Man accused of murdering hiker faces further charges in separate case

A man accused of stabbing a woman to death on a north Phoenix hiking trail last year now faces additional charges for a separate incident that allegedly occurred in 2020.

According to court documents, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office has filed two new charges against 23-year-old Zion Teasley, including aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and first-degree burglary.

According to the documents, on January 21, 2020, Teasley broke into a woman's home near 43rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road in Phoenix and stabbed her to death. Court documents provide scant details beyond the incident. Information about what may have sparked the incident or Teasley's relationship with the woman is nowhere to be found.

Teasley first made headlines last year after Phoenix police arrested him as the prime suspect in the murder of 29-year-old Lauren Heike.

She was walking on a desert trail near East Libby Street and North 65th Place on April 28, 2023, before she was killed, Phoenix police said. A welfare check was conducted at Heike's home after a friend called police and said Heike had not shown up for work, which was unusual for her, court documents show.