How did a German math genius get drawn into a ‘cult’ accused in coast-to-coast killings?

Ophelia Bauckholt was living her best life in spring 2023. A math whiz from Germany, she was making more than a half-million dollars at a New York City trading firm and juggling a bustling social calendar. Her apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey, was the gathering place for her network of friends, most of whom were highly educated transgender women like her.

“She was the glue of our friend group,” her roommate at the time, Astra Kolomatskaia, said. “She was living a very good life.”

But over the next few months, things turned dark. Bauckholt began to retreat from her friends and talk on the phone for long periods of time to people she wouldn’t identify. She started taking frequent weekend flights to places she wouldn’t talk about. And then, in November 2023, she hopped on a flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport and cut off all contact with her friends, leaving them with no idea where she had gone.

Until two weeks ago. That’s when Bauckholt was shot dead in a gunbattle with U.S. Border Patrol agents in northern Vermont. It broke out after agents pulled over Bauckholt’s car on January 20. At some point during the traffic stop, a woman riding with Bauckholt drew a gun and opened fire on one of the agents, prosecutors say, prompting at least one agent to shoot back.

Bauckholt was fatally shot after she pulled out a firearm, according to an FBI affidavit. (Bauckholt, who transitioned to female after college, is referred to in court documents by her birth name, Felix.) A border agent, David “Chris” Maland, was also killed in the gunfire exchange. And the woman in Bauckholt’s car, Teresa Youngblut, who authorities say had fired at agents, was wounded.

The headline-grabbing death of their gentle, generous friend has left Bauckholt’s once-close circle reeling. But it did not come as a total shock, three people who knew her told NBC News.

The Cult Connection

Bauckholt, her friends say, had been drawn into a cultlike group that has since been linked to six killings, one attempted murder, and at least one faked death, according to court records. Its leader is an enigmatic Alaska native named Jack Amadeus LaSota, who goes by Ziz and identifies as a woman, according to multiple people who have interacted with LaSota and her associates.

LaSota is known for wearing dark robes and describing herself as Sith, a reference to the evil figures in the “Star Wars” franchise. People who know LaSota’s small group of associates describe them as smart, techie vegans, many of whom are transgender women, who share an obsession with the dangers of artificial intelligence. They have been dubbed by LaSota’s critics as “Zizians.”

The Rise of the Zizians

The Center for Applied Rationality began to organize gatherings in Berkeley, California, where it is based, in 2012. Its founders were seeking to build a community of so-called rationalists, people who are committed to using mathematical and logical principles to improve the world.

“We saw AI as something that was really, really important that we needed to get really, really right or it would be really, really bad,” said Anna Salamon, a co-founder of the nonprofit. “We didn’t know this at the time, but in hindsight we were creating conditions for a cult.”

They had brought together a large group of mostly young people who were open to big ideas about saving humanity. But some of them, Salamon now believes, were especially vulnerable to someone who might try to manipulate them.

The Warning Signs

One person connected to the group has been identified by prosecutors as a person of interest in the killing of a Pennsylvania couple. Two have been charged with attacking an older California man with a sword and other weapons, leaving him blind in one eye. And just last month, a fourth associate was charged with murdering that same California man to prevent him from testifying against those involved in the initial assault, prosecutors say.

“There are a lot of young people…who would have had OK lives except they bumped into the network around LaSota,” said Salamon.

The Final Confrontation

Bauckholt and her traveling companion, Teresa Youngblut, had been under surveillance for several days this past January before U.S. Border Patrol agents pulled over their Toyota Prius for an immigration check, according to federal prosecutors in Vermont. The circumstances of the shooting that followed are still under investigation. Prosecutors have not said whether they believe David Maland, the fallen agent, was struck by one of the bullets Youngblut allegedly fired or by a shot from a fellow agent.

Conclusion

The case has left many questions unanswered, including how a seemingly ordinary person like Bauckholt became embroiled in a web of violence and deceit. The investigation is ongoing, but one thing is clear: the allure of a charismatic leader can be a powerful force, and the consequences of blindly following can be devastating.

FAQs

* What was Ophelia Bauckholt’s background?
Bauckholt was a German math whiz who worked at a New York City trading firm and was known for her social life and friendships with other transgender women.
* What was her connection to the group accused of killings?
Bauckholt was drawn into a cultlike group led by enigmatic leader Jack Amadeus LaSota, who goes by Ziz and identifies as a woman.
* What is the scope of the alleged crimes?
The group has been linked to six killings, one attempted murder, and at least one faked death, according to court records.
* What is the current status of the investigation?
The investigation is ongoing, and several individuals have been charged or identified as persons of interest in connection with the alleged crimes.