Member of Zizian group says she did not kill her parents

The daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are among six connected to a cultlike group says she has been falsely accused of killing her parents.

Michelle Zajko’s denial was part of a 20-page handwritten “Open Letter to the World” her attorney provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Dated March 9, the letter also attempts to defend Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz, whom authorities have described as the apparent leader of the “extremist group” called the Zizians.

“You, the public, are being lied to,” Zajko wrote. “And while I don’t promise to answer all your questions, I think the truth about my friends and I will make a lot more sense than what you’ve been reading about in the papers.”

The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont.

Read more: AP