One year after Bay Area landlord’s slaying, Zizians cases still grab headlines
One year ago, on a quiet street in Vallejo, an ambush unfolded that would eventually pull local police, federal agents, and prosecutors across the country into the sprawling investigation of a little-known, cult-like group calling itself the Zizians.
It was Jan. 17, 2025, when 82-year-old landlord Curtis Lind was walking outside his property on the 300 block of Lemon Street when an assailant wearing a mask and a black beanie stabbed him in the neck. Lind died on the sidewalk where he had lived and worked for years.
Investigators later charged Maximillian Snyder with the murder, alleging Lind was targeted because he was a key witness in a previously violent attack on Lind, tied to the same group.
It is grimly ironic that Lind had survived an earlier, extraordinarily violent attack at the same property in November 2022 — an incident that first put the Zizians on law enforcement’s radar.
In that earlier assault, prosecutors say Lind was ambushed by two tenants, Suri Dao and Alexander Jeffrey Leatham, both members of the Zizians. Lind’s skull was shattered and his chest was impaled with a samurai sword. As he fought for his life, Lind pulled a gun and fired, killing another attacker, Emma Borhanian, and wounding Leatham.
Lind survived, but the case set off legal proceedings that remain mired in delay.
Dao and Leatham were charged with attempted murder for the attack on Lind, as well as murder and aggravated mayhem in connection with Borhanian’s death. Lind was expected to testify against them. Instead, he was killed before he ever reached the witness stand.
In the year since Lind’s death, the Vallejo cases have become a focal point of a far larger investigation as they continue to move slowly through the justice system. Authorities now say the Zizians — a loose network of roughly 10 known members — are implicated in at least six killings across multiple states.
At the center of the group’s ideology is Jack “Ziz” LaSota, a 34-year-old transgender woman and former aspiring tech worker who moved to the Bay Area in 2016. LaSota gained a following online for blog posts warning that artificial intelligence posed an existential threat to humanity, blending those ideas with radical veganism and unconventional views on gender and society. Followers began referring to themselves informally as the Zizians.
In August 2022, LaSota faked her own death and disappeared. She was later arrested in Maryland in February 2025 and now faces federal charges for possession of firearms and ammunition by a fugitive from justice. She pleaded not guilty in November and remains in custody without bail. While LaSota has not been directly charged in any of the killings, prosecutors describe her as the ideological leader of the group.
Back in Solano County, the attempted murder case against Dao and Leatham has stalled amid serious concerns about Dao’s mental and physical health. In December, Superior Court Judge John Ellis suspended proceedings after hearing that Dao — who identifies as nonbinary — was suffering from anorexia, catatonia, and schizoaffective disorder.
Dao has been repeatedly moved within the state’s prison system as officials struggle to find a facility capable of providing adequate psychiatric care. Ellis ordered Dao transferred to the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, but corrections officials objected, citing housing policies and questioning whether Dao would receive appropriate treatment there. The judge subsequently ordered Dao moved to the California Institution for Women in Chino.
Following a series of court dates last week, a competency hearing is scheduled for Friday, with the jury trial — for now — set for March 3. Pretrial motions have been vacated pending the outcome of the competency evaluation.
Leatham’s case has also been delayed. She is represented by the Alternative Public Defender’s office, but is attempting to retain new counsel. Judge Ellis did not immediately agree to the substitution of counsel but said attorneys could file arguments for the change for future consideration.
Leatham has repeatedly disrupted court proceedings, at one point declaring she represented herself.
That same Jan. 23 date looms large elsewhere in Solano Superior Court. It coincides with a readiness conference in the homicide case against Maximilian Snyder, the man accused of fatally stabbing Lind in 2025. Prosecutors allege Snyder killed Lind to prevent him from testifying against Dao and Leatham.
Beyond California, the trail of violence linked to the Zizians stretches east.
In Vermont, Teresa Youngblut — another alleged member — is accused of opening fire on U.S. Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop in January 2025, killing agent David “Chris” Maland. Prosecutors say Youngblut fired “without warning.” A passenger in the car, German national Felix Bauckholt, was also killed in the exchange of gunfire. Youngblut is charged with his death and has pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors have announced they intend to seek the death penalty.
In Maryland, LaSota was arrested alongside Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank on trespassing and handgun possession charges. Zajko is the daughter of a Pennsylvania couple found shot dead in their home in December 2022. Investigators say firearms purchased by Zajko were later recovered in connection with the Vermont agent Maland.
On Friday, the trio was granted permission to work together in preparation for their upcoming trial. They were arrested in February after a property owner said he found them living in box trucks on his land in Frostburg, Maryland.