A convicted felon is accused of stabbing an esthetician 15 times in the back and chest after stalking her on a hiking trail in Arizona.
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal that Zion William Teasley, 22, was captured on surveillance footage following Lauren Heike, 29, for some time on April 28.
Her body was discovered in an area just off the Route 11 trail, with police believing that she was ‘chased through or over a barbed wire fence’.
Teasley was then caught on camera returning to the area where her body was discovered and climbing back over the fence.
A probable cause affidavit also revealed that the suspected killer had recently been fired from his job at a nearby sports store for being ‘aggressive’ to female employees and stealing.
His DNA was found on a shoe that Lauren discarded as she attempted to scale the barbed wire fence.
Police were able to track down Teasley because of a sample in their system from a prior felony conviction.
Teasley was released from prison in November after being sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct and robbery in June 2020.
He has been charged with breaching his probation, as well as one count of first-degree murder — meaning he could face the death penalty if found guilty.
The convicted felon dropped out of the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego after just four months, first entering the training in March 2019.
A Marine Corps spokesman confirmed that he had separated from the training in June 2019, and his arrest documents confirmed that he was not on active duty.
Lauren suffered fifteen stab wounds to her upper body, and had defensive wounds on her hands.
Teasley was identified from surveillance footage by his probation officer, as well as his former employer.
They told officers that he was ‘recently terminated for being aggressive toward female employees’ as well as stealing from the store.
Phone data also placed Teasley in the same area as Lauren before her death, moving in the same direction as the footage.
His employer also confirmed that he carried a pocket knife, which police say is consistent with the murder weapon.
When arrested by officers the suspected murderer said: ‘There’s no freaking way I’m here for a sex crime. I haven’t been with anyone for a long time.’
The probable cause affidavit also stated that during his interview, he spoke about ‘growing up as a Christian, and his internal struggle with his own sexuality.’
It added: ‘Zion was concerned about the salvation of his soul due to his thoughts’.
He also identified himself as being the man in the footage, before telling officers he recognized Lauren from the news and ‘wanted to look like her’.
Teasley claimed that he was ‘walking to a nearby movie theatre’, and admitted to officers he knew Lauren was attacked but ‘struggled to admit she was murdered’.
When asked if he had planned to kill Lauren he said: ‘I am definitely not the person who plans to kill another person. If I was going to do something like that it wouldn’t be premeditated. ‘
During his first court appearance he was given a $1million cash bond for the violation, but was remanded into custody with no bond in relation to the murder charge.