Valentino Cash Amil, 30, appeared in court at the Hall of Justice, where emotions were high on both sides of the case. His wife left the courthouse in tears, covering her face while holding the couple's child.
Before the hearing, she told ABC7 Eyewitness News, "We're hanging in there."
Spillman's family was also in court Friday. They were visibly emotional and declined to speak before or after the hearing.
Amil is charged with murder, felony leaving the scene of an accident and a deadly weapon enhancement tied to the use of the vehicle. Prosecutors say he intentionally hit Spillman with his Mercedes on April 13 outside a gas station near Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue, then drove away.
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According to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the confrontation started after Spillman approached Amil's car outside the gas station. Prosecutors say surveillance video shows Spillman walking toward the front of the vehicle, taking issue with Amil blocking the sidewalk, and pouring liquid from a water bottle onto the hood. Prosecutors say that liquid was water.
Moments later, prosecutors say Amil accelerated into Spillman, knocking her onto the hood and windshield. They say he drove several feet, slowed down, and Spillman slid off the hood before Amil drove over her and left the scene. He was detained about a mile away.
Amil's defense attorney, Seth Morris, has argued the case is not murder, and his client did not flee the scene. Morris has said Amil was in the car with his wife and two children, heading to Disneyland, when he believed his family was in danger. The defense says Amil was trying to get his family to safety and feared the liquid Spillman poured on the car may have been gasoline.
Morris declined to speak with ABC7 Eyewitness News after Friday's hearing, but in court pointed to Amil's lack of a criminal record and described him as a family man. He has previously called the murder charge outrageous.
Prosecutors have rejected the self-defense argument. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has said the evidence will show intention, not self-defense.
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"I expect defense attorneys to say things that are favorable to their clients. We have a different view of this evidence, which is why we landed where we did as far as charges," Jenkins previously said.
On Friday, the judge said Amil had already left the scene once and the court could not trust he would not do it again.
Amil remains in custody without bond as the case moves forward. A preliminary hearing is set for May 6.