In the USA, a young man held captive by his stepmother managed to escape the 20-year captivity by setting the house on fire. When the authorities found him intervening in the fire, the man, standing at 5’9”, weighed only 30 kilos. The details shared by the young man in his statement shocked everyone.

According to a report in The Washington Post, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, living in the state of Connecticut, is accused of keeping her stepson in captivity for 20 years. The young man, kept locked up and abandoned to hunger, started a fire in their home on February 17.

When the emergency response teams arrived at the scene, they found a 32-year-old young man who had been “deprived of dental care, health examination, exposed to hunger, abuse, severe neglect, and inhumane conditions for years.”

ONLY 30 KILOS WHEN FOUND authorities found a man standing at 5’9” weighing only 30 kilos. The 32-year-old man was immediately hospitalized. There, he confessed to setting the house on fire using a lighter, disinfectant, and paper. Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, expressed, “In my thirty-three years of police duty, this is the worst treatment of humanity I have witnessed.”

IN CAPTIVITY SINCE THE AGE OF 11 When asked why he started the fire, the young man replied, “I wanted my freedom back.” He described how, as a young child, he had the right to drink only two glasses of water a day and thus had to drink water from the toilet at night. He claimed that in his adolescence, he was not allowed to go to the bathroom and his stepmother provided him with a bottle and newspaper. Sullivan threatened him with less food and longer quarantines to prevent him from escaping or seeking help. When asked if he was hungry, he answered, “All day, every day, throughout my life.”

ENTIRE FAMILY AWARE OF THE ABUSE The 32-year-old man reported finding the materials he used to set the house on fire in the pocket of a jacket belonging to his father, who had passed away a year ago. It was revealed that the man’s father and two step-sisters were aware of the incidents, and even supported the mother. Authorities initiated an investigation into the incident following the discovery of the young man.

LAST LEFT THE HOUSE AT 14 Step-mother was accused of first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree illegal confinement, and first-degree endangerment of a person’s life. The young man stated that he was only allowed to leave the room in the mornings for 15 minutes to two hours, during which he had to do the housework. He recalled that the last time he left the house, he was 14-15 years old.