ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend was in court Wednesday for the first day of his preliminary hearing. Ashley Elkins, 30, disappeared in January 2025. Authorities said her body has never been found.
Deandre Booker, 32, refused to sit during the hearing. When the judge told him he can sit if he would like, Booker stared and gave no response.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
Judge Joseph Boedeker said to Booker, “You can sit if you wish, but if you don’t want (to), you can stand. No response ..."
By refusing to sit, the prosecutor claimed Booker was posturing in an attempt to intimidate witnesses. The first person on the stand was Elkins' mother, Monika.
She said her daughter dated Booker for three or four months before breaking things off in September of 2024.
Monika Elkins said she last spoke to her daughter on Jan. 1 on the phone. The prosecutor played some of the last known video of Ashley Elkins. She was entering a 7-Eleven store on the morning of Jan. 2 in Roseville. That's the day Monika Elkins said her daughter went radio silent.
The prosecutor asked Monika Elkins, "At some point, do you become worried?
She said, "Yes."
She explained, "Because she wasn’t answering her phone. She wasn’t texting back. It’s not like her. It had been too long."
Monika Elkins said the last text she got from Ashley was Ashley replying “Aw man." Monika Elkins said she had told Ashley she had a dream that Ashley’s car had gone missing.
On Jan. 2, Monika Elkins said she went to Ashley’s home in Warren. She couldn’t find her or any sign of her. So, she contacted police later that day.
Previous coverage: Ex-boyfriend charged with Ashley Elkins' murder, blood found in his bathroom: police
The prosecutor asked Monika Elkins, “Have you had any contact with Ashley since January 1st of 2025?"
"No," she replied.
The prosecutor followed up, "Has she reached out to anyone in your family?"
"No," Monika Elkins said.
Watch our coverage when authorities were searching Ashley Elkins in a landfill below:
During cross-examination, the defense questioned Monika Elkins about entering Booker’s apartment in Roseville without his permission on Jan. 3.
She said she wasn’t getting any help from police, so she took matters into her own hands.
Monika Elkins said the area near Booker's apartment was the last area that showed Ashley's cellphone location.
A Roseville officer also testified. He said, according to dispatch, a man claiming to be Booker called Roseville police and asked officers to check his home on Jan. 4.
The officer said he found bleach in the bathroom, the drain plug sitting in the middle of the tub and drops of blood in the tub and other in areas of the apartment.
