Vigil held for missing Warren mother

ROSEVILLE — Green and mahogany balloons floated above a large crowd that gathered in an apartment complex in Roseville. Police vehicles with lights on kept the streets blocked while officers walked through the crowd, offering condolences and support. People struggled to keep candles lit in the cold weather.

The vigil, held Saturday, Jan. 25, was in honor of Ashley Elkins, a 30-year-old Warren mother and hairstylist who’s been missing since Jan. 2 and is presumed dead. It was held at the Hampton Court apartments in Roseville, the last location her phone pinged before she disappeared.

“I know she’s here. I know this is where her soul left her,” said Monika Elkins, her mother.

The apartment complex near Frazho Road and Gratiot Avenue is where Ashley Elkins’ ex-boyfriend Deandre Booker lived. He was arraigned in the 39th District Court Jan. 9 on one count of lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation, a felony that can carry up to five years in prison.

While executing a search warrant at Booker’s apartment earlier this month, officers reportedly found evidence that indicated foul play. They also seized a dumpster from the property as evidence.

At press time, Ashley Elkins’ body has not been found. Law enforcement agencies conducted a week-long search of a Lenox Township landfill but were unable to find her.

“If (Deandre) is watching, please let us know where she is,” Monika Elkins said. “Whatever happened, it happened. Just give us closure … Just please let me know where she is so I can bury her.”

Monika Elkins described her daughter as the life of the party. She loved her kids and her family, she said.

“She was just a good person. Everybody goes through things in life, but she was a good person,” Monika Elkins said.

At the vigil, Maurice Morton, her uncle, called on law enforcement to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“Our young women, our mothers, should not have to be abused, should not have to be killed, should not have to be subjected to domestic violence at the hands of loved ones, ex-boyfriends, husbands, boyfriends and the like,” he said. “We need to make sure this is not normalized, and we have to recognize it for what it is. It’s evil. It’s wrong.”

Among the attendees at the vigil were Roseville Police Chief Mitchell Berlin and several of his officers, who had worked at the landfill to try to find her body.

“We always try not to let things get personal on the job, but this got personal for a lot of us,” Berlin said. “These officers want to find Ashley to provide closure. Also, to provide justice in the form of life imprisonment without the chance of parole for the person that committed this crime.”

Berlin also commended the officers who had worked at the landfill.

“The operation at the landfill was intense and very difficult but each of those officers volunteered to be there,” he said. They volunteered to do this for one reason, because they truly care about the people they are sworn to protect.

“We have some remarkable officers and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” he added.

Before releasing the balloons into the air at the conclusion of the vigil, Monika Elkins addressed the crowd.

“Ashley, we love you. May you rest in peace,” she said through a police loudspeaker.

A GoFundMe effort was started to raise money for Ashley Elkins’ family. At press time, it had raised $12,160 of its $20,000 goal.

Call Staff Writer Brian Wells at (248) 291-7637.