In the wake of the release of the harrowing 911 call of a passerby the moment she found the bloodied body of missing hiker Lauren Heike, chilling new details have begun to surface more than a year after she was killed.
Heike, 29, vanished while walking alone on a popular Phoenix neighborhood hiking trail on April 28, 2023. Her body was found the next morning by a woman on the trail.
"I was just going for a walk, and she's there," the woman told dispatch in the 911 call released Thursday, according to KTVK-TV. "I didn't touch her, (inaudible) but it looks like she's been there for a while."
It "doesn't look like she's breathing," the caller added. "And there is blood coming from under her workout bra."
An autopsy revealed Heike was stabbed 15 times with a knife in what investigators believe to be a random attack.
A week after she was found dead, police announced the arrest of 22-year-old Zion Teasley on a charge of first-degree murder after DNA evidence and surveillance footage allegedly tied him to the killing, according to KNXV-TV.
He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial tentatively scheduled for October 2025.
Earlier this year, Heike's parents marked the one-year anniversary of their daughter's tragic death.
"We will remember Lauren for the kind, thoughtful, and loving person that she was," the Heikes said in a statement obtained by the station. "She is constantly in our thoughts. We find comfort and peace knowing that Lauren is in Heaven and that we will see her again someday."
