NEED TO KNOW
- DeAndre Booker, who is on trial for the murder of ex-girlfriend Ashley Elkins, allegedly made suspicious Google searches around the time of her disappearance
- Booker allegedly searched for things like, “Can you track location when phone is off” and “What happened to trash after its picked up”
- Booker has been charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, disinterment and mutilation and concealing a death
A man on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend allegedly asked Google chilling questions leading up to and following her disappearance.
DeAndre Booker of Roseville, Mich., was arrested in connection to the disappearance of ex-girlfriend Ashley Elkins, on Jan. 8.
Elkins, a 30-year-old hairstylist and mother of two, was last seen leaving her home to run errands in Warren, Mich., on Jan. 2.
Elkins’ body has not been found, despite an intensive search by authorities. Booker, 32, was charged in January with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, disinterment and mutilation and concealing a death, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
During a court appearance on Friday, Aug. 8, Detective Chris Moran of the Roseville Police Department testified that he found Google searches on Booker’s phone from the days surrounding Elkin’s disappearance that appeared to connect Booker to the alleged crime, per NBC affiliate WDIV.
Those alleged searches included phrases like, “[T]elling god i want to kill someone,” “9mm silencer roseville,” “shoot gun through pillow,” “Can you track location when phone is off” and “What happened to trash after its picked up,” per WDIV.
The prosecuting attorney on the case then reportedly asked Moran why he believed those specific searches were relevant to the case, to which the detective replied, “Based on the information we had on what could’ve happened at the time, these appeared the most relevant,” WDIV reported.
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The detective also said he found blood in the dumpster at Booker’s apartment, which lead him to believe the last Google search regarding trash pickup would be particularly relevant if Booker “had placed the victim in the dumpster,” adding, “He would definitely be very concerned as to where the trash would go with the body,” according to WDIV.
While previously speaking to PEOPLE, Booker’s defense attorney, Robbie Lang, said that he had no comment on his client’s Internet searches.
“I don’t have any real comment on what people search or don’t search [on the Internet] and I don’t know where that quantifies as guilt for anything,” Lang said at the time.
PEOPLE reached out to Lang, as well as the Roseville Police Department and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, for comment on Sunday, Aug.10, but did not receive an immediate response.
Booker pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His trial is scheduled to resume on Friday, Aug. 15, per Law&Crime.
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