Killer of Phoenix hiker, who told police she was ‘what I would want to look like,’ pleads guilty
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesA man who wrote of struggling with his gender identity and sexuality, according to a police report, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 stabbing death of Phoenix hiker Lauren Heike, under an agreement that removes the death penalty and calls for a natural life sentence.
Zion Teasley, 25, entered the plea Friday, more than three years after Heike, 29, was killed. Sentencing is set for Dec. 4.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed notice in January 2024 that it would seek the death penalty. Under the agreement, prosecutors will dismiss that notice, ABC15 reported.
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Mr. Teasley also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, while prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges from a separate assault and burglary case as part of the agreement.
Heike’s body was found April 29, 2023, near a hiking trail close to her home, and investigators believe she was killed the day before. Court TV reported that an autopsy found she had been stabbed 15 times in the upper body, and investigators noted defensive wounds on her hands and forearms.
DNA found on one of Heike’s shoes matched Mr. Teasley, who was on probation after serving more than a year in prison for armed robbery and other felonies, Court TV reported. Surveillance video showed him following Heike along the trail before both disappeared from view, according to an affidavit of probable cause cited by the outlet.
Cellphone location data also matched surveillance footage showing Mr. Teasley running from the trail around the time of the attack, Fox 10 reported, citing authorities. Mr. Teasley had been fired from his job for aggressive behavior toward female employees and suspected theft, according to a probable cause statement.
Mr. Teasley told investigators he knew Heike from the news. At one point, he said, “That’s what I would want to look like,” according to the report. Police also noted a screenshot that they said suggested Mr. Teasley may have been depressed, reading in part about seeing a beautiful woman while being a man.
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The motive in Heike’s death remains unknown, Fox 10 reported.
During a 2025 hearing, Mr. Teasley’s attorney referred to the defendant as “her,” ABC15 reported.
Court records list Mr. Teasley as a former member of the Marine Corps, which said he entered recruit training in 2019 but separated before completing boot camp.
Heike’s family said in a statement that it had supported prosecutors’ pursuit of the death penalty but agreed to the plea, which spares the family a trial. The family said it was “relieved knowing that he will never be released.”
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