A Roseville man accused of killing his girlfriend and disposing of her body has been found mentally competent to stand trial, according to prosecutors.
The Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry found that DeAndre Booker, 33, was mentally competent to stand trial and aid in his defense. Both prosecutors and Booker’s attorney Robbie Lang agreed in court to adopt the report.
Booker is accused of killing his former girlfriend, Ashley Elkins, who has been missing since Jan. 2, 2025. Booker allegedly killed Elkins while she was at his Roseville apartment and disposed of her body.
He is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, disinterment or mutilation of a body, concealing the death of an individual and lying to police. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
His trial is scheduled for Nov. 10.
“The determination that the defendant is competent to stand trial ensures that these proceedings can move forward in accordance with the law,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido in a statement. “The allegations in this case are exceptionally grave, and our office remains focused on presenting the evidence in court and seeking justice for Ms. Elkins and her loved ones.”
In court in August, Booker refused to sit down or acknowledge the judge. He stood for the three and a half hour hearing, at times staring at the witnesses and smirking. For the remainder of his preliminary examination, where prosecutors presented evidence for the judge to determine if there is probable cause for the charges, Booker refused to come to the courtroom and watched from his jail cell.
Assistant Prosecutor Carmen DeFranco said large amount of Elkins’ blood was found all over Booker’s bathroom, along with a female earring and a bullet in the bathtub drain.
Roseville Officer Shane Nabozny testified in August that during a Jan. 4 search of Booker’s home, he found blood drops on the tub, the wall and at the base of the vanity, as well as smeared on the hallway wall and hall closet. The bathroom appeared to have been recently cleaned, Nabozny said.
But Booker’s attorney Robbie Lang has argued that police officers and Elkins’ family were inside Booker’s apartment Jan. 3 and did not find any evidence.
“You had officers from two different police departments into that apartment on Jan. 3 and they find nothing. The very next day they go in and find all this blood,” Lang said, noting Booker was not at his apartment at that time. “How can you believe these officers on one day but not believe them on the other day? … It raises some kind of doubt to me.”
After Elkins was reported missing, police searched the Pine Trees Acres Landfill in Lenox Township for several days, looking for the body, which has never been found.
Her Chevy Malibu was found days after she went missing, abandoned in the area of 13 Mile and Little Mack in Roseville.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Roseville man accused of killing ex found competent to stand trial
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
