On Feb. 17, in Waterbury, Connecticut, a house was set ablaze by an unnamed 32-year-old man. The man, only identified as MV-1 in the affidavit, alleged to have been forcefully detained in his stepmother’s basement for more than two decades. According to NBC News, when authorities responded to the fire, they found the 32-year-old severely emancipated, allegedly not having access to proper nutrition or medical and dental care. After being asked by a first responder how he started the fire—a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper—the man replied, “I wanted my freedom.”
His stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was arrested Wednesday, March 12, on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons, NBC writes. She was held on a $300,000 bond, which she posted on Thursday. Sullivan appeared in court briefly the next day and declined to make any statements. The judge denied the prosecution’s request to place her under house arrest. Instead, she’s allowed to travel within Connecticut, though she’ll contact probation officers regularly.
According to the affidavit, the last time the man recalled leaving the property was nearly 20 years ago, when he was 14 or 15. Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo looked into state records and found that officers went to the home in 2005, acting on behalf of social workers contacted by school officials concerned about the then-child’s absences. The officials found an adequate home-schooling plan. The Sullivan family accused the school district of harassment. Spagnolo added that an uncle grew concerned for the boy. When he tried talking to Kimberly’s stepson, she intervened.
The father died in Jan. 2024, according to state officials, and had been ill for some time, using a wheelchair by the time he died. His father used to let him out on the weekends, the man stated in the affidavit, but after he died, the captivity grew more intense. He told authorities he was only let out in the mornings to do chores and given two sandwiches a day, along with the equivalent of two small water bottles. NBC writes that state officials noted the room was secured from the outside with a “number of different styles of exterior locks.” Spagnolo noted that it appeared the locks increased in security levels through the years. “He would urinate in a bottle, and he had straws connected to the bottom of the bottle, and he found a hole in the storm window frame that he was able to put these straws through,” Spagnolo said. At the time of Sullivan’s arrest, her stepson weighed 68 pounds while standing 5-foot-9 inches tall.
