A Pennsylvania judge rejected the defense’s request to drop the case against a man accused of killing a pregnant Amish woman and her unborn child and sent the case to a trial court at a preliminary hearing Friday after witnesses shared damning evidence.

Shawn Cranston, a 52-year-old trucker, is accused of barging into the home of Rebekah Byler, 23, and killing her. She was six months pregnant.

The defense argued that prosecutors did not provide a motive or murder weapon and asked the judge to dismiss the charges.

The friend, Julie Warner, said she could not check for a pulse but that Byler’s body was cold by the time she arrived with the victim’s husband, Andy Byler.

Andy Byler testified that he left that morning to check on roofing jobs while his wife was doing laundry and returned with Warner and found her on the floor. 

“I didn’t really believe it,” he testified. “I walked in and saw her cap laying inside the door.”

Cranston, wearing a bulletproof vest, did not speak during the hearing. He faces charges of criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and trespassing. He is being held without bail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.