For the first time, the boyfriend of Lauren Heike, the 29-year-old woman found murdered on a North Phoenix hiking trail, is speaking out.
An arrest was eventually made, but new search warrants say Carlos Anderson helped with the investigation early on.
“You will probably never meet another girl like her,” said Anderson.
Almost two months after Heike’s death, it’s still difficult for Anderson to come to grips with it all.
“We were friends, went on dates and stuff, and honestly just enjoyed each other’s company,” said Anderson.
The pair met on social media and had been seeing each other for about two months.
They had plans to meet Friday, April 28, the day Heike was killed.
“I texted her and said hey are you ready I'm gonna shower and what not before I come up there,” said Anderson.
He was getting off work when he reached out, but never got a response.
“I went to the gym and nothing ever felt right there was just something that was off,” Anderson.
But he knew something was really wrong when he got a message from one of Anderson’s best friends.
“That’s when my heart sunk,” said Anderson.
Heike was found on April 29, stabbed more than a dozen times on a trail in North Phoenix.
Anderson quickly become one of the people police started looking into.
“It would be hard for anyone, because that's stuff that you see in movies that you read about,” said Anderson.
A new search warrant released Friday said Anderson willingly worked with detectives by providing DNA and even taking a polygraph test.
“It was very uncomfortable for me,” said Anderson. “People told me I didn't have [to] stay there, and I didn't have to do anything. I could have left and not helped at all. At the end of the day, it’s about her.”
The search warrant said detectives eventually confirmed Anderson was at work when Heike was killed.
Police then followed up on a tip about another man possibly being involved, before they eventually zeroed in on 22-year-old Zion Teasley.
Court records show DNA from one of Heike's shoes came back as a preliminary match to Teasley.
His DNA was already in the system from previous felony charges.
Police then used cell phone records and surveillance video as additional evidence before making the arrest.
“It’s a void that will never be filled, ever,” said Anderson.
He is still processing what happened but knows this arrest won't bring Heike back.
“It’s something her parents will have to live with and her friends,” said Anderson. “I only knew her for two months, but it's something that had a huge impact over me because of who Lauren is.”
The day Teasley was arrested, police told said this murder did appear random, and that Teasley was seen following Heike on the trail.
Just last month, Teasley was indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder.
