Family and friends paid tribute Monday in Homestead to a pregnant mother who was abducted and murdered last week allegedly at the hands of the father of her children.
Monday would have been the 28th birthday of Andraea Lloyd, who was honored with the release of dozens of balloons in her memory near where her body was found.
Family members told a crowd of supporters how grateful their were and how much they miss Lloyd.
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"That was my baby, that was my heart," father Arnold Lloyd said. "That was my heart and all my kids know that was my baby and she was number one, she was number one because she always loved her daddy."
Lloyd's boyfriend, 32-year-old Xavier Johnson, was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and armed burglary with assault or battery, after police said he confessed to abducting and killing Lloyd.
Police said Johnson admitted to kidnapping Lloyd from a home where she was working as a caretaker on Dec. 7 and killing her. Her remains were found the next day in a wooded area in Homestead after Lloyd's family tracked Johnson to the area.
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Family members said the couple had been together for 11 years, had two young children together, and were expecting a third, with Lloyd around six weeks pregnant.
Johnson appeared before a judge on Thursday, where he was ordered held without bond.
Lloyd's family said they don't know why he allegedly killed her.
"All we can do is pray to get through this. It’s an emotional moment and I can’t tell you nothing different than we’re going through it," uncle Manuel Lloyd said.
