Latest news with #FifthJudicialCircuit
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Death penalty sought against Tavares mom, boyfriend in boy's abuse, death
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Tavares mother and her boyfriend, both accused in the horrific abuse and 'torture' of her 10-year-old son who died recently from his injuries. Kimberley Mills, 37, and her boyfriend, Andre Walker, 36, were indicted by a grand jury on first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse charges, said Bill Gladson, the state attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which includes Lake County, at a Thursday press conference. The charges stem from the abuse of Xavier Williams and his younger brother, who recently turned 9, and Xavier's death. Gladson said prosecutors have filed a death penalty notice in the case because of the victim's young age and the heinous nature of the crime. Xavier died March 21, nearly after a month after he was brought to the hospital in cardiac arrest. Gladson said the indictments charge that the abuse began around Christmas Eve. Police said that is about when the two suspects began dating. Xavier's father and other family members attended the press conference at the Lake County Courthouse. His aunt, Cameil Williams, speaking next to a giant photograph of a smiling Xavier, said they were pleased with the state attorney's decision. 'It hasn't been a joyous occasion, but we are pleased with the news we got today,' she said. 'We want to thank the Tavares Police Department and the grand jury for their timeless efforts in ensuring that this journey to justice is a deserved one for Xavier Williams — our beloved Xavier Williams — and his brother,' she added. 'Let's thank God for the news that we got today. Last but never least.' Xavier died less than four weeks after Mills and Walker brought him to a hospital with Mills performing CPR on him in a car. Court records show medical staff found bruising — including 'severe' bruising on his face — burns and signs of sexual abuse on his body. The child was also bleeding internally. Both suspects were quickly arrested. Xavier's younger brother later told police Mills and Walker punished him and his brother by hitting them with a copper rod, punching them with boxing gloves and tying them by wrists and ankles to a ladder with duct tape and then dropping a 10-pound weight on their stomachs. Tavares Police Chief Sarah Coursey thanked her officers for their work on the case and said she was confident Mills and Walker would be held accountable. 'This is not an act of vengeance, but a solemn response born of the respect for Xavier and his family,' she said. 'The severity of their crimes demands an equal response and I trust that justice will prevail.' Detective Courtney Sullivan said Mills methodically covered up the abuse, with neither neighbors nor school employees at the boys' school suspecting they were hurt. Mills had Xavier wear long-sleeved shirts to hide the marks and bruises on his body, Sullivan said. Court records show injuries included burn marks that were 'long in shape as if something hot was placed on … skin.' She also 'isolated' the boys from their father — who lives in Connecticut — by taking away their phones and making difficult for him to visit them. When police searched Mills' home after Xavier was brought to the hospital, they found medical-grade sanitizing wipes along with a mop and bucket — leading them to believe the two were attempting to clean up evidence. According to a police report, investigators also found trash cans containing children's clothing with duct tape attached, a long-sleeved sweatshirt with tape around the arms and sweatpants with tape at the ankle area — as if it had been used to bind the wearer. A ladder was found in the garage with multiple layers of duct tape fashioned into loops as if it were used as a restraining device.
Miami Herald
27-02-2025
- Miami Herald
Man staying with 13-year-old's family rapes her, gives her Plan B, Florida cops say
A man staying with family friends raped their 13-year-old daughter, gave her a Plan B pill and threatened to kill her if she told anyone, Florida authorities said. A judge sentenced 34-year-old Robert McGuire Jr. to 18 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery upon a person 12 to 18 involving threat of retaliation, the Florida State Attorney's Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit announced Feb. 26. McGuire's attorney declined to comment to McClatchy News. McGuire had been living in the family's spare room for about six months when a teen girl told her teachers one Monday in October 2021 that McGuire had raped her twice in the last two days, deputies with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office wrote in an arrest affidavit. When deputies spoke to one of the teachers, she said the teen shared that 'this was happening just about every weekend' when McGuire would drink, according to the affidavit. The teen specifically referenced incidents from two separate nights over the weekend, deputies said. McGuire is accused of entering her room, choking her until she couldn't breathe and raping her, then threatening to kill her if she ever told anyone. The teen said she told McGuire 'someone would find out,' but he said if he went to prison he would kill her when he got out, according to deputies. A day after the second incident, the teen said McGuire gave her a Plan B pill and she took it, deputies said. One witness noted the teen had been quiet for a few days before the girl shared what happened during the car ride on the way home from school, according to investigators. The girl's parents reported it to law enforcement. Investigators obtained footage from a CVS showing McGuire buying the morning after pill, and DNA evidence implicated him in the crimes, prosecutors said. After initially pleading not guilty, McGuire kicked off a three-year legal process before eventually changing his plea Feb. 20, records show. Hernando County is about a 75-mile drive west from Orlando.
