Stepmom held man captive for decades until he set house on fire, officials say
A Connecticut man alleged to have been held captive and starved by his stepmother for more than two decades escaped the small room he had been locked away in by setting their house on fire, authorities said Wednesday.
A Connecticut man alleged to have been held captive and starved by his stepmother for more than two decades escaped the small room he had been locked away in by setting their house on fire, authorities said Wednesday.
When authorities responded to the blaze in Waterbury, southwest of Hartford, on Feb. 17, they found a severely emaciated 32-year-old man who had not received medical or dental care in years and had been subjected to “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment,” the police department said in a news release.
According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, authorities were dispatched to the family’s home at 8:42 p.m. on a report of an active fire.
The man, who was being treated for smoke inhalation, told a responding officer that he set the fire using a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper.
“I wanted my freedom,” he said, according to the affidavit.
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