A 56-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and assault after allegedly holding her stepson captive for 20 years.
Kimberly Sullivan was arraigned on Wednesday, March 12, facing multiple serious charges related to the prolonged abuse of her 32-year-old stepson, whose name has not been released.
The case came to light on February 17 when the victim set fire to a small upstairs bedroom in his Waterbury home. Firefighters responding to the blaze discovered the severely emaciated man, who weighed just 68 pounds. Prosecutors described his physical state as being “akin to a survivor of Auschwitz’s death camp.”
While being treated for smoke inhalation, the man revealed to emergency responders that he had deliberately started the fire as a desperate attempt to escape.
“I wanted my freedom,” he allegedly told police.
According to investigators, the victim had been confined to an 8-foot-by-9-foot room without heat or air conditioning since he was about 11 years old. Authorities now believe he endured over two decades of extreme abuse, starvation, and severe neglect. During that time, he reportedly received no medical or dental care.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo called the case “both heartbreaking and unimaginable.”
“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is beyond comprehension,” Spagnolo said. “This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend our officers and the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office for ensuring justice is served.”
Sullivan remains in custody on a $300,000 bond. Her attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, stated that she “adamantly denies” the charges and intends to fight them in court.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don Therkildsen described the case as “something straight out of a horror movie.”
“The victim knew lighting the fire could cost him his life,” prosecutors said during Sullivan’s arraignment. “But after 20 years of captivity, he was willing to take that risk.”
According to court documents, the victim’s living conditions worsened after his father’s death last year. He told authorities that he was provided only two cups of water a day but was sometimes forced to drink from the toilet.
Former school officials revealed that concerns about the victim’s well-being date back decades. Tom Pannone, the principal of his elementary school, told NBC that police had been alerted when the boy stopped attending classes, but no action was taken.
“We knew something was wrong, we reported it, and not a damn thing was done,” Pannone said.
He recalled that teachers had noticed the boy was severely underweight and that he once admitted to being denied food at home.
“Everyone was concerned about this child since he was five years old. We knew something was terribly wrong,” Pannone added.
