Connecticut man held captive by stepmom for 20 years weighed only 68 pounds: Police
The 32-year-old man had been held in captivity since he was 11, police said.
ByJon Haworth, Alexandra Faul, and Nadine El-Bawab
New details after man allegedly held captive by stepmother for 2 decades is rescuedKimberly Sullivan, 56, is facing multiple charges, including unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, assault and kidnapping.
Facebook / Waterbury Police Department
A Connecticut woman has been arrested for allegedly holding her “severely emaciated” stepson in captivity at their home for over 20 years, since he was 11 years old, and forcing him to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” police said.
“It’s truly horrifying and beyond comprehension what occurred here. The young man’s unimaginable suffering over the course of two decades is just a reminder of the darkness that does exist in our world,” Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said at a press conference Thursday.
The now-32-year-old man is 5-foot-9 and weighed just 68 pounds when he was found, according to officials.
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The victim was discovered on Feb. 17, when Waterbury Police Department officers, along with personnel from the Waterbury Fire Department, responded to a report of an active fire at a residence at approximately 8:42 p.m.
The fire was quickly extinguished by authorities and two occupants were found inside the home at the time. The first person was identified as 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, the owner of the property who called authorities for help, and the second person was identified as a 32-year-old man who was later determined to be Sullivan’s stepson.
Sullivan was evacuated to safety following the fire but the male occupant, who had suffered smoke inhalation and exposure to the fire, had to be assisted from the home by Waterbury Fire Department personnel and was placed in the care of emergency medical services.
Investigators quickly realized there was a room in the house that appeared to have exterior locks on the door and, as they began speaking to the male victim, he disclosed he was being held captive in the house for approximately 20 years.
“While receiving medical care, the male victim disclosed to first responders that he had intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room, stating, ‘I wanted my freedom,'” officials said in their statement regarding the case. “He further alleged that he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was approximately 11 years old.”
“Following these alarming statements, the Waterbury Police Department Major Crimes Unit, in collaboration with the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office, launched an extensive investigation,” authorities continued. “Detectives determined that the victim had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment.”
The 32-year-old was also found in a “severely emaciated condition and had not received medical or dental care” during his time in captivity inside the home over the past two decades, according to police.
“Investigators further discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water which led to his extremely malnourished condition,” police continued.
When asked about the victim’s father, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said that the biological father died in January 2024. The father was wheelchair bound from a medical condition. The victim’s biological mother has not been involved in his life from since about 2 years old, he said.
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Sullivan’s lawyer defended his client and said it was the victim’s late father who was responsible.
“He was not locked in the room. She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food. She provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations,” her lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, told New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH.
Kaloidis said the stepson’s late biological father “dictated how the boy would be raised.”
“We think as the evidence comes out, you will see she’s not the villain she’s being made out to be,” Kaloidis added.
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During the background investigation, police found that there were two incidents in the Waterbury Police Department had in their system for that address in 2005.
The first was a request from the Department of Children and Families to do a welfare check at the location because the victim’s friends had not seen him lately and were concerned about him, police said. Officers went to the house and saw that it was clean, and they spoke to the victim but at that point in time, there was no cause for any alarm or any conditions that would have led officers to believe anything abnormal was occurring, police said Thursday.
The DCF released a statement on Thursday evening saying that it “has looked extensively at our current and historical databases and, to date, have been unable to locate any records pertaining to this family nor any records connected to the names of others who have indicated they made reports to our Department.”
It went on to explain that records about unsubstantiated reports of abuse are typically expunged every five years.
“We will continue our search and ask anyone with additional information to contact the Waterbury Police Department,” the statement continued. “As additional information is learned, the Department will be as transparent as possible while working within the parameters of both federal and state confidentiality laws.”
“These horrors serve as a reminder that it takes the diligent efforts of all members of the community – family, friends, neighbors, and professionals – to protect children from abuse and neglect,” the Connecticut DCF said.
