TAVARES, Fla.—Less than a full day after Tavares Police Department announced the death of a little boy they say suffered “unimaginable abuse,” a memorial is growing at the home where he suffered the abuse. The home is adorned with balloons, stuffed animals and flowers left by community members expressing their sorrow and condolences for the boy who was just 10 years old.
The boy, whose name has not been released, attended a local elementary school and by all accounts, according to TPD, his mother, Kimberley Mills, kept the abuse hidden from everyone, including adults and children he interacted with at school. Inside Lake first reported Mills is a registered nurse, and numerous people have reached out to say Mills was a wound care nurse, but that has not been officially confirmed. This case has garnered thousands of comments on social media in local word-of-mouth groups and media pages, and some have speculated Mills’ training as a nurse enabled her to cover up the abuse of the boy and his younger brother.
The boys were never on the radar of TPD or the Department of Children and Families (DCF,) and police say the savage abuse occurred at the home the trio shared. Well-kept on the outside, the home is on Dora Avenue, a heavily-traveled road, and passersby couldn’t have imagined the horrific abuse that was allegedly happening inside. The abuse wasn’t revealed until Feb. 22, when Mills and her boyfriend, Andre Walker, 36, arrived at AdventHealth Waterman with the boy in cardiac arrest, and covered in burns and bruises.
A nurse told a TPD detective Walker came into the emergency room and said, “We need help, hurry up,” and as the nurse and another employee exited the ER, they saw Mills performing CPR on the boy. The nurse took over care and immediately noticed bruising and she asked Mills what happened to the child; Mills reportedly said, “I don’t know, (he) started vomiting and then (he) was like this.”
The nurse rushed the boy into the ER and staff took over to begin life-saving measures, working on him for more than 30 minutes to stabilize him. After he was stabilized, the boy was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital, where he spent nearly a month fighting for his life.
The couple 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 the Lake County Jail a few days later. In the hours following the boy’s arrival at the hospital, TPD obtained a search warrant for the home and later interviewed the boy’s younger brother, revealing the inconceivable terror these boys suffered at the hands of their mother and her boyfriend, Sullivan said.
“Through the courage of this young sibling, detectives uncovered the horrifying details of the abuse, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said earlier this month. “This little boy revealed how both he and his older brother suffered unspeakable torment. His bravery in sharing these truths has given our team the determination to ensure that justice is served.” The father of the boys lives out of state and immediately traveled to Florida upon finding out what happened to his sons. The younger boy remains in his care.
Evidence found during the search warrant revealed a house of horrors—a 6-foot ladder, a 10-pound weight, and duct tape, all believed to have been used to restrain the older boy while weights were intentionally dropped onto his exposed stomach, Sullivan said. “His hands were bound above his head, leaving him defenseless.”
Detectives also found a thick insulated copper wire, which had been used to abuse both boys. “The sheer brutality of these acts is indescribable,” Sullivan said.
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. TPD is working closely with the State Attorney’s Office and more charges are expected to be filed in the coming weeks.
