A traffic stop in Vermont has cracked open a cultlike group called Zizians linked to six deaths in three states.

The killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border last month and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California have been tied to a cultlike group. Interviews and online postings reveal how young computer scientists described by those who know them as highly intelligent appear to have become increasingly violent.

The killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border last month and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California have been tied to a cultlike group

In the wooded outskirts of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a perplexed landlord noticed odd sights at two of his rental properties. Tenants wore long black coats and parked box trucks outside the duplexes.