(Thechieftainspear) – The biological mother of a malnourished man, allegedly held captive for 20 years by his stepmother in Connecticut, has broken her silence, expressing her anguish over the ordeal her son endured.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare,” the 52-year-old Meriden resident told The Post on Saturday. She described the situation as overwhelming and said both sides of the family were struggling to process the shocking revelations. “There are no words to fully describe the pain.”
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, insisted that her son was never forgotten. “He has always been loved, and he should never have suffered like this,” she said. She declined to comment on why she had not been able to intervene.
Her son, now 32, weighed only 68 pounds when he was rescued last month from a home in Waterbury. Investigators say he had been confined in a small storage area and subjected to years of severe neglect and abuse. His escape attempt reportedly involved setting a fire inside the house, which ultimately led to his discovery.
Also Read – Study Reveals Breakfast Chains with the Biggest Price Hikes
Authorities say the victim was removed from elementary school after teachers noticed he was constantly searching for food. Reports of suspected abuse date back to at least 2005 when school staff notified state officials after finding the child stealing food and eating from the trash.
His father, Kregg Sullivan, had married Kimberly Sullivan in the mid-1990s after divorcing the victim’s mother. Family members say they lost contact with the boy over the years, with one relative, Kurt Sullivan, revealing that he had not seen his nephew in two decades.
“When I saw him in the hospital, I was horrified. He looked like a Holocaust survivor,” Kurt Sullivan told authorities.
Court documents state that the victim’s confinement worsened after his father’s death in early 2024. He was allegedly locked in a small room for nearly the entire day and forced to survive by drinking from a toilet and eating discarded food.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was arrested and later released on a $300,000 bond. Newly released bodycam footage from the day of the fire shows her outside the home, clutching a dog while appearing more concerned for the pet than her stepson.
As first responders carried the emaciated man out of the house, she was heard saying, “My dog is shaking.” When she saw the firefighters moving her stepson, she shouted, “What are you doing?”
Sullivan’s attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, stated that family members had helped pay her bond but did not disclose her current whereabouts.
The case has sparked outrage and raised questions about how such prolonged abuse went undetected for so long. The victim remains in recovery as authorities continue their investigation .
- SoCal Man Stole $1.8M in Mail and Identity Theft Scheme - April 23, 2025
- ‘Cruel Practice’: Calls Grow to Relocate Elephants from L.A. Zoo - April 23, 2025
- $4M in Stolen Cargo Recovered from South American Theft Crew in L.A. - April 23, 2025
