Family, police testify on first day of murder case of missing Warren mom Ashley Elkins

ROSEVILLE, Mich. (FOX 2) - The man charged with murdering a Warren mother of two is expected in court on Wednesday for his preliminary hearing.

De'Andre Booker allegedly killed Ashley Elkins, whose body has never been found.

The Latest:

The preliminary hearing started 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.

De'Andre Booker, 32, of Roseville

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 backstory:

More than six months after his arraignment, 32-year-old Booker will appear in court for his preliminary hearing in the case of Elkins, who disappeared in early January.

Her family said she was last seen running errands on Jan. 2 before going missing. The last message she sent was to her sister about heading back from the beauty store.

Since then, the mystery about the location of Elkins has hovered over the case.

Prosecutors first charged Booker with lying to police days after investigating the case. He was charged with Elkins' murder four weeks later.

On Wednesday, prosecutors will begin present evidence against Booker in hopes of taking the case to trial.