ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Day three in the preliminary hearing in the Ashley Elkins case has concluded. Her ex-boyfriend, Deandre Booker, is accused of killing the Warren mother of two.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report:
The hearing will go into a fourth day, next week.
Booker's adopted niece, Payne Barksdale, testified that Booker contacted her in early January. She said he asked her to move a friend’s vehicle because Booker didn’t have a license.
Unbeknownst to Barksdale, the car belonged to a missing woman, Ashley Elkins.
Barksdale recalled, "And then I asked him, 'Is your friend or your friend's girlfriend going to come out and thank me for bringing the car? They don't wanna know who drove they car?' And he said that his friend wasn't there and the girlfriend wasn't coming down."
In the days to come, investigators said they found the vehicle and blood in Booker's apartment.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Blood, bullet fragment among evidence presented in Ashley Elkins murder case
The lead detective on the case, Sergeant Matthew Lesperance, was last to take the stand for the day. He read a number of lab results that he said drew a connection between the blood found in Booker’s apartment and Ashley Elkins.
He said DNA results proved her blood was found in the suspect's apartment, on his clothing, and in the apartment complex's dumpster.
When asked during cross-examination, the detective told the defense attorney that all circumstances pointed to Elkins being deceased. That's despite her body never being recovered.
The defense asked Lesperance, "Do you have any actual proof that she's dead and not alive?"
He replied, "Definitive proof? No, sir."
The defense then asked Lesperance, "Do you have any proof as to how she died?
The sergeant asked for clarification, "Me, myself? Or you're asking about all the evidence collected?"
The defense replied, "I'm asking about actual physical proof of whether or not she died from a gunshot wound."
Sergeant Lesperance said, "I can't speculate it was a gunshot wound."
The next court date is set for Friday, August 22nd.
The defense team said it plans to call witnesses who are mostly members of law enforcement.
