Emergency calls in connection with the murder of Lauren Heike on the Phoenix trail released

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It was nearly 18 months ago when 29-year-old Lauren Heike left her apartment and went for a walk on a popular hiking trail on the border of the Phoenix and Scottsdale city limits.

While walking on the Reach 11 trail near 64th Street and Mayo Boulevard, Heike was ambushed and chased into a deserted area before being stabbed 15 times in what investigators described as a random attack, according to Phoenix police .

This week, police released the 911 call from the woman who found Heike's body on the trail.

Dispatch: “Phoenix 911, where is your emergency?”

Caller 1: “Oh, I just found a woman’s body out in the desert.”

In the nearly five-minute call, the woman who found Heike's body said it appeared it had been lying there for a while.

Caller 1: “I was just out for a walk and she’s there. I haven’t touched her (inaudible), but it looks like she’s been there for a while.”

According to police, her body was found about 24 hours after Heike died.

Caller 1: “It doesn’t look like she’s breathing.”

Dispatch: “Okay, you can’t see her chest rising or falling?”

Caller 1: “No. And there’s blood coming out from under her training bra.”

Message: “Is there blood coming out of her bra? Does it look like she was stabbed or shot?”

Caller 1: “I don’t know, I can’t say.”

Three more emergency calls were made in the days after Heike's body was found. In those tapes, callers reported seeing a man matching the description of a suspect in the case.

About a week after Heike's body was found, Phoenix police arrested 22-year-old Zion Teasley in connection with Heike's murder, saying DNA evidence linked him to the crime.

Teasley's trial is scheduled to begin in October 2025. Prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty in the case.

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