The ‘murder gang’ of computer whizzkids linked to the killings of a Border Patrol agent and a landlord 3,000 miles apart
The ‘murder gang’ of computer whizzkids linked to the killings of a Border Patrol agent and a landlord 3,000 miles apart
Share:
Investigators are exploring whether two apparently unrelated murders could be linked, by way of an alleged cult made up of highly educated computer scientists with an interest in animal rights, Andrea Cavallier reports. On January 20, a Border Patrol agent was shot dead during a traffic stop in Vermont. It quickly emerged that a German citizen had also died and that a 21-year-old woman had been arrested.
![[Teresa Youngblut, 21, had been under FBI surveillance since January 14 after a hotel employee in Lyndonville, Vermont, reported seeing her and another person dressed in black tactical clothing and protective equipment, with Youngblut carrying a holstered firearm]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/00/Screenshot-2025-01-28-at-6.42.52%E2%80%AFPM.jpg)
Now investigators are exploring whether those deaths are linked to a fatal stabbing of a landlord 3,000 miles away in California, and a mysterious alleged cult made up of highly educated young computer scientists obsessed with veganism, animal rights, and theories about the nature of human consciousness.
![[Border Patrol Agent David Maland was killed ‘without warning’ during the traffic stop]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/22/15/66898ce3b1b449049178835bee3ab8df.jpg)
The pair were in “frequent contact with each other” prior to the killings on opposite sides of the country, according to a motion filed Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont. They both studied computer science in Washington and appeared to follow the “vegan Sith” ideology of a fringe Bay Area group that has been described as a “murder gang,” the outlet reported, citing an interview with a person familiar with the group.
![[Law enforcement follow a hearse carrying fallen border patrol agent David Maland after he was shot and killed on January 20]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/27/13/Vermont-Border_Patrol_Shooting_00503.jpg)
Youngblut has been charged in the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who was killed on January 20 during the shootout in Coventry, about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Her passenger Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen, also died in the shooting.
![[Maximilian Snyder, 22, who is believed to be linked to Youngblut, was charged Monday in the murder of Curtis Lind, a landlord in California]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/28/16/1648668681035-%281%29.jpg)
Drescher said Youngblut and Bauckholt “are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with” the person who was detained during that investigation and who also is a “person of interest” in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California, the motion said.
![[On the night of the shooting in Coventry, the US-Canada border was backed up for hours]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/06/84a08662d89043f1a62a7624c31a193c.jpg)
