’s lawyer, David Schram, raised several discovery issues as grounds for the case’s dismissal. Among them, Schram said that the three, who are permitted to work together at the jail when counsel is present, have not been given enough time or the proper tools to review the evidence.
LaSota’s mugshot. (Allegany County Sheriff’s Office)
“They’ve been prohibited to meet together,” Schram said.
Twigg said dismissing a case entirely requires a drastic violation of the discovery process. “I don’t find that this is extreme,” Twigg told Scram in ruling against the dismissal motion.
According to Schram, the state added roughly 180 files to a laptop late last month that the co-defendants can …
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
One member of a transgender death-obsessed cult called the “Zizians” will represent herself at trial, while other associates of the cohort have derailed criminal proceedings in a separate murder case across the country.
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 Cumberland Times-News. “My attorney did not do so.”
Zajko claimed that McKinley was referred by someone she now believes is a confidential informant for the state’s attorney and the FBI.
In response, Twigg said McKinley has served as a criminal defense lawyer for more than three decades, adding that there was “no weight” to Zajko’s collusion claim.
“I find no credibility in that assertion,” Twigg ruled.
IN FOCUS — ‘ZIZIAN’ CULT CASE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDEST, LEAST-REPORTED STORY OF THE YEAR
With the judge refusing to reappoint counsel, Zajko subsequently waived her right to legal representation for next month’s joint trial. Twigg accordingly excused McKinley.
Blank and LaSota will retain their attorneys, for now.
LaSota’s lawyer, David Schram, raised several discovery issues as grounds for the case’s dismissal. Among them, Schram said that the three, who are permitted to work together at the jail when counsel is present, have not been given enough time or the proper tools to review the evidence.
LaSota’s mugshot. (Allegany County Sheriff’s Office)
“They’ve been prohibited to meet together,” Schram said.
Twigg said dismissing a case entirely requires a drastic violation of the discovery process. “I don’t find that this is extreme,” Twigg told Scram in ruling against the dismissal motion.
According to Schram, the state added roughly 180 files to a laptop late last month that the co-defendants can …
‘Zizian’ suspect to represent self at trial as other associates derail murder case
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
One member of a transgender death-obsessed cult called the “Zizians” will represent herself at trial, while other associates of the cohort have derailed criminal proceedings in a separate murder case across the country.
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 Cumberland Times-News. “My attorney did not do so.”
Zajko claimed that McKinley was referred by someone she now believes is a confidential informant for the state’s attorney and the FBI.
In response, Twigg said McKinley has served as a criminal defense lawyer for more than three decades, adding that there was “no weight” to Zajko’s collusion claim.
“I find no credibility in that assertion,” Twigg ruled.
IN FOCUS — ‘ZIZIAN’ CULT CASE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDEST, LEAST-REPORTED STORY OF THE YEAR
With the judge refusing to reappoint counsel, Zajko subsequently waived her right to legal representation for next month’s joint trial. Twigg accordingly excused McKinley.
Blank and LaSota will retain their attorneys, for now.
LaSota’s lawyer, David Schram, raised several discovery issues as grounds for the case’s dismissal. Among them, Schram said that the three, who are permitted to work together at the jail when counsel is present, have not been given enough time or the proper tools to review the evidence.
LaSota’s mugshot. (Allegany County Sheriff’s Office)
“They’ve been prohibited to meet together,” Schram said.
Twigg said dismissing a case entirely requires a drastic violation of the discovery process. “I don’t find that this is extreme,” Twigg told Scram in ruling against the dismissal motion.
According to Schram, the state added roughly 180 files to a laptop late last month that the co-defendants can …
