An emaciated 32-year-old man escaped from a home in Waterbury, Connecticut, on February 17 where he had allegedly been held captive since he was a child.
Following his daring escape and rescue, the man told officials how he spent the majority of his time locked in a small room with only minimal sustenance, the New York Post reported Thursday.
His stepmother, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, was arrested Wednesday and is facing charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty, and reckless endangerment.
Ct. mom held stepson captive for decades in ‘something out of a horror movie’ before he lit fire to escape: police https://t.co/zWQN3K9Bav pic.twitter.com/pU9tZdausb
— New York Post (@nypost) March 13, 2025
The victim’s escape happened when he was reportedly let out for a few minutes that evening to fix a lightbulb in the home’s kitchen. However, Sullivan allegedly put him back into his holding room when he could not accomplish the task.
Law enforcement said the man then decided he would set a fire close to the door with hand sanitizer, paper, some games, and a lighter he had found in some of his deceased father’s clothing that he was allowed to keep.
Police said the man told them, “I wanted my freedom,” according to KCCI. When the fire grew, he began stomping and yelling to alert his stepmother to the blaze. She reportedly unbolted the door to his room and he collapsed at the top of the stairs but was reportedly eventually able to get up and go down the stairs.
The Post report said, “He recalled his sister and her boyfriend arriving at the home around the same time as fire crews — and that his stepmom allegedly shouted for them to ‘get a screwdriver to get the locks off of the door.'”
However, when the victim collapsed again he stayed on the ground so that he would have to be rescued. Once he was rescued and EMS crews began treating him for smoke inhalation, the man said he had deliberately started the fire.
The man also claimed he had been held captive since he was 11 years old, according to WGN-TV.
The victim was reportedly pulled out of school when he was in fourth grade and had no contact with anyone outside of the house, and there had been two reports of well-being checks in 2005, per WFSB:
In addition, the man claimed he was forced to drink water out of the home’s toilet because he was only given two glasses per day to drink, WTNH reported.
“According to the court affidavit, the man said he was pulled out of school after the school called the Department of Children and Families twice due to him constantly asking students for food during lunch time because he was allegedly starved at home,” a reporter for the outlet said.
The WFSB report said the man’s stepmother, his father who passed away, two half-sisters, and his grandmother who is no longer living knew about his situation but kept him a secret.
A defense attorney in the case claimed the man’s father had dictated how he was raised, according to NBC Connecticut:
“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo.
