Zion William Teasley stabbed Lauren Heike 15 times, killing her, police said. (Mugshot: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office; image of Heike: Phoenix Police Department)
The suspect in the stabbing death of an Arizona hiker has been indicted for what police described as a random and "vicious attack." Zion William Teasley, 22, faces a count of first-degree murder in the death of Lauren Heike, 29, who was stabbed 15 times on the Reach 11 trail on April 28, police said.
"She had such a kind heart," her mother, Lana Heike, said. "Everybody who met her loved her."
Heike was found dead in a desert area behind a resident's home on April 29, according to the probable cause affidavit in Teasley's arrest. West and south of her location were blood drops and personal items officers believed belonged to her.
"Based on the location of Lauren's property and the condition of her clothing, investigators believe it was possible she was chased through or over the barbed wire fence," police wrote. "Multiple apparent puncture wounds were observed on Lauren's back and chest. There were no implements found at the scene which were capable of causing Lauren's injuries."
The medical examiner found 15 stab wounds and also "numerous superficial abrasions." She sustained apparent defensive wounds to her hands and forearms.
On April 28, Heike had planned to go hiking with a male friend, but that friend later could not reach her on the phone. He used an app to track her phone and learned it was in the area of 65th and Libby Streets — where the crime scene was found, cops said.
"Both Lauren and [the suspect] were observed walking towards a trail entrance located at 68th Street and Princess Drive," police wrote. "Security cameras sparsely covered the trail itself. No one was observed following Lauren prior to entering this trail."
Minutes later on surveillance footage, Heike was last seen going west on the trail, walking in the direction of where she was found dead. The suspect allegedly headed in the same direction, going out of view.
"The suspect ran after Lauren and then sprinted away before returning to the location where Lauren's body was found and climbing over the barbed wire," cops said.
DNA on Heike's shoe matched Teasley, who resembled the suspect on the footage, police said.
His last known employer said that Teasley was recently fired for being aggressive toward female co-workers and he was suspected of stealing merchandise. Shown a surveillance picture of the suspect, management identified this as Teasley and said he was wearing clothes he had stolen from the store.
"Management stated he routinely carried a pocketknife and described it as a black plastic folding knife with an approximate blade size of three inches," police said. "This blade size is consistent with wounds discovered on Lauren's body during her autopsy."
After finding him, police took Teasley to headquarters and showed him a still picture from video surveillance of the suspect in the area of the murder, according to documents. Teasley identified himself as the person in the photograph, officers said. He continued speaking after his Miranda warning, they said.
"During his interview, Zion spoke about his life growing up as a Christian and his internal struggle with his own sexuality," police said. "Zion was concerned about the salvation of his soul due to his thoughts."
Teasley lived 1.5 miles from the location of the murder, officers said.
"When asked why police had arrested him, Zion stated, 'There's no freaking way I'm here for a sex crime. I haven't been with anyone for a long time,'" the documents stated.
Showing an aerial photograph of the area surrounding the murder, Teasley said he recognized it and previously passed it, documents stated.
"Zion stated he would routinely walk the area around his residence but refused to provide his route," the documents stated. "Zion would only say he would never take the same route."
Shown a photograph of the suspect, Teasley allegedly said, "That's me," then said he was not sure if it was him, according to cops.
"Zion was shown a photograph of Lauren," police wrote. "Zion recognized Lauren from the news and stated he wanted to look like her."
He claimed to know she was attacked, but he "struggled to admit she was murdered," police wrote. He could not recall if he ever met her, cops said.
"I am definitely not the person who plans to kill another person," he allegedly said, when asked if he planned to murder Heike. "If I was going to do something like that, it wouldn't be premeditated."
