Hear Frantic 911 Call from Woman Accused of Keeping Stepson In Captivity for 20 Years: ‘He’s Out of It’

FOX NY obtained audio from Kimberly Sullivan’s initial call for help, after a fire broke out in her stepson’s Waterbury, Connecticut bedroom. Her 32-year-old stepson later told authorities he started the blaze himself, as a means to escape being held in captivity for 20 years by his stepmother — a claim which led to her arrest.

“Oh my god. Please hurry. There’s a fire! Oh my god, there’s a fire!” Sullivan exclaims to the 911 operator during the call, as the operator asks what’s on fire.

“The TV? I don’t know. My son, my stepson, was up in his room and I don’t know, he did something with the TV. I was sleeping, I fell asleep,” Sullivan cries, confirming there are flames and smoke in the home.

“We need an ambulance, please! His room, the TV in his room!” she shouts, as the operator asks if her stepson was injured or on fire. “Yes! He’s injured! Please send an ambulance,” Sullivan yells into the phone.

When asked again whether he’s injured, she adds, “I don’t know, he’s kind of passed out. He’s out of it. Oh my god, it’s like all the power in the house is out. I don’t know if it blew a fuse.”

Bodycam footage from the scene shows Sullivan outside her home, as first responders ask her who else is in the residence.

“My stepson is in here. I’m trying to have them help him out. That’s it. I have two cats,” she tells the man. “Everybody’s out?” the officer asks, as she says, “Yes.” He then asks, “But your stepson’s still inside?”

As she says “he’s right there,” a firefighter can be seen coming out the front door, carrying another person. As she shares concern for her “shaking” dog, authorities usher her away from the scene — before the stepson is placed into an ambulance.

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’s 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, 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.”

See more of the horrific allegations about Sullivan here.

Attorney Ioannis A. Kaloidis said the suspect’s late husband Kregg Sullivan — who died in 2024 — “was in control” of the situation and was the one who decided to confine his son to a 8-foot by 9-foot room starting at the age of 11.

“Ultimately it was the father which dictated the manner in which his son was raised and my client was only carrying out his orders,” Kaloidis told PEOPLE, before also denying the stepson’s claims that he wasn’t allowed to shower. “My client encouraged him to bathe but she is not going to force a 32-year-old man to take care of himself,” Kaloidis said.

The attorney also claimed the man was never locked in his room and left the house daily for chores, like taking the trash. Per Kaloidis, “He could have just walked away then if he wanted to leave.”

“This is just one side of the story and people should not rush to judgment. These allegations are horrific but there are two sides to every story, and my client plans to defend herself against these allegations,” Kaloidis concluded.

While Sullivan’s lawyer is shifting blame to her late husband, the stepson spoke more favorably about him when talking to police about the alleged abuse.

According to Sullivan’s arrest affidavit, the man stated that he would “be let out of his room for longer periods of time by his father” and claimed “that while Sullivan took his sisters to events and to see friends, his father would allow him to come out and watch television with him.”

“When discussing his father dying, he stated that his captivity and restraint got even worse,” said police. “[He] stated that it got to a point where the only time he would ever be out of the house once since his father died was to let the family dog out in the back of the property.”

Sullivan was released Thursday after posting $300,000 bail; she’s due back in court on March 26.

If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.