Connecticut authorities who responded to a house fire in Waterbury last month found something even more disturbing than the fire. An emaciated 32-year-old man with matted hair and rotting teeth told them he'd started the fire because he'd been held captive in the home for decades and he wanted to escape. The man, who is 5'9" and weighed just 68 pounds when he was found on Feb. 17, says his stepmother Kimberly Sullivan, 56, had kept him locked in an 8'-by-9' room since he was about 11, letting him out for just a short period each day to do chores. A lawyer for Sullivan, who was arrested and faces multiple charges, denies the allegations, NBC News reports. The man used a lighter, hand sanitizer, and paper to set the blaze, the Connecticut Post reports.
The man told authorities that when his father was alive, he was allowed out of the room more often, and was sometimes allowed to work in the family's yard. He said he couldn't remember leaving the property after age 14 or 15, and that since his father's death last year, Sullivan gave him only two sandwiches and two cups of water a day. He said she threatened him with more time locked in the room and less food, so he was too scared to alert anyone to the situation. He also said he was forced to urinate and defecate in bottles and newspapers, and dispose of the waste when he was let out to do his chores. Records show the man was in school until fourth grade, at which point a homeschool plan was put into place and there were no further interactions between the family and any officials. (More Connecticut stories.)
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