Web Desk
Emergency responders in Waterbury, Connecticut, arrived at a house fire last month and made a shocking discovery.
After rescuing a woman, they found her malnourished adult stepson.
He told them he had started the fire to escape from a small room where she had kept him locked for 20 years.
“I want my freedom,” he said while struggling to breathe due to smoke inhalation, according to a statement from the Waterbury Police Department.
Authorities did not reveal his name but stated he was 32 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighed only 68 pounds.
Nearly a month later, on Wednesday, police arrested his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 56. She owned the house and had called 911 to report the fire.
Investigators determined that she had abused her stepson since he was 11 years old.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo described the case as heartbreaking and unimaginable. He praised the officers and prosecutors for their relentless efforts.
Victim’s Condition and Captivity
When police found the man, he was extremely thin, unkempt, and covered in dirt. His hair was matted, his teeth were decayed, and he had severe physical deterioration, according to court records.
Doctors diagnosed him with cachexia, a condition that causes extreme weight loss, often seen in cancer patients. His body mass index (BMI) was a dangerously low 11.
He was near starvation, had limited movement in his limbs, and suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. His cognitive abilities were comparable to an adolescent’s.
Authorities charged Sullivan with assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment. She was placed in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction.
Investigators found that she had confined her stepson in an 8-by-9-foot room without heating in winter or air conditioning in summer.
He had been denied medical and dental care for two decades. Police said he survived on minimal food and water, leading to his emaciated state.
Stepmother Denies Allegations
Sullivan’s lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, dismissed the allegations as false. In an interview with a local TV station, he claimed she never locked her stepson in a room or restrained him. He insisted she provided food and shelter.
Years of Abuse and Neglect
Court records reveal that the abuse began when the victim was a child. While he attended school, he was locked in his room upon returning home.
He received so little food and water that he drank from the toilet and scavenged for scraps in school trash cans.
The school reported concerns to the state’s Department of Children and Families.
Officials visited the home twice, but after their second visit, the boy disappeared from school, marking the start of even harsher captivity.
His daily routine remained unchanged for years. Each morning, Sullivan released him briefly to do chores before locking him up again.
He passed time by listening to a radio outside his door, counting passing cars, and reading a few books and a dictionary.
Denied access to a bathroom, he used newspapers and bottles for waste disposal. He feared escaping, as Sullivan threatened to reduce his food or lock him up for longer.
She warned that if he ran away, he “would not see the light of day.” She also kept a gun at home.
He survived on two sandwiches, a snack, and two small bottles of water per day. He had not received medical care in years, and his teeth broke off while eating.
When investigators asked if he had ever felt hunger, he replied, “All day, every day, my entire life.”
Desperate Escape Plan
The victim said he had not planned to set the fire. He found a lighter while cleaning, then used hand sanitizer and printer paper to ignite the flames. He waited until the fire grew, then screamed for help.
His stepmother and another person, whose name was redacted in court records, pulled him from the room.
They quickly tried to clean him and remove the slide bolt lock on the door to hide evidence of his captivity.
When firefighters arrived, the victim collapsed on purpose, ignoring his stepmother’s orders to stand. He hoped they would understand the severity of his condition when they had to lift him off the floor.
