I still plan on posting the "Hoovering" article, but in the meantime the Kimberly Sullivan case caught my attention.
Occasionally I make note of articles having to do with child abuse. Many of these cases are egregious, but even in milder child abuse cases, there seem to be some similarities such as not hearing a child out or not caring what they have to say (i.e. what they are going through), not caring about the child's feelings or their physical, mental and emotional health (neglect), "home-schooling" (also common, especially for controlling caretakers or caretakers who are trying to present a different image to the world than who they are at home), rageful caretaking where continual and escalating "punishments" put a child's welfare at risk, not feeding the child an adequate amount of food, or the wrong kind of food, or force feeding, or in general food and weight are a constant issue (super common), absurdly long "time outs", separating a child from the rest of the family or false imprisonment (common), reckless endangerment and other kinds of offenses which are talked about in forums for many, many adults of child abuse. Most just don't go as far as this story portrays.
But I think it is important to report on how far child abuse can go especially since abuse, in general, always escalates. It is obvious it did in this case. It is also why children cannot make up with parents who are abusive (it is ineffective) and why it is wrong to expect them to do so.
So far, at the time of this writing, some other stories that I decided to write briefly about include The Kornegay case (mentioned in this post), the Turpin case, the Jeffrey Epstein case, and the Brian Coulter - Gloria Williams case.
As for this news-worthy report, here are the headlines from The New York Times:
He Was Held Captive in His Room for Decades. Then He Set It on Fire.
Firefighters found a 32-year-old man who weighed 68 pounds. The police say his stepmother locked him away when he was 12. - written by Sarah Maslin Nir
In this case, the 12 year old child is locked in a room in a house belonging to his father and stepmother, and at 36 years old, decides he will take a chance with a lighter he found in a jacket leant to him by his stepmother and start a house fire in hopes that he will be rescued by authorities.
However, before then, a principal had found the boy coming to school with a dirty lunch pail, devouring his lunch in a restroom, and drinking the water in a urinal. He came to school looking hungry and disheveled.
The principal made calls to the Department of Children and Families to no avail. The authorities kept reporting back that the child was fine.
So one has to wonder what happened. Did the family quickly clean up their act or put on an act before the authorities arrived (common), or vacuum the house and get rid of things that were filthy or might make them "look bad" before they arrived, or were the authorities themselves blind as to what was going on, or lazy about investigating, or overlooking things they shouldn't have overlooked, or took the parents word for what was happening (can be too common, and of detriment to the child), or forgot to look in on the case after the boy went into home schooling?
What are the excuses here, and is there going to be an investigation into them?
Right now this is just the bare bones of the story (it just came out). I hope I can find out more information as reporters delve into this horrific case.
The story somewhat concludes with these paragraphs:
... Since the fire, the man has been ensconced in a hospital rehabilitation center, according to Amanda Nardozzi, the executive director of Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, a nonprofit organization that has been helping coordinate his care.
According to Ms. Nardozzi, he will need extensive physical rehabilitation — court documents state he has deformed knees and muscle wasting — and a carefully managed diet to avoid re-feeding syndrome, where a sudden flood of nutrients can kill a person near starvation. He is also receiving mental health counseling, Ms. Nardozzi said, funded in part by an official GoFundMe that has already raised over $200,000. ...
I hope he can find healthy relationships, physical health, mental health that begins to erase so many years of trauma, and emotional health (being with people with empathy so that it becomes his new reality and world view). Right now there is a "Go Fund Me" for the victim's care which has already raised $20,000. The article did not provide a link to that fund-raising campaign, but eventually maybe it will be publicly posted so that others may contribute.
UPDATES TO THE STORY:
* This USA Today article shows what the inside of the house looked like around the time of Ms. Sullivan's arrest. The squalor and filth reminds me of pictures of the Turpin family's home who I mentioned above. Ms. Sullivan's attorney objected to the photos being publicized by the police.
* Bodycam video shows rescue of Connecticut man allegedly held captive by parents for over 20 years - from Channel 6 ABC News.
Videos record the 911 call, the house on fire and other incidentals having to do with the case.
