Suspect in disappearance of Warren mother facing murder charge

ROSEVILLE — The ex-boyfriend of a missing Warren mother is now facing additional charges after police said that DNA collected at what they believe to be the crime scene was matched to her.

Deandre Booker, 32, of Roseville, is facing a first-degree murder charge following the disappearance of Ashley Elkins, a Warren hairstylist and mother of two, who has been missing since Jan. 2.

Roseville Police Detective Sgt. Anthony Coraci said security cameras confirmed that Elkins arrived at Booker’s apartment, located near Frazho Road and Gratiot Avenue in Roseville, in the early morning hours of Jan. 2. Later that day, Booker was seen leaving in Elkins’ car with an unknown female. Booker is then seen returning with the unknown female without Elkins’ car.

Later, Roseville police executed a search warrant at Booker’s apartment.

“We conducted a search warrant on the residence and ultimately found what was believed to be a large crime scene with a substantial amount of blood in the bathroom,” he said. “DNA confirms that the blood did in fact belong to the victim.

“Since Jan. 2, the victim has not been seen or heard from, has not had contact with their family and no banking activity. This leads us to believe that the victim is in fact deceased and the defendant is responsible for her death and disappearance,” he said.

In addition to Booker’s existing charge of lying to police during a violent crime investigation — a felony that can carry up to five years in prison — Booker is now facing additional charges of first-degree premeditated homicide, a life felony; tampering with evidence, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; dismemberment and mutilation of a dead body, a 10-year felony; and concealing a death, a five-year felony.

Booker was arraigned on the new charges in the 39th District Court in Roseville Jan. 31. He is scheduled to appear before District Court Judge Joseph Boedeker for a probable cause conference at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 5.

 

Attorneys argue Booker’s bond
At a previous hearing, before the additional charges, Booker’s attorney, Robbie Lang, asked for Booker’s bond to be reduced. The judge ultimately denied the request.

However, at the Jan. 31 arraignment, Lang argued that Booker does not fit into a category where bond can be denied due to Booker not having any previous violent felonies or parole violations. However, if the court continued to determine Booker is a flight risk, it could deny bond, he said.

“I would reiterate that Mr. Booker would not be a flight risk,” Lang said.

Lang asked that the court give Booker a lower bond with the agreement that he would wear a GPS tether and have no contact with the victim’s family if released.

Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Carmen DeFranco asked that if the court does grant a monetary bond, it give him “something in the neighborhood of $5 million cash with no 10 percent."

In the end, District Court Judge Alyia Hakim denied bond.

 

Officials discuss how evidence led to additional charges
At a press conference following the Jan. 31 arraignment, Roseville Chief of Police Mitch Berlin stated that officers had been working tirelessly to develop the case.

“This is an ongoing investigation that detectives continue to work tirelessly, develop more evidence and put together what I feel is an excellent case,” he said. “They’ve obtained enough evidence to present to the prosecutors, who went through it very thoroughly and authorized those charges today.”

While officials didn’t release information on other evidence, they stated the blood in the bathroom was analyzed by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and it matched Elkins. However, they declined to say if blood was found anywhere else in Booker’s apartment.

“There was blood that was recovered. It was a match and it was enough to get the charges authorized today,” Berlin said. “We’ll leave it at that.”

While security camera footage showed Booker coming and going from the apartment with an unknown female, she is not believed to be involved, Berlin said.

“We believe he acted alone. There was a video (showing) a second female; it was investigated thoroughly,” he said. “She was not involved.”

As of the Jan. 31 arraignment, Elkins’ body had not been located. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said that he believes they will be able to convict Booker.

“These cases are put together by the totality of the evidence, the statements, the digital evidence that’s provided, and because people who come forward, even during an investigation, may offer more testimony,” he said.

Lucido added that he’s seen a number of cases that have ended with a conviction without a body being located.

“There’s no other way sometimes to explain it when you don’t have a body, except all of the evidence that’s been accumulated,” he said.

Lucido ended by stating he feels optimistic that Elkins’ body will be recovered.

“I’m hopeful, I’m optimistic … but it’s only if somebody or evidence points to where that happens,” he said. “Somebody may cooperate in the investigation. Sometimes it takes a little bit, but I’m hopeful.”