Waterbury police were called back to the house in April 2005 by the family who wanted to file a harassment claim against members of the school district. The family said members of the school district were continuously reporting them to DCF and felt that they were trying to get them in trouble, police said. There was no proof provided by the family that there was any type of harassment that was occurring. Police are now working with DCF to look at records that they may have had from previous investigations.
Throughout the years, it appears the locks used on the exterior of that room increased as time progressed, and the victim got older and a bit stronger, officials said at Thursday’s press conference.
There are a lot of physical and mental health issues that the victim is now dealing with, Spagnolo said.
During the investigation, Sullivan was identified as a suspect, and an arrest warrant was issued for her on Tuesday.
Sullivan was located by police on Wednesday and taken into police custody by the Waterbury Police Department on charges of assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree, police said.
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“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Spagnolo. “This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend the dedication of our officers and the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office. Their unwavering commitment ensured that justice is served, and the perpetrator is held fully accountable for these horrific crimes.”
“Thirty-three years in law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ve ever witnessed,” Spagnolo said Thursday.
Sullivan was subsequently arraigned in court and her bond was set at $300,000. She is now expected to be placed in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Corrections while she awaits trial.
Kimberly Sullivan refused to talk to police almost immediately but does not have any prior criminal history, officials said.
Wisconsin Cops Discover House of ‘Horror’ After Bloodied Children Escape
Justin Rohrlich
7 min read
A Wisconsin mom is facing a slew of felony charges after her two kids were seen wandering the streets completely naked, covered in blood, bruises, and excrement.
That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, which says Katie Rae Koch, 34, kept the pair, ages 7 and 9, locked in a squalid bedroom with boarded-up windows for years on end and never enrolled them in school. Neither child is toilet trained, neither can read or write, and one of the two is unable to form full sentences, the complaint states.
When the youngsters managed to escape to the outside world last week, one neighbor told police they spotted the older boy “walking on the sidewalk like a ‘caveman.’”
Another neighbor said the two were clad only “in diapers, running from home to home,” and that they had no idea Koch even had kids, according to the complaint. Cops found the walls of the boys’ living space smeared with feces, which Koch at first tried to pass off as “clay, paint, and chocolate,” it alleges.https://www.instagram.com/p/B7irA2wnFN1/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
Koch’s live-in boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, is also charged with various crimes related to the appalling conditions at the three-bed, one-bath home, which prosecutors described as “like something out of a horror movie.”
Koch’s ex, Erik Strasser, told The Daily Beast that he was still processing the news.
“At the moment, I have no comment,” Strasser said Tuesday in a text message. “I need to talk with my [current] wife before we proceed with any statement on this unfortunate matter.”
Reached by phone, Koch’s father, Jeffrey Koch, hung up without commenting on the situation. Lawyers assigned to represent Koch and Manke, whose LinkedIn profile says he works as a maintenance technician for an area frozen pizza purveyor, did not return voicemail messages left for them on Tuesday.
Authorities first learned of the children’s plight on July 13, when a concerned resident called 911 after spotting “two naked juveniles… walking around the neighborhood with blood on them,” according to the complaint. The caller said the duo had “bruises and red marks on their thighs,” it says.
When the first officer arrived, a group of neighbors pointed them to Koch’s home, saying she had “violently dragged” one of the two kids back inside. The officer “walked towards the house and from the outside heard what he believed to be a quieted cry or whimper,” the complaint states, noting that Koch soon exited the residence through a side door, appearing “flustered and anxious.”
“Koch was continuously pacing and swaying her body and appeared agitated,” the complaint goes on. “Koch’s appearance was overall disheveled. Koch was on the phone with a male and stated, ‘I’m standing outside in the drive way [sic] right now, are you almost home so you can help explain what’s going on, I love you, I love you.’”https://www.instagram.com/p/CCPTlenHyTZ/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
Christine Eder, the neighbor who initially called police, told local ABC affiliate WISN, “I’m not going to ever forget the way they looked when they came running out of that house… They didn’t have any clothes on. None. Their hair… looked like it had never been brushed. Their faces was [sic] pure bewilderment. They were just looking all around. I don’t think they’d ever been outside before.”
