A Newark man pleaded not guilty to killing a woman as the victim's family sat in the court room.
NEWARK -- When the brief courtroom hearing ended Tuesday, Shuquan Davis looked down an shook his head.
Davis, 32, had just watched James Edwards plead not guilty to the Nov. 9, 2015 murder of his mother, Pamela Davis.
The decapitated body of Pamela Davis, 50, the mother of three, was found in the 800 block of 11th Street in Newark last November, authorities said.
"It's painful," Shuquan Davis said after the Edwards' arraignment. "That's mother we're talking about. She didn't deserve this." His brother, sister, and other relatives also attended the arraignment.
Authorities said Pamela Davis' family first reported her missing on Oct. 30, 2015.
On Nov. 11, two days after the Newark woman's body was discovered, Edwards was arrested and charged with desecration of human remain.
Last week those charges were upgraded to murder based on the findings of the medical examiner, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said.
Authorities said Edwards and Davis got into a dispute. Thomas Fennelly, chief assistant prosecutor for Essex County, said Edwards allegedly killed Davis and then attempted to get rid of the body by dismembering her remains.
At the arraignment Tuesday, Edwards, 57, of Newark, stood with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was dressed in green jail-issued shirt and pants from the Essex County Correctional Facility.
"Good morning, sir," Edwards said to Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler. Those were the only words the defendant spoke during hearing.
Edwards' lawyer, Sterling Kinsale of the Public Defender's Office, entered a not guilty plea. Bail for Edwards remained at $500,000, and he is being held in the county jail.
The hearing for the arraignment took less five minutes. After it was over, Shuquan Davis and his relatives quietly walked from the courtroom.
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