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Connecticut police have released more than 100 photos showing the inside of a home where a 32-year-old man said he started a fire in a desperate attempt to free himself from more than 20 years of captivity.
>>> View the photos in the gallery above
The man, whose name has not been disclosed, was emaciated and weighed only 69 pounds (31 kilograms) when he was rescued from the two-story house in Waterbury after starting the fire on Feb. 17. He said he was locked in a small room for most of every day and given limited food and water since he was about 11 years old. He is recovering under medical care at an undisclosed location.
The photos, obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request late Monday, show a cluttered home with fire damage on the second floor, where the man said he was held captive. Some of the photos show a door frame with a metal slide lock, matching a police description of a lock they said was on the outside of the door to the man’s room.
Waterbury police said Tuesday that they could not provide information on what each photo shows.
One photo of a second-story room heavily damaged by fire shows burned walls and carpet with numerous items on the floor, including photos, boxes, bags, what appears to be a blanket and a baseball-like pennant with hearts that says “Kim.”
The man’s stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, is charged with kidnapping, felony assault, cruelty to persons and other crimes. She and her lawyer have denied that she kept the man locked in a room and she has pleaded not guilty. Sullivan told police that the man was free to move about the house as he pleased, according to an arrest warrant. The man’s father died last year.
This photo provided by the Waterbury Police Department shows Kimberly Sullivan who was charged Wednesday, March 12, 2025, with kidnapping and cruelty for allegedly holding her 32-year-old stepson captive for more than 20 years. (Waterbury Police Department via AP)
Sullivan’s attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, said in a statement to local media Tuesday that the release of the photos was “shocking, offensive and quite frankly, ethically questionable. It only serves to solidify public opinion against Ms. Sullivan.”
The man said he was locked in a room measuring about 8 feet by 9 feet (2.4 meters by 2.7 meters) and was only let out briefly in the morning to do chores. He said he was given up to two sandwiches and two small bottles of water a day and was constantly hungry.
During a March news conference, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said the room was “worse than the conditions of a jail cell.”
“Thirty-three years of law enforcement...This is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ve ever witnessed,” Spagnolo said. “We really couldn’t believe it. I took some convincing amongst ourselves to really accept what was going on.”
Spagnolo said the suffering the victim endured is “both heartbreaking and unimaginable.”
The man told police he was removed from the Waterbury school system in the fourth grade for homeschooling in 2004 after school officials reported concerns about his well-being to the state Department of Children and Families. DCF officials visited the home at the time, but it’s not clear if any action was taken. DCF officials recently said they found some records involving the man and are reviewing them, but have not released details.
State and local authorities have been looking into how this could have happened, and some are calling for stricter oversight of homeschooling.
Along with the photos, Waterbury police also released reports on their visits to the home in 2005. The reports are similar to police officials’ recent statements that there were no causes for concern at the home. A police report said Sullivan’s stepson “appeared to be healthy and happy” and the home appeared “normal and lived in.”
Police visited the home at the time for a welfare check after children who attended school with him before he was pulled out expressed concern about him and after the family made a harassment complaint against school officials for reporting them to state child welfare officials.
The man told police that Sullivan threatened longer lockdowns and more restrictions to his food if he ever told anyone about his treatment.
A search warrant released Monday night said the man told police that he set the fire using a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper in an effort to kill himself because he wanted freedom from the captivity.
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