Update: Tavares Police have identified the boy as Xavier Williams.
TAVARES, Fla.—The boy who was savagely abused by his mother and her boyfriend has died.
The 10-year-old boy was a “victim of unimaginable abuse and neglect at the hands of those who were meant to care for him,” Tavares Police Department Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said in an email. “This innocent child’s life was marked by unspeakable suffering, and his loss has deeply shaken our community and everyone involved in this case.”
Charges are expected to be upgraded in the case and TPD is working closely with the State Attorney’s Office, Sullivan said. We remain steadfast in our commitment to securing justice for this child and ensuring accountability for the heinous acts committed.”
Kimberley Mills, 37, has been in the Lake County Jail since Feb. 23 after bringing her son AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares the previous night while the child was in cardiac arrest, and covered in burns and bruises. Her boyfriend, Andre Walker, 36, accompanied Mills to the hospital but they soon disappeared when they found out hospital staff called law enforcement. Mills returned to the hospital with the boy’s brother, and Walker’s whereabouts were unknown until he turned himself in at LCJ a few days later.
Currently, Mills is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of child neglect, two counts of accessory to aggravated child abuse and one count of tampering with evidence and Walker is facing two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of accessory to aggravated child abuse and one count of tampering with evidence. Police believe he’s been Mills’ boyfriend for just a few months.
Throughout its investigation TPD found both boys had been abused.
“Both Kimberley Mills and Andre Walker participated in torturing and abusing these two children,” Sullivan said last month.
TPD has set up a fundraiser for the family through its Tavares Police Charity, to donate online, click here. TPD is also accepting gift cards on behalf on the family, you can drop them off at the Tavares Public Safety Building, 911 Gateway Drive, Tavares, FL 32778.
