People in Connecticut were horrified to discover that a quiet neighborhood woman was keeping four young girls captive while living unremarkably for an extended time.
People in Waterbury who lived close to Kimberly Sullivan saw an ordinary older woman who inhabited an average house in the neighborhood.
According to police investigators the story they found inside this person’s house exceeded their most disturbing expectations.
Legal documents show Sullivan faces multiple criminal accusations which include the charges of kidnapping and assault together with unlawful imprisonment.
The accused woman trapped her stepson in a small enclosed area throughout twenty consecutive years.
The unidentified adult subject was taken out of school at age 10.
According to neighborhood reports he became a disappearing figure who never left his residence apart from scarce appearances.
“We probably saw that guy three times outside,” one neighbor told NBC News. My body shakes violently when I consider this because I clearly recall his facial features.
The neighbor revealed they entirely missed the fact that Sullivan had a stepchild
The case was revealed to the public when firefighters responded to a house fire which occurred at the residence earlier this year.
According to authorities they found more than smoke damage when they discovered the 87-pound weak man.
The following discoveries led to a grim revelation sequence.
According to police reports the captive man revealed he stayed in a compact locked space which functioned as his enclosure before doing housework.
According to what he shared he ate only two sandwiches and received two glasses of liquid each day.
The investigators found that an outside slide bolt secured the door which later became part of the arrest warrant information.
The defense attorney Ioannis Kaloidis spoke against the accusations made against Sullivan during the trial.
He told investigators that she should not be seen as an evil person. “She did not restrain him. She provided food and shelter. Her reactions to these allegations of legal violations are entirely outrageous.
However, the community isn’t convinced.
Tom Pannone who formerly led the boy’s elementary school together with other staff members previously notified authorities about his disappearance many years ago.
“We knew it. We reported it. According to Pannone there were absolutely no proper actions addressed to resolve the situation. “Everyone really was concerned with this child since he was five years old.”
At age 10 children normally stay visible on Earth.
Resident memory recalls one defining moment which torments his community about the prolonged absence of the disappeared child.
McCullough experienced a cold sensation from the discussion between his neighbor Sullivan and him on the day before her arrest.
“I just want to get out of here,” she said quietly, according to McCullough, speaking to CNN.
At that moment he found these words ordinary. Their dialogue now represents clear warning signs that would come into view looking back on the situation.
Law enforcement investigators specify that the discovery of the starving man was not initiated by a natural fire incident.
Investigators determined that he intentionally started the fire by lighting it with a lighter and paper in combination with hand sanitizer as his means of escape.
Feature Image Credit: (Youtube/ABC7)