‘Something out of a horror movie:’ Stepmother arrested after emaciated man, 32, is rescued from home in Connecticut

A 32-year-old man who weighed less than 70 pounds and was rescued from a home in Connecticut after he set it on fire had been the victim of years of neglect by his stepmother, police allege.

The man’s stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, is now facing a slew of charges, including kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and cruelty.

Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Donald Therkildsen described the facts of the case as “something out of a horror movie.” The room was 8 feet by 9 feet and did not have heat or air conditioning.

In court on Wednesday, a prosecutor referred to the man as being “akin to a survivor of Auschwitz’s death camp.”

Police said in a statement that first responders in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, rescued the man from an upstairs room after they were called to a house fire on February 17.

While the man was receiving treatment for smoke inhalation, he revealed that he had intentionally set the blaze using hand sanitizer, an old lighter and some printer paper. “He lit that fire knowing he very well could have died,” said Therkildsen.

“I wanted my freedom,” the man said, according to police.

The man added that he had been held captive since he was about 11 years old. In his youth, the man said that he would drink water out of the toilet and at school would constantly complain of being hungry, prompting him to steal food, sometimes from garbage cans.

He was pulled from school in the fourth grade. Social services were last called to the home in April 2005.

An investigation revealed that the man, who has not been publicly identified, “had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment.”

The man said that his father, who died in 2024, used to let his son out of the room to do chores and watch television. He last left home when he was 14 or 15 years old. He believes that in addition to this stepmother, his half-sisters also knew of the conditions he was forced to live in.

Following his father’s death, the victim said his treatment worsened. He used bottles and newspapers to go to the bathroom.

They added that he had not received any medical or dental care during that time. According to the CT Post, his hair was matted, his teeth were rotten, and his skin was dirty.

“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Chief Fernando Spagnolo in a statement.

Sullivan was arraigned and held in lieu of a $300,000 bond on Wednesday on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty, and reckless endangerment.

The suspect was “stunned to hear the allegations” and denied them, said her attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis.

“What she indicated to me was that they were absolutely not true, and as we get more information we intend to put up a vigorous defense,” Kaloidis said over the phone.

“But she’s adamant she did not do the things that she’s accused of.”

Sullivan has alleged that the victim’s door was not locked and that he was allowed to move freely throughout the home. The CT Post, citing a warrant, says that a “slide lock” was found outside of his room.

Kaloidis said he was still gathering information about the case and could not immediately say whether anyone else lived in the Waterbury home.

A neighbor said that he never knew the man was living there.

“I just thought it was an accident, and then when the investigator started asking me about a man that may look like a child, I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zeffrey Guarnera told WFSB.

However, at least one other said she had seen him, describing the man in his 30s as looking “like a child.”

“In the backyard, I was just on the swing set and I looked up at the back window, and I just saw a little boy there, or it looked like a little boy to me, and he just smiled and waved at me and I waved back, and when I turned my head and looked back from the window, he was gone,” Shae Baker told the station.

“I was very shocked. I think I’ve kind of convinced myself that maybe I did just make him up all those years ago, but I just hope he gets the help that he needs to heal from everything. If you were at that window and you don’t tap on the window and scream or do something to ask for help, that you had to resort to this, I can’t imagine how horrible his conditions were,” she added.