A Connecticut mother has been accused of holding her stepson captive in terrible circumstances for more than two decades. The stepson, now 32, revealed he deliberately set the house on fire last month in an attempt to gain “freedom.”
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was detained and charged with the horrific crime on Wednesday, a month after the awful living arrangement came to light before the family’s Waterbury home caught fire, authorities said.
According to court documents, Ms Sullivan left the house, and on February 17, her stepson, who weighed only 68 pounds, was subsequently dragged out by firefighters.
He admitted he ignited the fire in a small storage area where he was forced to sleep. He told firemen, “I wanted my freedom.”
According to the authorities, the mother was holding her severely starved stepson captive in “something out of a horror movie” before he set fire to their home in order to flee the “inhumane” and appalling conditions.
Police said the man was “very malnourished” and “quite unclean,” with “matted and untidy” hair and what looked like decaying teeth, according to Ms. Sullivan’s warrant.
According to reports, the victim had never gone to a doctor or dentist since he was a little child. He added that his stepmother had kept him confined since he was around eleven years old.
The man told authorities that the door to his room was always locked. It was first a chain lock, then a padlock, and finally a sliding bolt.
The warrant stated that after being taken out of school, his weekday routine and imprisonment remained “brutally regular” for the remainder of his life.
He was given permission to leave his room for a short while in the morning to complete home chores, which could take anything from fifteen minutes to two hours.
The man went on to say that when he was twelve years old, he was moved to a smaller room that was eight feet by nine feet for storage. It had no heat in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer.
When the boy was in fourth grade, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) was called by his school. According to school officials, the youngster was always hungry, and his stepmother told him to lie and say that everything was OK.
Fernando Spagnolo, the chief of police in Waterbury, said, “The agony this victim underwent for over 20 years is both tragic and incomprehensible.”
Paula Depina, a former neighbor who used to reside next door, claimed that whenever she saw him in the windows, she always had a bad feeling.
First degree assault, second degree kidnapping, first degree unlawful restraint, first degree cruelty to others, and first degree reckless endangerment were among the charges brought against Ms. Sullivan.
According to the lawyer for Ms. Sullivan, his client was “swept away” and “stunned by what is being said.” Ms. Sullivan was declared “innocent and she has every intention of contesting this allegation,” they stated.
Leaders News Blog 