New photos have revealed the horrendous conditions that Kimberly Sullivan was forcing her stepson to live in for decades.

The stepson, who had been captive since he was 11, now 32, allegedly set a fire in the home in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Feb. 17 as a desperate bid for freedom.

The Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said, “We believe that [the stepson] may have walked through the fire to get out of the room that he was in…he stands at 5-foot-9, and he weighed 68 pounds. It’s amazing he’s alive.” 

Photos from inside the home were released on Monday. They show the remains of a hoarder’s nest, the rooms cluttered with various items and visibly dirty before the fire. The space the stepson was kept in was extremely filthy.

On Friday, Sullivan pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and second-degree kidnapping. Officials say she subjected her son to “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment.”

A first responder from the fire department reported, “The victim was circled up in a little ball underneath the table. Then I went up to him, scooped him up and just took him out the front door.”

The stepson’s biological mother, Tracey Vallerand, told NBC Connecticut last week that she had given up custody to the father in 1993. “Things didn’t work out between the two of us, and I was thinking that I was giving my son a better chance at a full life…If I had known…I just can’t fathom…I have no words.”

She added, “[Sullivan] should be in prison just like she kept my son. It’s disgusting.”

The man’s biological father died in 2024. Sullivan’s next court date is April 22.

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Article by Baila Eve Zisman

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