TAVARES, Fla. – A Tavares mother and her boyfriend are facing additional charges after a 10-year-old boy was tortured, abused and taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said on Friday.
Speaking at a news conference that afternoon, Detective Courtney Sullivan said her team had learned there was a second victim, the boy’s little brother, adding the 10 year old was still in critical condition.
Recommended Videos
“The younger brother in this case was also a victim of aggravated child abuse and child neglect,” she said. “We will not go into details on what took place in the residence due to maintaining the integrity of the case.”
Kimberley Mills, 37, and Andre Walker, 36, were arrested after the two took the 10-year-old to the hospital, covered in bruises, burn marks and other injuries, police said.
The connection between Mills and Walker was not initially released, but police confirmed on Friday that the two are boyfriend and girlfriend.
Mills now faces charges of tampering with evidence, two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of child neglect and two counts of accessory to aggravated child abuse, Sullivan said. Walker faces charges of tampering with evidence, two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of accessory to aggravated child abuse, according to the detective.
The department said these additional charges stem from the two “torturing and abusing” the 10-year-old and his younger brother. The age of the other boy has not been released.
The 10-year-old has been in critical condition in the hospital since Saturday.
Police said Mills was performing CPR on the child while the man ran inside the hospital for help when they arrived to AdventHealth Waterman. He was later taken via helicopter to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he remains in critical condition.
According to police, Mills and Walker “left the hospital after learning that law enforcement was responding to the hospital, all while the juvenile was undergoing CPR.” She returned a short time later with another child, but Walker was not with them.
At Friday’s news conference, Sullivan said that investigators believe Mills and Walker had gone back to the residence to do a “hasty cleanup.”
“I’m happy to say that they did a really bad job, because we were able to obtain several pieces of evidence that will definitely assist our case,” Sullivan said.
Mills refused to tell officers how the 10-year-old was injured, police said. Police searched for Walker and he was later arrested on Monday.
“We are working closely with the State Attorney’s Office to ensure that these two boys get the justice that they deserve,” the department said in a release.
The department also said it is working with the Tavares Police Charity to help the boys’ family, and anyone who would like to provide donations can drop them off at the department. Information on how to help will be provided on the department’s Facebook page.
“We all become police officers to help the community, right? As detectives, we look for convictions, we don’t look just to charge someone with something, we put an entire case together to piece it together to ensure that the people that we put in jail stay in jail. This case is especially sensitive because it’s kids. Don’t mess with kids, period. As parents, we will make sure that we will do whatever it takes to keep our children safe,” Sullivan said Friday.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.