MONROE, N.C. -- A woman accused of abandoning her newborn to die by a burn pile in a Union County yard made her first appearance in court early Friday, and friends and family came out to support her.

Erica Kelly, 22, is charged with murder and concealing the birth of a child. She was denied bond Friday, and prosecutors said they are not ruling out pursuing the death penalty in the case.

Investigators said Kelly gave birth on Feb. 24 and either killed the infant or left her to die with her umbilical cord still attached in a yard on Whispering Hollow Road south of Waxhaw, where she had been living for two weeks. The homeowner found the dead baby and called 911.

Kelly was arrested Thursday at Gus’ Family Restaurant in Monroe, where she works.

Investigators said DNA linked Kelly to the infant, but those who know her said they don’t believe she would do something like this. Her sister, Natalie Kelly, said the defendant loves her 2-year-old child. She said her sister was not pregnant recently.

“I seen her the day before they found this child. I seen her the day after they found this child. There was no way she was pregnant,” she said. “Something is going on. They’re trying to get somebody, and that’s really all I got to say. But my sister’s innocent.”

As she walked away, she turned and spoke loudly, saying, “My name is Natalie Kelly and I’m the proud sister of Erica Kelly, and I will be here to support her.”

Louann Colvin also went to Erica Kelly’s hearing Friday. Colvin said her fiancé’s son dated Kelly, and she said Kelly is a good mother.

“I’m not saying that she wasn’t pregnant or she was, or she did it or she didn’t do it, because I can’t judge her,” she said.

Prosecutors did not reveal any new details in the case in court. Kelly is being held in the Union County Jail.

RELATED STORY: Woman Accused In Newborn's Death 'Didn't Look Pregnant'

RELATED STORY: Investigators: Baby Found Dead Was Born Alive, Mother Sought

RAW VIDEO: Investigators Collecting Evidence Where Infant's Remains Found

RELATED STORY: Woman Describes Finding Newborn's Body In Front Yard

RELATED STORY: Baby, Umbilical Cord Attached, Found Dead In Union Co.