By Steve Neavling
A Vermont grand jury has indicted Teresa Youngblut on charges of using a deadly weapon “knowingly and forcibly” in a Jan. 20 gunfight that killed Border Patrol agent David “Chris” Maland and Ophelia Bauckholt, a German national agents mistakenly believed was in the country illegally, USA Today reports.
Investigators have not said who fired the shots that killed Maland and Bauckholt, who was armed but did not fire. Youngblut, detained since the shooting, is due in court Friday.
Authorities say Youngblut and Bauckholt obtained their guns from a Vermont woman linked to a 2022 double murder in Pennsylvania. That woman remains at large. Investigators are also looking into Youngblut’s ties to a California homicide involving Max Snyder, 22, who was charged with killing a witness to a 2022 attack in Vallejo. Snyder and Youngblut obtained a marriage license in Seattle last year, though it’s unclear if they wed.
“The FBI is coordinating information sharing… to effectively follow every lead and aggressively investigate these connections,” said Sarah Ruane, a spokesperson for the agency’s Albany office.
Federal agents had been surveilling Youngblut and Bauckholt for a week after reports of them wearing tactical gear and openly carrying firearms in rural northern Vermont. They mistakenly believed Bauckholt’s visa had expired.
According to court records, Border Patrol agents stopped Youngblut’s car near the Canadian border. Youngblut allegedly fired at least two shots before agents opened fire, killing Bauckholt at the scene. Maland died at a nearby hospital.
