ROSEVILLE, Mich. – The family of Ashley Elkins sat in the gallery of a 39th District courtroom as ex-boyfriend Deandre Booker was arraigned on additional charges.
The charges include first-degree murder - premeditated, a life felony; tampering with evidence, a 10-year felony; dead body - disinterment and mutilation, a 10-year felony; and concealing the death of an individual, a five-year felony.
“The hardest part is hearing the charges right because then you start to visualize and picture what occurred. That’s very difficult,” Elkins' uncle Maurice Morton said.
Earlier this month, Booker was charged with lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation, a four-year felony.
The new charges come after DNA testing confirmed that blood discovered in the bathroom of Booker’s Roseville apartment belonged to Elkins.
Police said the mother of two was last seen at Booker’s home on Jan. 2.
“It’s been a little over four weeks now, waiting for murder charges to come. And so you know, though this does not bring complete closure, but we know that this is a journey to justice. So, this is where it starts, and that’s what the family wants, we want justice in this case,” Morton said.
Police are continuing to search for her body.
But Macomb County prosecutor Peter Lucido is confident he can still get a conviction without finding her body.
“Past practice is what I rely on for future performance here. This county has seen, since I’ve been practicing almost 40 years, four cases that I’m very familiar with that have had nobody and have had total conviction,” Lucido said.
Booker is being held with no bond. He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing on Feb. 5.