ROSEVILLE, Mich. (FOX 2) - The ex-boyfriend of Ashley Elkins, a missing Warren mother who police believe was murdered, is set to appear in court Friday for a continuation of his preliminary exam.
De'Andre Booker, 33, is charged with first-degree murder and lying to a peace officer.
The latest:
Two more witnesses took the stand to begin the second day of Booker's preliminary exam.
One was Officer Salvatore Munafo, who works for Roseville Police as an evidence technician. The second was Chris Moran, who performs follow-up investigations of criminal complaints.
Munafo visited Booker's residence because plumbers were removing drains from the apartment. He testified to discovering a clump of hair in the drain taken from the bathtub. A bullet fragment and a silver hoop-style earring were also found.
Internet searches made by defendant De'Andre Booker.
Moran testified to some of the digital evidence found during the investigation.
They included internet searches that Booker had made prior to Elkins going missing, including firearm queries, questions about firing a weapon with a pillow, and "can you track location when phone is off."
The backstory:
Elkins, 30, was reported missing Jan. 2.
Her ex-boyfriend was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with lying to police. Though Elkins' body was never found, a murder charge was later added against him.
According to authorities, Elkins' vehicle was found a few miles away from Booker's apartment. He allegedly lied about his whereabouts.
The prosecutor who appeared in court for Booker's arraignment said Booker's internet searches after Elkins disappeared suggest that he was planning to flee Michigan.
While in Flint, Booker is accused of planning to leave Michigan by looking up routes out of state.
His research also included what to do while on the run, as well as how to beat a polygraph test, and if blood is traceable, the prosecution said.
Additionally, he allegedly looked up how to delete his Google search history.
Family, police testify:
The preliminary hearing started Wednesday with two witnesses testifying before the court: the mother of the victim and the first responding officer. Monika Elkins, who was Ashley Elkin's mom, spoke first about her last interactions with her daughter.
The second witness was a Warren police officer. Michael Quaranta visited a Warren residence after receiving a report of a missing person. His involvement was the first time law enforcement started searching for Ashley Elkins.
The third witness - who the judge has ordered not be identified - called to the stand was an individual who knew Booker. They testified about seeing police cars at Booker's residence days after Elkins was reported missing.
They later called Booker, who asked what the police were doing.
Shane Nabozny was the fourth individual called to the stand. He's a Roseville police officer and was working as a road patrol unit when he was called to an apartment complex that had possibly been broken into on Jan. 4.
The request had been made by Booker.
After canvassing inside the apartment, Nabozny found multiple bottles of bleach, which he described as "suspicious", before finding two drops of blood in the bathtub.
More drops of blood were found throughout the bathroom, including on the vanity next to the tub and an adjacent hallway.
Other objects the Roseville officer spotted included pink garbage bags that had been used around the apartment. There were also black-colored trash bags.
Underneath a couch, police found a handgun. It was collected for evidence, along with documents that were found showing Booker as the primary resident of the complex in Roseville.
The Source: Previous FOX 2 reporting was used in this story.
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