Startling details were presented in court this week in the case of a man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Prior to the woman’s disappearance, the man allegedly searched Google for “telling god i want to kill someone.”
Deandre Booker, 33, has been charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, disinterment and mutilation, and concealing an individual’s death, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to authorities, the defendant was originally arrested on January 8 for “lying to police” about the disappearance of Ashley Lashay Elkins, 30.
About three weeks later, the murder and other charges were filed against him. Prosecutors claim that on January 2, Elkins visited Booker’s home in Roseville, Michigan. They believe he killed her there “and disposed of her body.”
Prosecutors argued that evidence released in Macomb County court on Friday provided chilling clues into the alleged murderers’ premeditated intentions and thoughts after the crime.
These alleged clues included Google searches from Booker’s phone in the days preceding and following Elkins’ disappearance. According to Detroit-based NBC affiliate WDIV, Roseville Police Department Detective Chris Moran testified in court that the searches of note began on December 22, 2024.
“[T]elling god i want to kill someone,” Booker allegedly wrote, followed a week later by “9mm silencer roseville” and two other similar searches involving the word “michigan” and its abbreviation. That same day, he wrote something far more telling, according to police: “murder out of rage ex.”
Prosecutors claim that searches for notes continued on January 2.
One alleged search term was “shoot gun threw pillow.” Another alleged search was “shotgun throw pillow”. Another was: “Can you track location when phone is turned off,” according to prosecutors.
But perhaps the most revealing search occurred a few days later, on January 5, three days after Elkins, a mother of two, was last seen.
According to law enforcement, Booker’s Google search history includes the phrase “what happened to trash after it was picked up.”
The suspect was reportedly arrested on January 31 after blood was discovered in a dumpster at Booker’s apartment complex.
Moran argued that the final search was important because “if he had placed the victim in the dumpster, he would definitely be very concerned as to where the trash would go with the body.”
Elkins disappeared on January 2; five days later, police discovered her car and searched Booker’s apartment. According to a timeline provided by local ABC affiliate WXYZ, investigators searched the Pine Tree Acres Landfill in Lenox Township after his arrest on Jan. 8 on the “lying to police” charge and the alleged clues discovered in the dumpster.
They still haven’t found Elkins’ body.
Booker allegedly called police to conduct a walk-through of his apartment in the days following the woman’s disappearance, and they discovered drops of Elkins’ blood in the bathroom and throughout the residence, according to The Detroit News.
Booker’s trial is reportedly set to resume on Friday.
“Our hearts are with Ashley’s family as they endure this unimaginable pain, and we remain committed to seeking justice for them and our community,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in January. “No one should suffer such a loss, and we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability.”
