‘Severely Emaciated’ Man Says He Started Fire to Escape Stepmom’s 20-Year Captivity; She Denies All

The suspected was arrested on Wednesday, per ABC News, and charged with “assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree,” according to police.

“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo.

Authorities became involved after an emergency call for an active fire at approximately 8:42 p.m. on February 17. That call came from Sullivan, the owner of the property that was aflame.

While the fire was quickly extinguished and Sullivan was able to evacuate of her own will, the other resident in the home, a 32-year-old man, needed assistance from Waterbury Fire Department Fire personnel.

He was subsequently treated by emergency medical responders. It was only when police began talking to the man that they uncovered that it was he who had started the fire — and why.

“While receiving medical care [for smoke inhalation], the male victim disclosed to first responders that he had intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room,” officials said in a statement regarding the case.

As for why he started the fire, they said he told them simply, “I wanted my freedom.”

“He further alleged that he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was approximately 11 years old,” the statement continued. According to CBS affiliate WFSB, which shared the full arrest affidavit, the man allegedly spent those years locked inside an 8-foot by 9-foot room.

The alleged victim “lit a fire with some hand sanitizer, some paper from a printer, and he lit that fire while he was locked in that room from the outside,” said a prosecutor in court on Wednesday, per WFSB.

“He lit that fire very well knowing he could die,” the prosecutor continued, “but he had been locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he’d been trying to get out of that room.”

The man’s initial comments triggered an investigation as the man was examined by medical professionals and found to be in a “severely emaciated condition,” weighing just 68 pounds, according to WFSB.

“Investigators further discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water which led to his extremely malnourished condition,” the police statement added.

The man purportedly told authorities he was given only two cups of water per day and was sometimes forced to drink out of the toilet. It was also determined he “had not received medical or dental care” during his decades inside the home.

The affidavit further details the man’s allegations that he was pulled from school in the fourth grade and only allowed out of his room to do chores or to let the dog out, spending approximately 22 hours locked in the room.

He further told police he’d had no contact with anyone outside the home, and that the last time he’d left the house was with his now-deceased father when he was 14 or 15 years old. He added that only his two half-sisters and a deceased grandmother knew of his situation.

He said that his fear of losing the minimal food and water he was given, and that he might be locked in even longer, kept him from trying to break out.

As a result of the man’s statement, investigators concluded that the victim had been forced to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” leading to an arrest warrant being issued for Sullivan.

“This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend the dedication of our officers and the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office,” said Spagnolo. “Their unwavering commitment ensured that justice is served, and the perpetrator is held fully accountable for these horrific crimes.”

Speaking with The Associated Press by phone, Sullivan’s attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, said his client was “stunned to hear the allegations” and “that they were absolutely not true.”

“Absolutely not true. He was not locked in a room. She did not restrain him in anyway,” Kaloidis insisted, per WFSB. “She provided food and she provided shelter and she was blown away by these allegations. Absolutely not.”

“As we get more information we intend to put up a vigorous defense,” Kaloidis added to the AP. “But she’s adamant she did not do the things that she’s accused of.”

Most of the neighbors reported that they had no idea the man even lived in the house, though one recalled seeing him about a decade ago when she was a young girl.

“In the backyard, I was just on the swing set and I looked up at the back window, and I just saw a little boy there, or it looked like a little boy to me, and he just smiled and waved at me and I waved back, and when I turned my head and looked back from the window, he was gone,” Shae Baker told WFSB.

Her stepfather, Zeffery Guarnera, said that he was home when the fire happened, but had no idea anyone else had been involved. “I just thought it was an accident, and then when the investigator started asking me about a man that may look like a child, I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.'”

Baker said that she’d “kind of convinced” herself she’d made up seeing him all those years ago. “I just hope he gets the help that he needs to heal from everything,” she added. “If you were at that window and you don’t tap on the window and scream or do something to ask for help that you had to resort to this, I can’t imagine how horrible his conditions were.”

Sullivan’s bond has been set at $300,000. She is expected to be placed in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Corrections awaiting trial.