The wife of the man who now faces murder charges in connection with the vehicular death of 74-year-old Dannielle Spillman insists that the criminal charges are unfair, and says "My husband is not a villain."31-year-old Valentino Amil was charged last week with the April 13 murder of Dannielle Spillm an. We now learn that Amil was driving with his wife and two children in the car when, pulling out of the Chevron gas station and car wash at Mission and South Van Ness, he encountered Spillman. Amil's Mercedes was blocking the sidewalk as he prepared to pull onto Mission Street, and Spillman allegedly exchanged words with Amil, walked around the front of the car, and spilled water onto the hood from a water bottle.Surveillance video from the scene show Amil accelerate into Spillman, knocking her onto the hood of the car and then off of it into the street, and subsequently running her over.This week we learned that Amil's defense will include the claim that he believed his family was threatened by Spillman, and he was protecting them by trying to drive off. In addition to an 11-year-old daughter and his wife, Amil's five-month-old son was also in the car at the time of the incident.District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has said that, having viewed the video, there is not evidence to support an argument of self-defense in this case. And adding to the suspicion of guilt is the fact that Amil fled the scene rather than staying to cooperate with police.As KTVU reports, Amil's wife has come forward in her husband's defense, calling the charges against him, "outrageous" and saying "it’s not fair" that he should face this prosecution."It’s not fair that the villain that they’re painting of my husband. My husband is not a villain," says Amil's wife, who did not share her full name with the station."My family and I are completely devastated and heartbroken," the woman added.She tells KTVU that of course she and her family feel sadness for the loss of Ms. Spillman's life."We carry, very very deep remorse for Dannielle," she says. "It was a life. We understand that in its entirety."Spillman, a trans elder and musician who was well known at local guitar stores Real Guitars and Guitar Center, reportedly told friend and nonprofit case worker Derrick Guerra in recent months that she had been feeling less and less safe in the city as a trans person, being frequently misgendered, and feeling more threatened than she had living here in the 1990s.Amil was scheduled for a court appearance Friday, for a bail hearing. We'll update this post when we learn the outcome of the hearing.Related: Vigil to Be Held Monday for Pedestrian Killed In SoMa Hit-and-RunTop image: The Chevron station exit where the collision occurred, via Google Street View ...read more read less