CT - 32-year-old man held captive by stepmother Kimberly Sullivan since age 11, weighs 68 lbs, sets fire to home to escape, 17 Feb 2025

[Izzylizzy]

“I want to see them all fried” Half sister of man held captive for over 20 years speaks out

Heather Tessman says she has been looking for her half brother for more than a decade.

www.wfsb.com

Heather Tessman says she has been looking for her half brother for more than a decade.

She says she found out with the rest of the world that her half brother was held captive in Waterbury for over 20 years.

Tessman always wondered what had happened to her half brother when they were young.

She did the math, and when he was 18, she started searching social media, ancestry sites and court records, but nothing came


That is because police say he was held in a small room in a house in Waterbury for over 2 decades.

“I love you. I’ve been looking for you,” Tessman said.

Little did Tessman know, he was just 12 miles away facing daily abuse, starvation, and torture.

“We just need him to know he’s got people. We love him and we want him. He shouldn’t have been thrown away like garbage,” Tessman said.

IMO:
It appears that since his 1/2 sister waited until he was 18 to begin looking for him that it may mean that when their mother gave up custody there could have been a very strict no contact provision in place until he was 18?

I'm all in on the"fried" part.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Thanks for the video.
It's was real interesting listening to the prosecutor wearing her prosecutor's hat then putting on the defense's hat...OMG!

Would KS's lawyers have the amoral audacity to go there and blame the victim for his psychological and physical condition?

I really liked and respect her when she described how she would want the victim to be involved with her prosecution' if it was her case.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[caradana]

I'd be interested in seeing actual statistics for homeschoolers who are victims of neglect because this case is almost certainly an outlier. Any regulatiory responses would be irresponsible without such statistics. What happened here is already a serious crime, and I find it hard to believe that adding regulations (which are essentially guilt without due process) would have prevented it, especially since another bureaucracy dropped the ball. Rather than CPS, the ones (other than his family) who REALLY failed this kid, homeschooling parents who had nothing to do with it will be the ones who shoulder the burden. As is often the case with regulatiory opportunism ("we have to do something, this is something, let's do this"), it's almost guaranteed that many, if not all, of the regulations in the bill would've had no effect in this case... It's no coincidence that calls for regulation are light on specifics, let alone ones that would've prevented this from happening, as "more" seems to be the end-goal. (Notice the word choice, "could have"... Not even "probably"... In other words, they have no idea. A much higher level of certainty is needed.) The public school system's horrendous response to COVID (closures, split-weeks, and Zoom classes long after it was known that there was little threat to children, and teachers were more likely to catch it at home) proved how alternatives like homeschooling should be encouraged rather than restricted in favor of protecting a monopoly.

Regulatory responses exist especially to corral outliers. Yes, I think 99 homeschooling parents should have to accept a doorbell ring, some questions, and a requirement to produce the kid in order to protect that hundredth neglected child. We fundamentally disagree about the role of government, which is OK - we can respectfully do that.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

“I want to see them all fried” Half sister of man held captive for over 20 years speaks out

Heather Tessman says she has been looking for her half brother for more than a decade.

www.wfsb.com

From the article:

Tessman wants her half sisters held responsible too. She claims they were complicit.

“I want to see them all fried. They deserve solitary confinement for the rest of their lives, drink out of the toilet,” she said.

Police are still investigating to see if more charges are warranted.

 

[rleigh123]

“I want to see them all fried” Half sister of man held captive for over 20 years speaks out

Heather Tessman says she has been looking for her half brother for more than a decade.

www.wfsb.com

Heather Tessman says she has been looking for her half brother for more than a decade.

She says she found out with the rest of the world that her half brother was held captive in Waterbury for over 20 years.

Tessman always wondered what had happened to her half brother when they were young.

She did the math, and when he was 18, she started searching social media, ancestry sites and court records, but nothing came


That is because police say he was held in a small room in a house in Waterbury for over 2 decades.

“I love you. I’ve been looking for you,” Tessman said.

Little did Tessman know, he was just 12 miles away facing daily abuse, starvation, and torture.

“We just need him to know he’s got people. We love him and we want him. He shouldn’t have been thrown away like garbage,” Tessman said.

IMO

This is so confusing. Bio mom and her daughter keep saying they searched. But bio dad and his family weren't in hiding. The records were available. They weren't living off the grid.

(Bold quotes are from linked article above.)


