Zion Teasley pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Lauren Heike's killing.

A guilty plea to first-degree murder is an admission on that count. It is not the sentence, and Dec. 4 is still ahead. On Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, Zion William Teasley, 25, pleaded guilty in the April 2023 killing of hiker Lauren Heike, 29, on the Reach 11 trail in north Phoenix. ABC15 Arizona reported the judge said prosecutors would dismiss the notice to seek the death penalty and that the agreement means life in prison. KTAR reported a court spokesperson said the plea calls for natural life. The court has not imposed that term.

On Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, Zion William Teasley, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Lauren Heike, azcentral and ABC15 Arizona reported, citing the court. azcentral reported he is from Scottsdale. ABC15 Arizona reported he pleaded guilty as charged on Friday afternoon, and that the judge said the agreement means a life sentence on the murder count and that prosecutors would dismiss their notice to seek the death penalty. KTAR reported he had pleaded not guilty in May 2023, that the Maricopa County Attorney's Office filed a death-penalty notice in January 2024, and that a Maricopa County Superior Court spokesperson said the plea calls for natural life. Law&Crime, citing ABC15 Arizona, reported sentencing is set for Dec. 4 and described the exposure as up to life. A stipulated life term is what the agreement calls for. It is not imposed until the court sentences him.

azfamily reported Heike, 29, was found on April 28, 2023, on the Reach 11 trail near 64th Street and Mayo Boulevard, along the Phoenix-Scottsdale line, not far from her apartment. FOX 10 Phoenix described the scene as a north Phoenix trail near 65th Street and Mayo Boulevard and reported she had been stabbed 15 times. KTAR, citing police documents, reported 15 stab wounds and injuries to her hands and forearms, and that investigators believed she was chased over a barbed-wire fence. azfamily and FOX 10 Phoenix reported investigators tied Teasley to the scene with DNA on her shoe, along with cellphone location data. FOX 10 Phoenix reported police said he lived near the trail and did not know her. Those are the investigative facts the outlets attributed to police and court records. The plea is the admission. The sentence is still Dec. 4.

ABC15 Arizona reported the judge said an assault and burglary case filed after the murder arrest would be dismissed under the agreement. FOX 10 Phoenix reported a 2020 burglary count was dismissed, and that he also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. azfamily reported that count is a separate case, with sentencing the same day. Those are other plea terms. They are not the murder sentence. In a statement ABC15 Arizona published, Heike's family said they supported the agreement, including a natural-life term, so they would not have to sit through a trial. Support for a plea is not the judgment. Dec. 4 is the date the court is scheduled to impose sentence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.