Prosecutors and defense attorneys are jointly seeking to delay proceedings in the case of a murder suspect accused of fatally shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont, a crime that could carry the death penalty.
Federal Judge Christina Reiss had set a Thursday deadline for lawyers to file motions in the case against Theresa Youngblut. However, Youngblut’s legal team and federal prosecutors submitted their joint motion late Wednesday in federal court in Burlington.
“Substantial work remains to be done before Youngblut can be ready to file pretrial motions,” the seven–page filing signed by Steven Barth, a federal public defender representing Youngblut, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lasher, a prosecutor in the case, stated.
“Given the volume of materials — and the number of law enforcement entities and jurisdictions involved — the process of turning over discovery in this case is not yet complete,” the attorneys added. “The parties are engaged in an ongoing dialogue about what discovery will be disclosed and when.”
Reiss, the judge, had not yet ruled on the attorneys’ request Thursday afternoon.
Barth could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, through a spokesperson, declined comment Thursday on the fling.
Vermont does not have the death penalty under state law. However, the case against Youngblut was brought under federal law, which allows for the death penalty.
Youngblut, 22, of Washington state, had initially been charged with federal firearms and assault charges in connection with a traffic stop that led to the fatal shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland on Interstate 91 in Coventry on the afternoon of Jan. 20, 2025.
Prosecutors alleged in charging documents that after the traffic stop on I-91, Youngblut exited the Toyota Prius that had been pulled over and opened fire, leading to a shootout with law enforcement.
Maland, 44, of Newport, was killed in the gunfire exchange, court documents stated, as was Felix Bauckholt, a German national and a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving.
Youngblut and Bauckholt had been linked by law enforcement to a loosely connected group of people known as the Zizians, whose members have been tied to at least six homicides across the country, including a landlord in California and a couple in Pennsylvania.
The Zizians are an offshoot of the so-called Rationalist movement in the San Francisco Bay Area, reportedly subscribing to beliefs centered on veganism and preventing harmful effects from artificial intelligence.
Prosecutors, following additional investigation into the shootout in Vermont, upgraded the charges against Youngblut last summer. The new charges included murder in Maland’s death, and prosecutors filed notice that, if convicted, they will seek the death penalty for Youngblut.
The filing this week was the first public court action in the case in more than three months.
Three other reported Zizian members are set to stand trial next week in Maryland on firearms and drug charges, including Michelle Zajko. Zajko was indicted by federal prosecutors in Vermont and charged with buying firearms that authorities said Youngblut and Bauckholt possessed at the time of the Vermont shootout.
That federal firearms charge against Zajko remains pending in Vermont.
