A Michigan man accused of killing and dismembering his ex-girlfriend allegedly made a string of disturbing Google queries in the days surrounding her disappearance.

They include searches for phrases like “murder out of rage ex” and “telling god I want to kill someone,” according to court testimony.

Deandre Booker, who appeared in court virtually on August 8 as part of a preliminary hearing, is facing charges including first-degree premeditated murder, tampering with evidence, concealing the death of an individual, and disinterment and mutilation of a dead body in connection with the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, Ashley Lashay Elkins. 

Elkins was last seen on January 2, 2025 at Booker’s apartment complex in Roseville, Michigan.

Roseville Detective Patrick Taylor testified in court that surveillance images retrieved from Booker’s complex, as well as from neighbors, and nearby complexes show Elkins arriving at the apartment complex in her silver Chevrolet Malibu around 7:58 a.m. that day and then walking toward the building, according to Detroit station WDIV-TV. 

Officials said cell phone data for the the mother of two also placed her at Booker’s apartment that day.

Disturbing Google searches

While making their case in court on Friday, prosecutors pointed to a series of shocking Google searches they allege Booker made in the days leading up to Elkins’ disappearance, beginning with a search on December 22, 2024 for “telling god I want to kill someone,” according to WDIV. 

One week later on December 29, 2024, Booker’s phone was allegedly used to search for phrases including “9mm silencer roseville” and “murder out of rage ex.”

Prosectors added that on January 2, 2025 — the same day Elkins disappeared — Booker’s device was used to allegedly search the phrases “shoot gun threw pillow [sic]” and “Can you track location when phone is off.”

On January 5, 2025, someone used the phone to search for, “What happened to trash after its picked up,” prosecutors allege.

Moran testified that search was particularly relevant because, “If he [Booker] had placed the victim in the dumpster, he would definitely be very concerned as to where the trash would go with the body.” 

Other alleged Google searches that were previously made public included probes about what to do on the run, how to beat a lie detector test, how to delete Google search history, and how far it is from Flint, Michigan, to Ohio.

Man seen on video pushing cart toward dumpster

To support their theory that Booker allegedly killed Elkins and then dumped her body in the trash, prosecutors also played surveillance video in court that showed a man pushing a shopping cart towards a dumpster with something in the cart that was covered by a white sheet. The man is then seen stopping at the dumpster and struggling to place something in there.

“It was clear to me that the person putting whatever it was in that dumpster was struggling, which anyone who has had experience lifting a person, it is difficult if they are limp to move them around,” Moran testified, according to WDIV. “It would take a lot of effort to get them out.”

Blood was discovered inside one of the dumpsters at Booker’s apartment complex, Moran said.

Authorities said that when detectives took Booker into custody at the home of another girlfriend or ex-girlfriend, they found similar clothes to those seen on the man seen in the video footage that was shown in court.

After being cross-examined by Booker’s defense attorney, Moran admitted that he could not positively identify Booker as the man seen in the footage, according to The Detroit News. Authorities were also not able to say definitively what was in the shopping cart. 

Police searched the Pine Tree Acres Landfill, where the trash from the complex was taken, from January 13 through 19, but weren’t able to recover any remains. The body of Elkins has not been found.

Roseville Police Officer Sal Monaco also took the stand on Friday to testify that he was at Booker’s apartment when a plumber removed the drains and discovered what’s believed to be a bullet fragment, a clump of hair, and a hoop earring, according to The Detroit News.

Judge labels booker “disruptive defendant”

Throughout the preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there’s enough evidence to move forward with a trial, Booker has been uncooperative. When the hearing began on August 6, he reportedly refused to sit down and glared at the witnesses as they took the stand, CBS News reported. 

On Friday, after he refused to get dressed in his jail uniform, Booker appeared virtually at the proceedings over Zoom, with District Court Judge Joseph Boedeker noting in court that he was a “very disruptive defendant.” When his mic was briefly unmuted during the proceedings, Booker began to scream, yelling “let me f–king go,” according to The Detroit News.

The hearing is scheduled to continue on Friday, August 15.