On February 17, 2025, firefighters showed up to a home in Waterbury, Connecticut. Two people were inside of the home as it burned. While one person, Kimberly Sullivan, was able to get out on her own, her stepson had to be carried out.
Following his rescue, the man told police that he had set the fire. What followed was a description of 20 years of abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan. The man alleged that his stepmother kept him locked in his room for years. She barely fed him, among other atrocities.
“I was shocked, he looks like a Holocaust survivor,” the man’s uncle, Kurt Sullivan said in an affidavit the New York Post obtained. The man, who is now 32, only weighed 68 pounds when he was taken to the hospital after the fire.
According to Kurt Sullivan, it’s been about 20 years since he last saw his nephew. That wasn’t for lack of trying. Kimberly Sullivan had reportedly pushed all family away over the years. In fact, the uncle was so concerned, he “spoke with a private investigator who suggested going to vital statistics to look for a death certificate,” the affidavit said.
He had gone to their house “for Christmas Eve for a few years in a row until the family pushed him and his wife away,” he claimed. In his statement, he described his nephew as “skinny, meek and mild-mannered.” He also recalled that whenever he tried to talk to the boy, his sister-in-law “intervened.”
Kimberly Sullivan was arrested on March 12. She was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons, and first-degree reckless endangerment, the Waterbury Police Department noted in a statement.
“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable. This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend the dedication of our officers and the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office. Their unwavering commitment ensured that justice is served, and the perpetrator is held fully accountable for these horrific crimes,” Chief of Police Fernando Spagnolo said.
Since Kimberly Sullivan’s arrest, more details have emerged about the “the worst treatment of humanity,” as Spagnolo called it. Her stepson, whose name is withheld, started the fire with printer paper, hand sanitizer, and a lighter in his room. “I wanted my freedom,” he said, according to an affidavit, NBC News reported.
Allegedly, the stepmother kept the man in a room with locks on the outside. “As was explained during an interview with the victim, throughout the years, it appeared that the locks increased in security levels as time progressed,” Spagnolo said. There was also an “elaborate” urination plan in place.
However, Kimberly Sullivan’s team denies the abuse. “He was not locked in a room,” defense attorney Ioannis Kaloidis said. “She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food; she provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations.”
The man’s father died in 2024. The father was allegedly ill before that, using a wheelchair by the end of his life.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter domesticshelters.org.