Upon entering the home, encountered a “terrible hoarding situation,” the floor barely visible beneath all the detritus, according to the complaint. It says Koch attributed red marks all over the 7-year-old’s body to him and his brother smashing a window before running away. However, the officer on the scene remarked in the complaint that he didn’t notice any lacerations that seemed to have been caused by broken glass. As additional officers arrived, Koch gathered clothes for the children, who were then removed from the residence. A rabbit and three dogs were also reportedly taken away by authorities.
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“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so afraid,” Koch repeated over and over, the complaint states.
Koch, who denied abusing the children physically, walked officers through the home, which the complaint says was literally uninhabitable.
“The smell of urine and feces filled the residence,” it continues. “Next to the bathroom was the children’s room. There was a mound of trash and garbage outside of the children’s room. The door was half way opened and a greater amount of urine and feces smell became present as [officers] approached the room. The children’s room had feces smeared all over the walls of the room. There was also a latch to lock the door from the outside of the kids’ room.”
When Manke showed up a short time later, he explained to police that he had lived in the home since 2007 and that Koch and her boys moved in about three-and-a-half years ago. He said he considered himself a stepdad to the kids, according to the complaint. Manke also told cops that he boarded up the children’s bedroom windows in an attempt to “keep [them] from bothering the nosey neighbor,” it states. The latch on the door was to prevent the kids from “wandering due to what Manke called ‘their autism,’” Manke allegedly said.
He admitted he knew the conditions in which the children were being forced to live were very wrong, but that he had learned to “pick his battles” with Koch, according to the complaint.
“Manke stated that he never contacted police or schools to report the children because he doesn’t believe in doing that to family members,” it continues.
A witness, identified in the complaint only as “MDS,” told police he got home from work at about 1 p.m. on the day of the incident. Roughly two hours later, MDS said he saw one of Koch’s children standing on the air conditioning unit outside their bedroom window. They then—unsuccessfully—tried to climb the fence into MDS’ yard, after which they ran to the front of their own house and started “making their way down the street.”
MDS said he hadn’t seen the boys outside the home in at least three years, and that he had complained to Koch about the sealed bedroom window being “wrong,” according to the complaint. Further, the complaint says MDS claimed he had “concerns about if the kids eat because he never sees groceries being brought into the home but frequently sees Manke bringing in 2 to-go containers for himself and Koch.”
Under questioning by police, Koch allegedly confessed that her kids had never in their lives gone to school. However, while claiming she homeschooled them, Koch also conceded that she simply gave them Hooked on Phonics workbooks and tablets with “educational apps” to use in lieu of actual curricula, the complaint says.
“Koch stated that [the younger boy] cannot write but can trace letters and read ‘small words,’” according to the complaint. “Koch stated that [the older boy] is learning how to put sentences together in proper form.”https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVHvrnB48h/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
When police told Koch that her kids’ heads had been shaved at the hospital because their hair was completely matted with feces, the complaint says she responded, “Yeah, whatever they need to do,” and contended they needed haircuts anyway. They had both been bathed five days earlier, Koch claimed, but she hadn’t washed them as thoroughly as she should have, according to the complaint.
“Koch admitted that the home is not habitable,” it concludes. “Koch wrote a 3 page apology letter to the boys.”
In court on Monday, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis told the judge, “These children have been horribly damaged from their mother’s actions. They are completely uneducated. They are not potty trained, even at their ages. They are, essentially at this point, unable to function in society.”Koch remains detained on $30,000 cash bail, which her public defender said in court she could not post. Manke’s bail was set at $6,500. Each is charged with two felony counts of chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment; Koch is also facing two additional misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child.
If convicted, Manke faces a maximum of nearly 44 years in prison. Koch also faces 44 years, plus an additional 18 months on the two misdemeanor charges. They are both due back in court on July 26.