"She did the math, and when he was 18, she started searching social media, ancestry sites and court records, but nothing came up."

How is this possible? There are school, housing, court, and tax records. Probably countless other records and unofficial info online about them. They weren't off-grid.


"Tessman claims her half brother’s father and two step sisters were living in the home with Kimberley Sullivan, but were loved and cared for....."

I thought they were his half-sisters. They weren't her stepsisters, were they?
But then:


"Tessman wants her half sisters held responsible too."

How are they her half-sisters?




IMO

 

[rleigh123]

Thanks for the video.
It's was real interesting listening to the prosecutor wearing her prosecutor's hat then putting on the defense's hat...OMG!

Would KS's lawyers have the amoral audacity to go there and blame the victim for his psychological and physical condition?

I really liked and respect her when she described how she would want the victim to be involved with her prosecution' if it was her case.

BBM
IMO


Oh no. Sigh. I was afraid of this, especially when stepmom was allowed bail. Too many prosecutors around the US have acted like they work for the defense instead of "the people" these last few years.
I'm not holding my breath for a fair and just punishment.

ETA I'm just responding to your comment, not the video. I don't plan to watch it. Gotta save that blood pressure.



IMO

 

[rleigh123]

Thanks for the video.
It's was real interesting listening to the prosecutor wearing her prosecutor's hat then putting on the defense's hat...OMG!

Would KS's lawyers have the amoral audacity to go there and blame the victim for his psychological and physical condition?

I really liked and respect her when she described how she would want the victim to be involved with her prosecution' if it was her case.

BBM
IMO


Oh no. Sigh. I was afraid of this, especially when stepmom was allowed bail. Too many prosecutors around the US have acted like they work for the defense instead of "the people" these last few years.
I'm not holding my breath for a fair and just punishment.

ETA I'm just responding to your comment, not the video. I don't plan to watch it. Gotta save that blood pressure.



IMO

Ok I see, I thought you meant the prosecutor in this case was talking like a defense atty, when it was probably just a guest atty giving her views.


IMO

 

[Izzylizzy]

Ok I see, I thought you meant the prosecutor in this case was talking like a defense atty, when it was probably just a guest atty giving her views.


IMO

She;s a professor of law at Temple Univ and a former prosecutor.
What I don't like is when she/other prior prosecutors .defense attorneys get on TV and give a defense strategy because in today's day and age the lawyers/staff for cases getting media attention may very well watch the TV coverage on it.
It can give them ideas (strategies) they may not have thought of.(scream). lol

 

[tlcya]

From the article:

Tessman wants her half sisters held responsible too. She claims they were complicit.

“I want to see them all fried. They deserve solitary confinement for the rest of their lives, drink out of the toilet,” she said.

Police are still investigating to see if more charges are warranted.

I agree with Tessman, I think those adult half sisters who grew up in that home and watched their brother's treatment and continued to visit their mother in that home after reaching adulthood to pay. They WERE complicit in his treatment by standing by knowing and watching it and failing to act as any normal human should.

 

[MrsWatson]

I agree with Tessman, I think those adult half sisters who grew up in that home and watched their brother's treatment and continued to visit their mother in that home after reaching adulthood to pay. They WERE complicit in his treatment by standing by knowing and watching it and failing to act as any normal human should.

I find it impossible to believe that once they were of school age, they didn't realize something was drastically wrong in their home.

 

[tlcya]

IMO

This is so confusing. Bio mom and her daughter keep saying they searched. But bio dad and his family weren't in hiding. The records were available. They weren't living off the grid.

(Bold quotes are from linked article above.)


"She did the math, and when he was 18, she started searching social media, ancestry sites and court records, but nothing came up."

How is this possible? There are school, housing, court, and tax records. Probably countless other records and unofficial info online about them. They weren't off-grid.


"Tessman claims her half brother’s father and two step sisters were living in the home with Kimberley Sullivan, but were loved and cared for....."

I thought they were his half-sisters. They weren't her stepsisters, were they?
But then:


"Tessman wants her half sisters held responsible too."

How are they her half-sisters?




IMO

still trying to figure out the family tree. If Tessman is the bio daughter of victim's bio mom that wouldn't make them her half sisters unless she were also the bio child of Kregg Sullivan and the half sisters in question were the children of Kimberly Sullivan as well which in turn would make Tessman the victim's full sister and not a half.

