MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Officials provided some major updates Thursday in the case of Ashley Elkins, including the search for DNA and their charging plans.
Local 4 has learned that DNA tests came back from the dumpster at the apartment, but there’s no update yet from the landfill search.
Recommended Videos
As a result of this new evidence, Local 4 has also learned that murder charges are expected on Friday.
What happened
Elkins was last seen Jan. 2, 2025, when officials say her cellphone placed her at an apartment in Roseville belonging to Deandre Booker, her ex-boyfriend.
Police said they found clues in a dumpster at the apartment that indicated the mother of two was killed. That led police to search a specific area of the Pine Tree Acres Landfill in Lenox Township.
It’s the same landfill where Detroit police spent weeks in 2022 searching for the body of Zion Foster. Her body was never found, but her cousin was convicted in her death
The search for Elkins was called off after seven days, from Jan. 13 through Jan. 19.
Police recovered what they call “lookalike items” on Wednesday, Jan. 15, that could belong to Elkins. But further lab testing was needed.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Ashley Elkins’ family. You can donate here.
Ex-boyfriend arrested
Booker, 32, was taken into custody days later in Flint. Prosecutors pointed to his recent search history as evidence he planned to run.
He was charged with lying to police and arraigned on Jan. 9, 2025.
Bond was set at $250,000. A judge denied his request for lower bond.
--> Full timeline on the disappearance of Macomb County woman Ashley Elkins
On Jan. 22, 2025, Booker’s lawyer claimed he wasn’t a flight risk as he lived in Metro Detroit his entire life, and the bond is unusually high for one four-year felony charge with no prior criminal record. He asked Judge Joseph Boedeker to reduce the bond.
Boedeker agreed the bond was “extraordinarily” high for one charge, but he believed the judge in the arraignment had set the high bond based on Booker’s internet searches after Elkins went missing.
Booker’s search history revealed that while he was in Flint, he looked up information on the fastest routes from Flint to Ohio, what to do on the run, if blood is traceable, how to beat a polygraph, and deleting Google search history.
A probable cause conference was scheduled for Feb. 26, 2025. The preliminary examination is scheduled for March 5, 2025.
