By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-19 02:17:06 | Updated at 2025-03-20 15:50:22
1 day ago
The biological mother of a Connecticut man who was allegedly locked up for more than two decades by his stepmother is demanding she face poetic justice.
Prosecutors have said Kimberly Sullivan, 56, inflicted 'prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment' on the now 32-year-old man, who was only able to escape when he set a fire using hand sanitizer, a lighter and paper last month.
Court documents say the victim was given just two cups of water each day, but was sometimes forced to drink out of the toilet.
By the time he escaped from the 8-foot-by-9-foot room he had allegedly been shut in since he was in the fourth grade on February 17, prosecutors said he was 'akin to a survivor of Auschwitz's death camp.'
Now, the boy's biological mother says everyone who lived at the home - not just Sullivan - should face prosecution.
'All of them in that home need to get charged,' she told NBC Connecticut. The outlet did not name the woman, but she was identified in Connecticut Insider as 52-year-old Tracy Vallerand.
Speaking specifically of Sullivan, Vallerand said, 'she needs to actually spend the rest of her life in solitary confinement and fed two cups of water a day.'
Records obtained by CT Insider show Vallerand and the boy's father, Kregg Sullivan, were married on June 26, 1992 and divorced two years later.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, allegedly inflicted 'prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment' on the now 32-year-old stepson
She is accused of holding him captive in an 8-foot-by-9-foot room at her Waterbury, Connecticut home for more than two decades
Then on January 21, 1995, Kregg remarried Kimberly, who was then using her maiden name, Kimberly Boyle.
It is unclear when exactly the boy was born, but Vallerand said she gave up custody of him when he was a baby.
She said it was the 'most painful, emotional decision any mother can make, but I thought he would have a better life,' arguing she did not think he would be forced to live 'with a bunch of monsters.'
Vallerand told CT Insider she did not see her son at all after she gave up custody.
'He wouldn't let me,' she said of her ex-husband, who died in January 2024.
Still, she said she made several attempts to see the boy when he was still young.
'There were places I heard [Kregg] took [our son] out on walks to and I would hang there and wait to see if I could see them.
'He just didn't want to let anybody in.'
The boy's biological mother is now demanding that Sullivan face poetic justice for her actions
The boy was only able to escape the house when he set fire to it last month. The house is now in disarray, with what looked like a large dog cage sits in the middle of the room
Once the boy turned 18, Vallerand said she and her daughter - the boy's half-sister - scoured the Internet looking for him.
'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 unidentified sister told NBC Connecticut.
'I've been looking for him for over a decade, I wanted to wait til he was 18. I'm almost 35 now,' she added.
'And... there was nothing,' the worried sister said of her search for the boy. 'No social media, no court records, no ancestry information, nothing.'
It is now alleged that Kimberly and Kregg took the boy out of school when he was in fourth grade, after teachers began to raise concern about his well-being.
He was allegedly locked up ever since, and Vallerand said she only found out what had happened to her son following his escape.
'My sister actually called me while I was at work and she had stated we found [the boy]. We found him,' she said.
Now, she says she is hopeful she will finally be able to connect with her son.
'He does have everybody here, on both sides, on both sides of his family that love him and have looked for him,' she said.
'We all love him. I love him. He's so strong and I'm so proud of him for doing what he needed to do,' she said of the fire.
'I wish he did it sooner.'
Kimberly is now facing a slew of disturbing charges , including assault and kidnapping, but was released from prison on Thursday after posting a $300,000 bail
Harrowing body camera footage from the scene show Sullivan worrying about her dogs inside the home as her emaciated stepson is carried into an ambulance
Harrowing body camera footage from the scene of the fire show the moment the emaciated man was rescued from the Waterbury house.
His limp body could be seen being carried into a waiting ambulance where he was bundled inside, as Sullivan expressed concern for her dogs' wellbeing.
The man weighed just 69 pounds, while standing at 5 feet, 9 inches at the time, authorities said.
He now faces a long road of physical and mental health treatment, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said at a news conference last week.
Meanwhile, Kimberly is now facing a slew of disturbing charges, including assault and kidnapping, but was released from prison on Thursday after posting a $300,000 bail.
She has denied any wrongdoing, with her attorney instead pointing fingers at the boy's father.
Attorney Ioannis Kaloidis has said it was Kregg that made 'decisions' about his son's life.
Sullivan even claims she encouraged better personal hygiene but 'couldn't force' him to wash, and says she was 'aware' of his weight but wasn't responsible for it.
'She completely maintains her innocence, from our perspective. These allegations are not true. They are outlandish.
'She was blown away when she heard these allegations,' Kaloidis previously said.
Sullivan is now due to return to court on March 26.
