1 day Ago
Newly released images on Monday offered a disturbing look at the Connecticut home where a woman allegedly held her stepson captive for two decades before he set a fire inside in a bid for freedom. The photographs — shared by the Westbury Police Department to several news outlets — show the charred, damaged walls of the home where Kimberly Sullivan is accused of holding her stepson in a small room behind a locked door from age 11 to age 32. A number of images depict a cluttered kitchen and dining room along with heavy fire damage to the upstairs, which featured the room the man was kept inside, CT Insider reported .
Locks on doors, piles of plastic storage containers and scattered debris are also visible. It’s unclear which images show the room where the man was allegedly held captive for most of his life. The home caught fire in February, weeks before Sullivan’s arrest earlier this month.
Sullivan, 57, faces charges including second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault and cruelty to a person. She has pleaded not guilty and has been free on $300,000 bail. Sullivan has been ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring, and though a state prosecutor requested she be put on house arrest, her lawyer has objected on grounds that she could be in danger due to threats made against her, per The Associated Press .
The man — who weighed between 70 and 80 pounds upon his rescue from the fire, allegedly due to a limited amount of food and liquids he was given — is “afraid,” “lives in fear” and has questioned why Sullivan is free, a state prosecutor said at a court hearing on Friday, according to the AP. After his rescue, officials noted that the man had decaying teeth, matted hair and an otherwise disheveled appearance. He told officials that the room was without air conditioning and heat, he was only briefly let out to do chores and was let out for longer periods by his late father Kregg Sullivan, who died last year.
“Thirty-three years of law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ve ever witnessed,” Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo said at a news conference earlier this month. Big money interests are running the government — and influencing the news you read. While other outlets are retreating behind paywalls and bending the knee to political pressure, HuffPost is proud to be unbought and unfiltered.
Will you help us keep it that way? You can even access our stories ad-free. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We won't back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment.
But we can't do it without you. For the first time, we're offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you'll join us.
You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We won't back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can't do it without you.
For the first time, we're offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you'll join us. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Over $200,000 has been raised for the man in recent weeks as Waterbury officials look to support him “in every way possible as he begins to heal from this unimaginable trauma,” Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski said. Related From Our Partner.
