Woman charged in fatal shooting of border patrol agent had ties to people ‘suspected of violent acts’
A Washington state woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont had been in frequent contact with someone whom authorities have linked to homicides in Pennsylvania and California, a federal prosecutor said in court documents Monday.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Jan. 20 during a shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles from the Canadian border.
She had been traveling with Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen who also was killed, and the pair had been under surveillance for several days.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS obtained a Seattle, Washington police report, where Youngblut’s family called authorities concerned about her whereabouts in May of last year.
The parents said her behavior had changed and that she had been lying about where she was going and who she was seeing. They said she also had broken off contact with friends and changed her phone number. The parents said they were concerned she was being “forced to take these actions or that she may be in a controlling relationship.”
Maland’s family told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that he’s a Blue Earth, Minnesota native. He went to high school at Fairmont before going off to the U.S. Air Force and later serving 15 years in federal law enforcement.
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In a motion filed Monday, U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said Youngblut should be detained as the case proceeds due to the nature of the crime, the weight of evidence against her, her lack of ties to Vermont and the danger she poses to the community.
According to the motion, the gun used by Youngblut and one that Bauckholt was carrying were purchased by a third person in Vermont last February. The buyer is a person of interest in a double homicide investigation in Pennsylvania, Drescher said.
Both Youngblut and the buyer “are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with” someone who was detained during that investigation and who also is a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California, the motion said.
The man accused of murder in California appears to have sought a marriage license with Youngblut, according to the Associated Press.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the federal public defender listed for Youngblut for comment.
The 21-year-old suspect will be back in a federal court in Burlington, Vermont on Thursday morning for a detention hearing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.