Background: Xavier Williams (Tavares Police Department). Insets: Kimberley Mills, and Andre Walker (Tavares Police Department).
A Florida mom will spend the rest of her days behind bars after a judge adjudicated her guilty in the death of her 10-year-old son whom she left at the hospital as staff performed CPR on his battered body.
Kimberley Mills, 38, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, among other charges, in the death of her son Xavier Williams, according to prosecutors in the Sunshine State. She was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday. As part of her plea deal, she must testify against her boyfriend, 37-year-old Andre Walker, during his trial later this year. Prosecutors believe he was the primary abuser in the case.
Xavier”s father Keniel Williams spoke of the impact of his son’s death.
“I have sleepless nights. I got pictures of the family that I just can’t delete out of my phone. I just can’t. I’m not just talking about pictures of my son, there’s pictures of her,” he said, motioning over to Mills. “In this case we weren’t married, and to see that Xavier was taken away from us, it’s hard. It’s very hard to cope with. It is very hard to even function at work. It’s just hard to live, sometimes without end.”
Mills’ attorney said his client was pleading guilty for several reasons, the most important of which was she did not want to “re-traumatize” her living son by having to testify against her.
Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney, said the plea deal is about holding those responsible for Xavier’s death accountable.
“Mills’ plea, which includes truthful testimony against her co-defendant, strengthens our ability to pursue that goal and ensures the full story is brought before the court,” he said. “In doing so, Mills will spend the rest of her life incarcerated. I have no doubt she will think of Xavier every waking day and regret the pain and suffering she made him endure while she repeatedly endures her own.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Mills and Walker rushed her son to a hospital in Tavares, an Orlando suburb, on Feb. 22, 2025, after he went into cardiac arrest. Hospital staff noticed he had bruises all over his body along with several burn marks and evidence of possible sexual abuse.
“Both Kimberley and the male left the hospital after learning that law enforcement was responding to the hospital, all while the juvenile was undergoing CPR in the Emergency Department,” cops wrote in a press release.
The mother returned to the hospital after a “short period of time” with another child but Walker never came back, police said. Mills allegedly refused to give cops information about Walker’s whereabouts or even identify him. Eventually, she gave up Walker’s name to the Department of Children and Families and authorities issued an arrest warrant, according to cops.
Detectives searched Mills’ home and collected “pertinent pieces of evidence” and confirmed Walker’s identity. He was later taken into custody. Both have been in jail since their arrests.
Xavier stayed on life support for about a month before he died on March 21, 2025.
Walker has a court hearing set for Jan. 20.
