Biological Mom of Man Allegedly Held Captive for 20 Years by Stepmom Lashes Out: 'She Can Rot in Hell'

The woman, who told NBC affiliate WVIT she wants to remain anonymous, said that she and her daughters have been looking for the baby she gave up custody of for more than a decade now.

"My sister actually called me while I was at work, and she had stated we found him," the woman told NBC News. But the circumstances under which he was found were devastating.

"I’m heartbroken," the woman said. "I still just can't fathom it. How can anybody treat somebody like that?"

The man's 34-year-old sister said that she and her mother had been searching the internet for more than a decade now, since the man became an adult, in hopes of reconnecting.

"I just want him to know that he has a big sister, and I’ve always known he’s existed, and I’ve always loved him, and I’ve always been trying to find him," the woman told the news outlet.

"I've been looking for him for over a decade. I wanted to wait till he was 18. I'm almost 35 now. And ... there was nothing," she continued. "No social media, no court records, no ancestry information, nothing."

That is until the shocking news story out of Waterbury, Connecticut that a 32-year-old man had been rescued from a fire he allegedly started himself as an effort to escape two decades of captivity by his stepmother.

The stepmother, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, was arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment charges. She has denied the charges through her attorney.

The man's biological mother is happy to see the charges. "All of them in that home…need to get…charged, and she needs to actually spend the rest of her life in solitary confinement and fed two cups of water a day," she told NBC News; a reference to how little the man has claimed he was given.

The woman further told the news outlet that she had tried to stay in her son's life after giving up custody, but his late father and Sullivan wouldn't allow it. "Neither one of them," she said, adding, "I don't know if she was controlling him."

While the woman said she has yet to reconnect with her biological son, she is hopeful that they will in the future.

"He does have everybody here, on both sides, on both sides of his family that love him, and have looked for him," she said. "I'm heartbroken. I still just can't fathom it. How can anybody treat somebody like that?"

The biological mom's comments come as Fox NY obtained audio from the 911 call from Sullivan after her stepson had set the fire in his bedroom that ultimately led to his rescue and her arrest.

"Oh my god. Please hurry. There's a fire! Oh my god, there's a fire!" Sullivan exclaims to the 911 operator during the call, as the operator asks what's on fire.

"The TV? I don't know. My son, my stepson, was up in his room and I don't know, he did something with the TV. I was sleeping, I fell asleep," Sullivan cries, confirming there are flames and smoke in the home.

"We need an ambulance, please! His room, the TV in his room!" she shouts, as the operator asks if her stepson was injured or on fire. "Yes! He's injured! Please send an ambulance," Sullivan yells into the phone.

When asked again whether he's injured, she adds, "I don't know, he's kind of passed out. He's out of it. Oh my god, it's like all the power in the house is out. I don't know if it blew a fuse."

See bodycam footage of the fire and the man's rescue here.

Authorities became involved after an emergency call for an active fire at approximately 8:42 p.m. on February 17. That call came from Sullivan, the owner of the property that was aflame.

While the fire was quickly extinguished and Sullivan was able to evacuate of her own will, the other resident in the home, a 32-year-old man, needed assistance from Waterbury Fire Department's Fire personnel.

He was subsequently treated by emergency medical responders. It was only when police began talking to the man that they uncovered that it was he who had started the fire -- and why.

"While receiving medical care [for smoke inhalation], the male victim disclosed to first responders that he had intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room," officials said in a statement regarding the case.

As for why he started the fire, they said he told them simply, "I wanted my freedom."

"He further alleged that he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was approximately 11 years old," the statement continued. According to CBS affiliate WFSB, which shared the full arrest affidavit, the man allegedly spent those years locked inside an 8-foot by 9-foot room.

The alleged victim "lit a fire with some hand sanitizer, some paper from a printer, and he lit that fire while he was locked in that room from the outside," said a prosecutor in court, per WFSB.

"He lit that fire very well knowing he could die," the prosecutor continued, "but he had been locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he'd been trying to get out of that room."

See more of the horrific allegations about Sullivan here.

Attorney Ioannis A. Kaloidis said the suspect's late husband Kregg Sullivan -- who died in 2024 -- "was in control" of the situation and was the one who decided to confine his son to a 8-foot by 9-foot room starting at the age of 11.

"Ultimately it was the father which dictated the manner in which his son was raised and my client was only carrying out his orders," Kaloidis told PEOPLE, before also denying the stepson's claims that he wasn't allowed to shower. "My client encouraged him to bathe but she is not going to force a 32-year-old man to take care of himself," Kaloidis said.

The attorney also claimed the man was never locked in his room and left the house daily for chores, like taking the trash. Per Kaloidis, "He could have just walked away then if he wanted to leave."

"This is just one side of the story and people should not rush to judgment. These allegations are horrific but there are two sides to every story, and my client plans to defend herself against these allegations," Kaloidis concluded.

While Sullivan's lawyer is shifting blame to her late husband, the stepson spoke more favorably about him when talking to police about the alleged abuse.

According to Sullivan's arrest affidavit, the man stated that he would "be let out of his room for longer periods of time by his father" and claimed "that while Sullivan took his sisters to events and to see friends, his father would allow him to come out and watch television with him."

"When discussing his father dying, he stated that his captivity and restraint got even worse," said police. "[He] stated that it got to a point where the only time he would ever be out of the house once since his father died was to let the family dog out in the back of the property."

Sullivan was released Thursday after posting $300,000 bail; she's due back in court on March 26.