The arrest warrant for a Waterbury lady who’s accused of locking her emaciated stepson in a room for practically 20 years reveals extra details about what the person informed first responders who rescued him from the household’s burning dwelling in February.
The investigation began when police met with the sufferer whereas he was in ambulance, being handled for smoke inhalation, on the evening of Feb. 17.
They famous that he was “extremely emaciated,” weighing solely 68 kilos, and he was soiled and his enamel appeared to have rotted, the arrest warrant states.
The person was aware and alert, however had problem talking due to smoke inhalation.
However he informed the primary responders that he had been locked in the home for his complete life and deliberately set the hearth, utilizing hand sanitizer, printer paper and a lighter he discovered within the pocket of his deceased father’s jacket as a result of he needed his freedom, in response to the arrest warrant.
Police have arrested the person’s stepmother, 56-ywar-old Kimberly Sullivan. She denies the allegations.
Police haven’t revealed the sufferer’s identify to guard his privateness.Based on the arrest warrant, he informed them that the abuse began when he was 3 years previous and he had been held captive since he was 11 years previous behind a door that Sullivan stored locked.
When police requested Sullivan if her stepson was locked inside his room, she stated that his door just isn’t locked and that he has free reign of the home, in response to the warrant.
A detective famous that firefighters had eliminated the door to the room the place the hearth began and there was a slide lock on the surface of the doorframe and a latch on the door appeared to match up with the placement of the slide lock, the warrant states.
Days after the hearth, police visited the sufferer twice at an undisclosed facility the place he’s being handled.
Over three hours of interviews, he informed police about 20 years spent in captivity, abuse and hunger, in response to the warrant.
His first reminiscence of being locked in his bed room was when he was round 3 years previous, he stated.
The household was dwelling at a special home and he described sneaking out of his room at evening to get meals and fluids as a result of he was hungry.
Then, when meals wrappings had been discovered, he was locked in his room at evening, he informed investigators.
He additionally informed them that he typically drank from a bathroom as a result of he was solely getting about two cups of water per day.
Earlier than preschool, the household moved to a different home, he informed police.
At first, he was in an precise bed room, however then he was moved to a smaller room – an 8-foot-by-9-foot space for storing with angled ceilings on the second ground with no warmth or air con – and that was the place he was stored from the time he was 12 years previous, the warrant states.
He informed police that he was all the time hungry, and when he was in class he would ask others for meals, he’d steal meals or typically eat out of the rubbish, the arrest warrant states.
Then the state Division of Kids and Households visited the house twice due to what he was doing at college, however Sullivan informed him to inform them that all the pieces was effective, in response to the warrant.
After the second DCF go to, he was completely pulled from college whereas he was within the fourth grade, he stated.
For some time, he stated, he was given worksheets, however that stopped and nobody was instructing him something, the warrant states.
As soon as he was pulled from college, he would sleep from round 7:30 p.m., relying on the season, and wake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and he’d be allowed out of the room round 8 a.m. for anyplace from quarter-hour to 2 hours to do chores and duties, the warrant states. Different instances, he stated, he was locked within the room all day.
On weekends, his father would let him out of his room for longer intervals and they might watch TV collectively when Kimberly Sullivan took his sisters to occasions and to see associates, the warrant states.
The final time he had left the property was when he was 14 or 15 years previous to go together with his father to dump yard waste, he stated.
When his father died in January 2024, the captivity and restraint acquired worse, the person informed investigators, and he was solely allowed out of the home to let the canine out for a couple of minute a day.
For meals, he was given as much as two sandwiches a day, then that was lowered over time, and he obtained restricted meals and the equal of two small bottles of water a day, the warrant states.
He informed police that his sisters weren’t allowed to have associates over — he “was their secret,” the warrant states. When individuals did come over, he was informed to not make a sound.
The sufferer described being in worry.
The warrant states that he informed police that he was informed that he would “not see the light of day” if he informed anybody and recalled seeing a gun as soon as whereas he was cleansing.
He informed investigators that he thought of breaking a window, however Sullivan informed him, “under pain of death no one was to see me,” and she or he informed him she was going to begin unlocking his door, however she wanted to see if she may belief him, the warrant states.
He described an incident in 2005 when he was dwelling alone and reduce a chunk of wooden paneling out of the door that he was locked behind and he was capable of get out and eat meals that he discovered.
When Sullivan came upon, she slapped him within the face, then plywood was secured on the door so he couldn’t get out, the warrant states.
He informed police he had not bathed in a 12 months or two and had solely small quantities of water and a few males’s cologne in his room, the warrant states.
The person additionally informed police that his solely reference to the surface world was by radio after his TV turned too outdated to get a sign and he adopted UConn basketball and NASCAR, the warrant states.
Police stated through the years, he educated himself. Every year, he was given three or 4 books and used a dictionary to lookup phrases he didn’t know, the warrant states.
In some unspecified time in the future on the evening of Feb. 17, the sufferer informed police, he determined to set the hearth and he knew he needed to let it get to the purpose the place Sullivan couldn’t out it out.
As soon as the hearth was going, he stomped and known as for assist, the warrant states. Sullivan opened the door and he collapsed on the high of the steps.
Sullivan then made him rise up and wash his face within the downstairs lavatory as a result of she didn’t need the hearth division to find out about his look, the warrant states.
He additionally informed police that his sister and her boyfriend had arrived and Sullivan yelled to them to get a screwdriver to get the locks off the door, the warrant states.
The person stated he fell to the bottom once more and Sullivan yelled for him to rise up however he didn’t as a result of he believed the one means out of the state of affairs was for the hearth division to get him, the warrant states.
Docs who’ve been treating the person described him as being close to hunger and his situation as life-threatening, in response to the warrant.
Within the arrest warrant, a member of the family who went to the hospital to go to the sufferer after the hearth informed police, “I was shocked, he looks like a Holocaust survivor.”Kimberly Sullivan has been charged with cruelty to individuals, assault within the first diploma, illegal restraint within the first diploma and reckless endangerment within the first diploma.
Sullivan’s legal professional, Ioannis Kaloidis, stated his shopper is harmless and denies allegations.
“She completely maintains her innocence, from our perspective. These allegations are not true. They are outlandish. She was blown away when she heard these allegations,” Kaloidis stated. “We look forward to being able to vindicate her and show that she’s done nothing wrong.”
Kaloidis stated his shopper by no means locked her stepson in a room.
“That’s completely not true. He was not locked in a room. She didn’t restrain him in any means. She supplied meals, she supplied shelter. She is blown away by these allegations. It’s surprising and what’s extra surprising to me? It is how someone can (be) falsely accused of such a factor,” Kaloidis stated.
Sullivan was launched on $300,000 bond.
She is due in court docket on March 26.
