How a man used printer paper and hand sanitizer to escape an alleged 20 years of captivity by his stepmother | CNN

Updated 2:45 AM EDT, Fri March 14, 2025 CNN — Both sides of his door had been secured with plywood and a lock, the man would later say, to stop him from getting out. For years, he’d only been given two sandwiches – egg or tuna salad, or peanut butter – and a small amount of water each day, he’d recall, in the storage space where he was held. But now, he had a plan. Printer paper for kindling. Hand sanitizer for fuel. And a lighter. Emergency personnel responded February 17 to reports of a burning home in Waterbury, Connecticut, city police said. There, they found a woman – and her 32-year-old stepson. The stepmother, identified by police as Kimberly Sullivan, had managed to get out safely, police said. The man – affected by smoke inhalation and exposure to the flames – had needed help. He soon would admit to police he had started the fire. On purpose After nearly two decades, he wanted his freedom, he told them, as he recounted a hellish tale laid out in an arrest warrant obtained by CNN affiliate WFSB that describes a life of “captivity, abuse and starvation.” “Thirty-three years of law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ve ever witnessed,” Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo told reporters Thursday as he outlined all investigators had learned since responding to the fire. “It’s really hard to talk about, still,” the chief said. He shuddered to think someone would be treated this way by a family member, a parental figure or a guardian. Sullivan, 56, was arrested Wednesday and faces charges, including for assault, kidnapping and cruelty, police said. The allegations against her, her lawyer said, are “absolutely not true.” “He was not locked in a room. She did not restrain him in any way,” attorney Ioannis Kaloidis said. “She provided food. She provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations.” It all began, the records indicate, some two decades ago.