FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Police have named the ex-boyfriend of a Sunrise mother found dead in the trunk of her car a person of interest Wednesday.

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His family spoke out with a message to the family of Linda Renee Innocent, a mother of four.

Innocent's ex-boyfriend, 37-year-old Vernon Howard, is in jail on federal charges on a $25,000 bond. His family said that once he gets out of jail they hope he will be able to help police find the truth about Innocent's death.

"I'm sad, I'm hurt," Sharondette James, Howard's sister, said. "I don't know who could've done such a thing like that."

Howard's family said they considered Innocent part of their family.

Innocent's body was found in the trunk of her car at Miami International Airport after police had searched for the missing woman for days.

"He doesn't know what could've happened to her," James said. "I mean, he doesn't have anything to do with this."

Howard is in jail on unrelated federal weapons charges and has a criminal history. He was arrested four days after Innocent was last seen leaving a home, where she worked as a hospice nurse. Innocent and Howard had two children together.

"We want to embrace them, we want to be there for them," Cecila Little, Howard's sister, said. "But we can't. We're afraid that they may think we have ulterior motives if we try to reach out to them."

Innocent had a restraining order against Howard. However, the last three phone calls made from her cell phone were to him.

"Whoever the killer is, whether they have the same blood I do or they don't, I don't stand behind a killer," Little said.

Howard is still in jail.

People can help Innocent's four children by donating to a trust fund in any Wachovia bank. The name of the fund is Linda Innocent's Assistance Fund.