A Florida mother and her boyfriend have been arrested after they allegedly subjected two young boys to “unspeakable torment” during a campaign of abuse that resulted in one having a heart attack.
Tavares police have shared “horrifying details” of the case, which resulted in the February arrests of Kimberley Mills, 37, and Andre Walker, 36. Both appeared in court on Tuesday.
The pair were taken into custody after rushing Mills’s 10-year-old son to the hospital suffering from cardiac arrest and covered in bruises, burn marks and other injuries.
It was later found that he was suffering from “internal bleeding in his stomach area” and possible head trauma, judging from dark marks around his eyes.
The boy remained in critical condition as of Wednesday, according to News6. Tavares police said that after learning that law enforcement was on their way to the hospital, Mills and Walker fled. Mills later returned with the boy’s younger brother, according to investigators.
Investigators say that the younger boy told officers how “he and his older brother suffered unspeakable torment,” adding his bravery has since given the agency “the determination to ensure that justice is served.”
At Mills’s home, police discovered a six-foot ladder, a 10-pound weight and duct tape, according to the release.
Investigators believe the items were used to restrain the 10-year-old boy, with his hands bound above his head, while the weight was dropped onto his exposed stomach.
A copper wire was also found at the property, which detectives said was used to inflict further harm on the boys. “The sheer brutality of these acts is indescribable,” the release stated.
Mills 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, police said.
Walker faces charges of tampering with evidence, two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of accessory to aggravated child abuse.
Tavares Police Department Detectives Courtney Sullivan and Doug Roberts both testified at the hearing on Tuesday.
Roberts, who interviewed the younger brother, detailed the forms of abuse and said that both children had been subject to it.
“He stated that [his brother] was being punished in the living room, and then after that, he was taken into the garage by Andre, who he also said was mom’s boyfriend,” Roberts said, per WESH2. “He was taken into the garage and punished further by Andre in the garage.”
Judge Brian Welke described the circumstances of the offenses and the nature of the injuries to the boys as “egregious.”
Both Walker and Mills are expected back in court on March 24.