This makes my head hurt quite frankly. I suspect the press hasn't nailed down the branches of the family tree either and they are misclassifying some of the relationships here. JMO

 

[MrsWatson]

still trying to figure out the family tree. If Tessman is the bio daughter of victim's bio mom that wouldn't make them her half sisters unless she were also the bio child of Kregg Sullivan and the half sisters in question were the children of Kimberly Sullivan as well which in turn would make Tessman the victim's full sister and not a half.

This makes my head hurt quite frankly. I suspect the press hasn't nailed down the branches of the family tree either and they are misclassifying some of the relationships here. JMO

My thought was that Tessman was the daughter of the bio-mom, but born after the marriage to Kregg with a different father.

ETA: I think the press is messing up who is a half sibling vs a step sibling and how.

 

[tlcya]

I find it impossible to believe that once they were of school age, they didn't realize something was drastically wrong in their home.

agree

They knew they couldn't have guests because there was a "secret" in their home.

They were allowed to go to the homes of friends and so cannot say they thought what was happening in their own home was in any way normal because they saw what other households looked and operated like.

 

[mjm076]

I saw a video on this case from the Law & Crime YouTube channel last night!

It very much reminds me of the Turpin nightmare!

So horrific!

 

[arielilane]

@CStewartNews


Can’t stop thinking about the story and the determination of one man, according to police, to be free.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1902373648159125700

‘Evil’ Stepmom Held Son Captive for 20 Years: Police​

Police in Waterbury, Connecticut say a woman held her stepson captive for 20 years and compared the the conditions the victim was living in to a World War II concentration camp. Detectives say Kimberly Sullivan locked the victim away in a room inside her home and when he fought his way out, police say the now man weighed only 68 pounds. Law&Crime’s Chris Stewart breaks down the entire disturbing crime on this episode of On the Case.

 

[Izzylizzy]

.

still trying to figure out the family tree. If Tessman is the bio daughter of victim's bio mom that wouldn't make them her half sisters unless she were also the bio child of Kregg Sullivan and the half sisters in question were the children of Kimberly Sullivan as well which in turn would make Tessman the victim's full sister and not a half.

This makes my head hurt quite frankly. I suspect the press hasn't nailed down the branches of the family tree either and they are misclassifying some of the relationships here. JMO

LOL!
I started a post on the shoddy reporting in Tessman's interview for all the above reasons.
I then deleted it.

 

[Izzylizzy]

agree

They knew they couldn't have guests because there was a "secret" in their home.

They were allowed to go to the homes of friends and so cannot say they thought what was happening in their own home was in any way normal because they saw what other households looked and operated like.

I want to think that if my daughter had a girlfriend while growing up and she and other friends were never was allowed in her house I would become suspicious and start a snooping campaign asking daughter, other friends of my daughter who knew the girl(s) and parents of the kids who also knew the girl(s) and/or their parents.
Open secrets comes to mind and sadly no one did some digging.

 

[Izzylizzy]

IMO:
The victim has a good memory and appears to have no problem expressing himself which leads me to believe there could be another problem brewing for the family and anyone else who spent time in the house.
What if there were other participants in abusing the victim throughtout the years?
So far the focus has been on the enablers surrounding the victim for 20 yrs excluding more possible abusers.

 

[appleatcha]

IMO

This is so confusing. Bio mom and her daughter keep saying they searched. But bio dad and his family weren't in hiding. The records were available. They weren't living off the grid.

[...]

How is this possible? There are school, housing, court, and tax records. Probably countless other records and unofficial info online about them. They weren't off-grid.

My opinion only:

I have a sibling with a history of addiction problems who gave up custody of their toddler to the other parent and agreed to a no-contact order until the child turned 18. The other parent changed the child's name, moved just a couple of counties (less than an hour) away, and later had the child legally adopted by their spouse. Even with the child's new name and a rough idea of where they lived, it took years after they turned 18 for me (their aunt) to find them and let them know that their biological family wanted to know them. Since the child wasn't a missing person and my family had no legal standing to access any information about them, we couldn't just go to the court house and obtain their information, and we didn't want to hire a PI (or anything similar to that) because it felt overly invasive.

It may be a big assumption, but I'm guessing this man's family was in a similar situation, but with the added challenge of the fact that he really didn't have an online presence or attend school. I'm not surprised they were unable to find him, especially if they weren't sure if he wanted to be found.