* The CBS version of the story. The story talks to one of Sullivans lawyers on the case, and tells reporters that his client, Ms. Sullivan, is shocked by the allegations against her.
My thoughts? How can that be unless abuse has been totally normalized and not seen as egregious since she was a child? And how could she not know the law on this when similar cases are on T.V. and social media?
* 'He Was in Control': Father of Man Claiming Stepmom Held Him Captive Made Decisions About His Son's Care, Claims Her Lawyer
The lawyer for Kimberly Sullivan tells PEOPLE that Kregg Sullivan determined how his son was raised, not his client. - by Chris Spargo for People Magazine
At the end of the article is a reminder to call authorities if you suspect a child is being abused:
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
The comments are interesting.
The father was the one to give the orders. But did she have to follow them? Is this sycophancy that has gone terribly wrong? And especially after her husband's death?
One has to wonder where she went in her mind to think that this was right. And this is the question of all sycophants who are with people who break the law, abuse, bully, starve, and show very few ethics or empathy. It's not like he would come back from the dead to put fear in her.
I wonder how this case will play out.
Are "orders" from neglectful, abusive people a good-enough defense in a court of law?
I'm waiting for the answers obviously.
Forensic Psychologists Weigh in on Kimberly Sullivan Case - by Jenna Sundel, reporter for Newsweek (3/14/25)
excerpts from the article:
... Dr. John Fabian, a forensic and clinical neuropsychologist, spoke to Newsweek about the factors that could lead an individual to abuse others.
"I've had cases where the father figure was abusive to the mother, and this led to neglect and abuse by [the] mother," Fabian said.
Sullivan could also have been a victim of abuse during her childhood, according to Fabian. "Often, we want to look certainly at the woman's own upbringing and childhood and whether she had been abused," he said.
In "very rare" cases, there can be a shared psychotic disorder between the parents, known as folie à deux, said Fabian. The parents could have shared a delusion that their child is "evil and they must keep him captive."
Dr. David Hayes, a criminologist specializing in criminal behavior with a Ph.D. and master's in forensic psychology, told Newsweek that the prevalence of abuse by a stepparent on a stepchild is "much higher" than abuse by a genetic parent on a genetic child.
"Alienating and treating the stepchild as the 'other' and not part of the family is, sadly, relatively commonplace. This is a very extreme version of that," Hayes said.
"It hasn't been widely explored, but a concept called Cinderella Stepmother's Syndrome is something that can apply here," Hayes said. "According to research, it manifests when a stepparent has fears about placement within the family, their own ineffectiveness, anxiety, and hostility toward the living and breathing proof that there was a family before they arrived."
Hayes said if the allegations are true, this would be a "very extreme" version of Cinderella Stepmother's Syndrome.
"If true, I would assume that the Cinderella's Stepmother Syndrome is comorbid with a personality disorder (maybe something akin to borderline personality disorder) or even a pathological issue," Hayes said.
Fabian spoke about what could have compelled Sullivan to continue the alleged abuse despite the possibility of being caught.
"There may just be some inherent gratification of making this child suffer," Fabian said. "I'm not sure about what type of obsessive thinking she may have and what kind of goal or objective she would have in doing this."
Attorney for Kimberly Sullivan says her stepson was not held captive - by Amanda Pitts for NBC Connecticut (4/22/25)
Kimberly Sullivan - continual updates for COURT TV
Kimberly Sullivan is accused of holding her stepson captive in their Connecticut home for 20 years. The man, now 32, set fire to the house in a deliberate effort to save himself. (continual updates)
Pretrial hearing for Waterbury stepmother focuses on stepson’s medical records - by Kimberlyn Bouley, Dylan Fearon and Abigail Murillo Villacorta for Eye Witness News 3, Hartford Connecticut (7/8/25)
State adds charges against Waterbury woman accused of holding stepson captive for decades - by NBC Connecticut (news broadcast) You Tube (March 2026)
Note: in this legal case, the state brought additional charges against Ms. Sullivan of kidnapping in the first degree, assault in the first degree, unlawful restraint and cruelty to person. At the time, the defense would not accept a plea deal, and the case will go to trial. Next court date is April 30th.
