ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The ex-boyfriend of a Warren woman who went missing last week has been arrested in connection to her case, police said. Investigators said he is the primary suspect.
Ashley Elkins, 30, hasn't been seen or heard from since Jan. 2, family said. They've been pleading for her safe return and for the public's help in getting answers. Family said police told them they believe she was murdered by her ex-boyfrend.
Wednesday night, authorities said her ex-boyfriend was arrested in Genessee County by Roseville and Warren police departments. He has been charged with lying to a peace officer, online records show. 7 News Detroit is not naming him at this time because he has not yet been formally charged. He's expected to be arraigned Thursday morning.
"The family is obviously very devastated. We're happy to hear about an arrest. But tonight, we met with Roseville and Warren police departments and they indicated to us that based on the evidence that Ashley had been murdered and by the ex-boyfriend at his home, that this likely occurred late (last) Thursday, early Friday," Elkins' uncle Maurice Morton told us Wednesday night. "Hearing that is devastating."
Watch Maurice Morton talk with Carolyn Clifford in the video player below:
Morton said the family is supporting each other during this time.
"We were hopeful that she would be found, but getting the news tonight is just devastating," Morton said.
Elkins’ last known location was in Roseville, according to police and her family. Multiple police agencies spent hours on Tuesday investigating at the ex-boyfriend’s Roseville home at the Hampton Court Apartments.
Also on Wednesday, officials said there is a “strong possibility” of foul play in the case, “likely occurring” at the apartment complex.
Using a search warrant, officials say they recovered “significant evidence, including forensics.” They recovered Elkins' silver Chevrolet Malibu in the area of 13 Mile Road and Little Mack Avenue. Officials also seized a trash dumpster at the Hampton Court Apartments on Pinehurst Street near Frazho Road, south of 11 Mile Road.
Watch Chopper 7 video from the Roseville investigation scene below:
"They basically said based on the evidence that was at the apartment, which was substantial and I would assume that was blood evidence. And then also there appeared to have been evidence inside that dumpster, so they hauled that away, they're still analyzing. And so, we know that there will be more evidence to come out eventually," Morton said.
According to family, Elkins left her Warren home on Knox Avenue around 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 2 to run errands. Her younger sister was the last loved one to see her. Elkins' mother Monika stopped by the home but had just missed her.
After speaking with her earlier in the day, Ashley Elkins' family lost contact with her.
"She didn't say anything, which was strange to me and then I said to her, 'well, you know, be careful. Watch your surroundings.' Nothing (from Ashley) after that," Monika Elkins told us on Monday.
Loved ones used the iPhone Find My feature in hopes of finding her. A few hours after she was last seen leaving home, her phone's last location appeared at the apartment complex in Roseville.
"We knew that he had been trying to reach out to her, whether to get back with her, I don't know," Morton told us on Monday.
Hear more from family in the video player below:
However, by the time loved ones drove by the apartment, they said there was no sign of Ashley Elkins, the man, nor her vehicle.
"She has not been in touch with anyone. We're talking about a mother of two children, who are 10 and 7 years old, who loves her children, loves her family. She's always in contact with her family and to not be in contact, not have responded in five days or reached out, that's just uncommon," Morton previously explained.
The family said the man she used to date had been seen in days either. 7 News Detroit stopped by the apartment complex on Monday and knocked on the door. No one answered.
Ashley Elkins is a hairstylist and works out of her home. Family said the man came to her home after making a fake appointment as a client.
"It was him, and (her sisters) were in the house quiet," Monika Elkins told us previously. "She told (her sisters) to be quiet. He knocked on the front door and the side door and he left. And here, it's... days later and she's gone."
Warren police said the family reported Ashley Elkins missing on Jan. 3. Investigators confirmed her last known location was Roseville and say they've canvassed several area businesses for video and are using digital forensics in the case to try to track her whereabouts.
"I understand they work very hard, but the family is asking them to work harder. We know that every minute counts," Morton previously said.
Ashley Elkins is described as standing 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-3, a Black woman and weighs 150 pounds.
If anyone knows anything about her disappearance or anything about the case, Warren police detectives want to hear from you. That number is 586-574-4784.
— 7 News Detroit reporter Brett Kast contributed to this report.
