POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A shackled 32-year-old Edwin Amaya appeared in court Monday for his arraignment, pleading not guilty to premeditated murder.
Amaya is accused of running over his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Hernandez, twice with his truck in front of her children in Pompano Beach back in September.
The attack, which authorities said was witnessed by her three children, left the family devastated.
“She was a really good mom,” her daughter tearfully said in court Monday.
Hernandez, 29, a mother of three, shared a 2-year-old son with the suspect.
According to investigators, the fatal incident on Sept. 21 occurred following an argument over the child.
Authorities say Edwin Amaya became belligerent when he arrived at an apartment on Southwest Eighth Street in Pompano Beach, threatening to shoot everyone.
Shortly after, prosecutors said Amaya allegedly got into his Ford F-150 and slammed into Hernandez.
“We do find probable cause,” the judge said as video footage of the crash was paused in court.
Amaya fled the scene but was later captured and taken into custody. He remains in jail without bond after a judge denied his release last week.
Hernandez’s 10-year-old daughter shared the toll her mother’s death has taken on their family.
“She didn’t trust anyone to take care of us but my grandma and my aunties. She was my queen for everything,” she said.
Police said Amaya took off shortly after the incident occurred but was taken into custody a short time later just off Dixie Highway.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help Hernandez’s family bring her body back to Honduras.