A California man parked his Mercedes-Benz on a sidewalk and murdered a 74-year-old woman who “spilled” water on his car while walking around it as the two “exchanged words,” prosecutors say. The driver allegedly hit the victim, then ran over her body after she “slid off the hood” of his Benz.
Valentino Amil, 31, faces charges for killing Dannielle Spillman in San Francisco on April 13 while leaving a gas station at Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue. He allegedly fled from the scene with his wife and two children in the car.
According to court documents, Amil drove his black 2024 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan to the Chevron gas station at 1601 Mission Street and filled up his car with gas. After refueling, Amil allegedly drove with his window down toward the exit and slowly started to merge into traffic on Mission Street while partially blocking the sidewalk.
“While Amil’s Mercedes Benz was stopped partially in the roadway and partially on the sidewalk, the 74-year-old victim was walking on the sidewalk,” the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office recounts in a press release. “The victim walked up to and alongside Mr. Amil’s vehicle, seeming to take exception with Mr. Amil blocking the sidewalk. Mr. Amil and the victim allegedly exchanged words as the victim walked from the driver’s side to the front of Mr. Amil’s car.”
Surveillance video obtained by police shows Spillman walking in front of Amil’s Mercedes while it sat stopped on the sidewalk, according to prosecutors. Amil allegedly had his window down and exchanged words with Spillman as she attempted to walk around the Mercedes.
“The victim spilled liquid onto the hood of Mr. Amil’s car from a water bottle,” the DA’s office alleges. “Mr. Amil then immediately accelerated into the victim.”
Spillman was knocked off her feet and onto the Mercedes’ hood and windshield, per the DA’s office. “After driving several feet, Mr. Amil decelerated and the victim slid off the hood, landing directly in front of the car,” the office alleges. “According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Amil then allegedly drove off, running over the victim and not stopping.”
Police and medics arrived on scene and pronounced Spillman dead less than 10 minutes later, according to prosecutors. San Francisco Police later arrested Amil without incident after he allegedly drove away from the scene while Spillman was dying.
“My husband is not a villain,” Amil’s wife, who chooses to remain anonymous, told local Fox affiliate KTVU after he was charged with murder and ordered held without bail last week.
“It’s not fair that the villain that they’re painting of my husband,” the wife said. “I am not handling this well. I haven’t ate, I haven’t slept, I wake up crying, and I go to sleep crying.”
Amil’s father, who also asked KTVU to withhold his identity, told the outlet, “This was an accident that’s steered into a direction that it should not be.”
During his first court appearance last week, Amil’s defense lawyer said he was trying to protect his family from Spillman that day. The attorney noted how Amil was with his 5-month-old son and 11-year-old daughter, and was worried about their safety.
Prosecutors say Amil intentionally hit and killed Spillman, with the DA’s office pointing to the surveillance video that allegedly shows Amil running over Spillman’s body after she fell off the hood of his Mercedes.
“Mr. Amil is charged with murder, with an allegation that he used a deadly weapon (automobile) in the commission of the murder,” the DA’s office says in its press release. “He is also charged with one count of felony leaving the scene of an accident.”
Amil is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 6.
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