Waterbury, CT, Man Held Captive for Decades Sets Fire to Bedroom
The News-Times, Danbury, Conn.
(TNS)
Mar. 12—WATERBURY — A 32-year-old man who had been held captive in Waterbury a home for more than two decades set fire to his room using a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper in an effort to escape, police said.
When firefighters and EMTs were providing the man with care after the February fire, he disclosed that he had intentionally set the blaze, saying "I wanted my freedom," according to Waterbury police.
The man went on to tell authorities that he had been held captive since he was approximately 11 years old, police said.
"The facts of this case, quite frankly, the facts are something out of a horror movie. That's without exaggeration," Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Don Therkildsen said.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, is charged with holding the man captive, police say, and she was arraigned Wednesday on numerous charges including second-degree kidnapping and intentional cruelty to a person. She was held in lieu of a $300,000 bond.
The man, who was not identified by police, was extremely emaciated, his hair matted and unkempt and he was dirty and his teeth appeared to be rotted, according to a warrant for Sullivan's arrest.
The victim suffered smoke inhalation from the Feb. 17 fire.
"He lit that fire knowing he very well could have died," Therkildsen said.
Sullivan denied ever locking the victim inside his room, according to the warrant, and said his door is not locked and that he has free rein of the house.
Police noted a slide lock on the outside of the door frame of the room, the warrant said, which could be used to secure a door closed from the outside of the room.
Sullivan was arrested Wednesday morning in Southington on charges of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, cruelty to a person, first-degree unlawful restraint and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Sullivan's attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, said his client "vehemently" denied the allegations.
"The allegations are serious and the allegations are based on the statements of one individual," Kaloidis said.
In an interview with police described in the warrant, the victim recalled having to drink water from the toilet at times due to the fact he was only getting two cups of water a day as a child.
When he was in school, the victim recalled being hungry all the time, according to the warrant. He would ask other people for food, steal food and sometimes eat food out of the garbage, it said.
Following involvement with the state Department of Children and Families, Sullivan pulled the victim from school, he told police.
The victim spent much of his life in a small back storage space, about eight feet by nine feet wide, with no heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer, according to the warrant.
Police said when the man was helped by firefighters after the Feb. 17 fire, he was found in a "severely emaciated" condition. Police said the man had not received medical or dental care during his time living in the house.
He was only let out of his rooms to do chores, according to the warrant. When his father was alive, he would occasionally be allowed out of his room to watch television or to do yard work with him, the victim told police.
He told police his captivity became worse after his father died last year.
The victim told police he spent most of his time counting cars from the window. He was forced to use bottles and newspapers to urinate or defecate, he said, and would throw the waste in the garbage when he was let out for his chores.
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