A recently released felon and one-time Marine appeared in an Arizona court Friday charged with the brutal murder of hiker Lauren Heike — as it emerged she’d been chased and then stabbed 15 times in the back and chest.

Zion Teasley, 22, appeared in Maricopa County Court in handcuffs and an orange prison jumpsuit to face a single felony charge of first-degree murder.

He was held on $1 million cash bail after the court heard he had only been released from prison in November — and already had a ticket to fly to Detroit on Thursday, the day he was busted for Heike’s murder.

Prosecutors said there was a “confluence of evidence,” including people who IDed him as the man seen running from the April 28 murder scene less than a mile from his home in Phoenix.

Shown pics from the video, Zion confirmed, “That’s me,” according to AZ Family.

But according to court docs, he also told officers: “There’s no freaking way I’m for a sex crime; I haven’t been with anyone for a long time.”

“I am definitely not the person who plans to kill another person. If I was going to do something like that, it wouldn’t be premeditated,” he said, according to documents.

Teasley was also linked by phone and DNA evidence, prosecutors told Friday’s hearing, without elaborating.

People who “know him and worked with him” also gave statements about “a knife that would have been consistent with the murder weapon,” Maricopa County prosecutor Ryan Green told the court.

He had recently been fired from his job for being “aggressive” toward female employees and allegedly stealing products, according to court documents obtained by Fox10.

Court documents revealed that Heike, 29, had been stabbed 15 times after being chased on the hiking trail. She may have tried to escape over a barbed wire fence where her body was found.

Teasley was convicted in 2021 of armed robbery with a deadly weapon, robbery and disorderly conduct, AZ Central reported. He was released from prison in November 2022 and was on probation at the time of Heike’s slaying.

Teasley has served in the Martine Corps., according to police documents obtained by ABC 15. The report did not say if he saw active service nor give a timeline.

Teasley did not speak during Friday’s hearing other than to calmly read out his full name and date of birth.

He was held on $1 million cash bail until May 11. If convicted, he potentially faces the death penalty, local reports said.