Yesterday evening Phoenix police arrested a man in connection to the murder of 29-year-old Lauren Heike, found dead along a hiking trail on Saturday morning.
Heike left her home in Phoenix on Friday morning to take a walk on the trails nearby and tragically never returned. There has not been any information released regarding Heike’s cause of death or specific injuries endured. Police Lieutenant James Hester told reporters that it was a “heinous” crime; police believe that the attack occurred from behind and that she appears to have suffered some trauma.
Surveillance footage released by the department showed a clip of the suspect running away from the location that Heike was found. The police arrested the 20-year-old man at his home, which was only about 1 mile from the trail where Lauren Heike was killed. The suspect was linked to the murder via DNA evidence, but police are unsure if there is any connection between the assailant and Heike.
No further information about the suspect, details of the murder, nor expected trial details have been released to the public.