A Florida couple now faces murder charges following the death of a 10-year-old boy who suffered “unimaginable abuse,” authorities said Monday.
The boy, Xavier Williams, died at a Central Florida hospital over the weekend. He’d been dropped off at the hospital on Feb. 22 by his mother, Kimberley Mills, and her boyfriend, Andre Walker, according to police.
Medical personnel quickly recognized that young Xavier was suffering from multiple injuries consistent with abuse, cops said. Mills, 37, and Walker, 36, were arrested shortly afterward.
The two remained behind bars for weeks as doctors attempted to save Xavier’s life. Police announced the boy’s death on Friday.
Xavier’s younger brother told police that Mills and Walker would bind Xavier’s hands to a ladder and then drop 10-pound weights onto the boy’s exposed stomach. The brother said Mills and Walker abused him in the same way.
“This innocent child’s life was marked by unspeakable suffering, and his loss has deeply shaken our community and everyone involved in this case,” the Tavares Police Department wrote on Facebook. Xavier was “a victim of unimaginable abuse and neglect at the hands of those who were meant to care for him.”
Xavier’s biological father lives in Bloomfield, Conn., and traveled to Florida after his son was hospitalized. The father and Mills divorced two years ago, according to Connecticut Fox affiliate WTIC. Mills got custody of their two sons.