Mother in ‘gruesome’ child abuse case sentenced to life in prison for murder
By Madilyn Destefano
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TAVARES, Florida (WESH) — Kimberley Mills, 38, the mother accused in the murder of her 10-year-old son, Xavier Williams, changed her plea in court on Wednesday.
Mills changed her original plea of not guilty to charges including first-degree murder and felony child abuse to a plea of no contest on all counts.
The judge, however, adjudicated Mills guilty on all counts and sentenced her to life in prison.
Mills will also testify against her co-defendant in the case, 37-year-old Andre Walker.
“Our focus has always been justice for this child and accountability for those responsible,” said State Attorney Bill Gladson.
“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. 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.”
Xavier’s family was in court on Wednesday for the hearing, where Xavier’s father, Keniel Williams, told the judge and the court how impactful his son’s death has been.
“Remembering my son, I break down,” he said. “When I look at his picture every day, [there are] tears in my eyes.”
Through her attorney, Mills told the court she “loved her sons,” and her decision to accept the plea deal was made so that Xavier’s little brother would not have to testify against his mother.
Originally, Mills pleaded not guilty after police alleged she and her boyfriend, Walker, abused her 10-year-old son Xavier Williams to death.
Investigators said they beat and burned him, and even dropped a 10-pound dumbbell on him while he was duct-taped to a ladder.
On Feb. 22, 2025, the boy was brought to AdventHealth Waterman in cardiac arrest, covered in bruises and burn marks. He was later airlifted to a children’s hospital in Orlando, where he died on March 21, 2025, after nearly a month on life support.
The victim’s death was ruled the direct result of systematic abuse committed by Mills and her paramour, Walker, while at Mills’ home in Tavares, according to the statement from the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Child abuse suspects Florida mom, man accused in gruesome child abuse case plead not guilty Mills had two options: Plead guilty, or “there is also an option of pleading no contest if the judge accepts it and the prosecutor allows it,” said attorney Rajan Joshi.
“What a no-contest plea is essentially saying is I don’t want to contest the plea. I’m not saying I did it, I’m not saying I didn’t do it, but I’m going to accept the responsibility,” Joshi said.
The state filed a notice to seek the death penalty for Mills, and the notice for Andre Walker still stands.
“Nothing will ever justify a life. I believe whether they get the death penalty or don’t get the death penalty, that’s not going to bring my nephew back, that’s not going to bring my brother’s son back,” said Cameil Williams, Xavier’s aunt.
“God is the only person that can say this is what’s going to happen to them for what they did.”
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