An examination of the timeline of a series of violent incidents leading up to a deadly shootout on Jan. 20 on a Vermont highway, resulting in the death of a Border Patrol officer. The sequence of events is pieced together from interviews conducted by the Associated Press and a thorough analysis of police reports, court documents, and online content:
2016
Jack LaSota, a transgender woman and computer programmer in the San Francisco Bay area, adopts the online persona “Ziz” and delves into writing a blog with intricate and at times convoluted theories on technology, gender identity, and human cognition. She becomes associated with the rationalist movement, a community focused on understanding human cognition and the potential risks posed by artificial intelligence.
2018
LaSota participates in programs organized by rationalist groups but eventually parts ways with them due to their rejection of her belief that the brain’s two hemispheres can hold distinct values and genders.
November 2019
LaSota, along with Emma Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, and Alexander Leatham, are arrested during a protest addressing sexual misconduct within rationalist organizations.
August 2022
The U.S. Coast Guard responds to a report of LaSota falling overboard in San Francisco Bay, although no body is recovered. An obituary is published.
November 2022
Curtis Lind files for eviction of LaSota, Borhanian, Leatham, and others residing in vans and box trucks on his property in Vallejo, California, due to unpaid rent. On Nov. 15, just before the eviction deadline, an altercation ensues where Lind is wounded by a sword and fatally shoots Borhanian in self-defense. Leatham and Suri Dao are charged with murder, while LaSota, present at the scene, is not charged but is in contact with law enforcement.
December 2022
Rita and Richard Zajko are found dead in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania home on New Year’s Eve. Surveillance footage captures a vehicle pulling up to their residence, followed by voices exclaiming in distress.
January 2023
Following the Zajkos’ murder, their daughter, Michelle, is questioned by police in Vermont. Subsequently, Michelle is briefly detained at a Pennsylvania hotel, along with LaSota, who is arrested for impeding the homicide inquiry.
July 2023
Felix Bauckholt, also known as Ophelia, begins renting a residence in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
May 2024
Teresa Youngblut is reported missing by her parents in Seattle after she informs her mother of new arrangements and a changed phone number.
November 2024
Youngblut and Maximilian Snyder apply for a marriage license in Washington state. Youngblut subsequently leases a condo near Bauckholt in North Carolina.
January
In February 2025, a tragic incident occurred where David Maland and Bauckholt lost their lives during a shootout. Youngblut, who sustained injuries in the incident, was subsequently charged with firearms offenses. Following this, the FBI conducted a search at a Chapel Hill property based on information from a landlord indicating that Youngblut, Bauckholt, and LaSota had been residing there earlier in the winter.
